The United States are looking for a different result the next time they play in best-on-best action at the Winter Olympics in Italy in February.
Canada defeated the United States 3-2 in overtime at the 4 Nations Face Off last season, the first best-on-best action since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey that also featured Sweden and Finland.
United States general manager Bill Guerin marveled at the competitiveness at the 4 Nations last season and is using it as a benchmark in putting together his Olympic roster.
"Honestly, I just don’t think you can put into words how tight those games were (at 4 Nations),” Guerin told The Athletic. “How little room there was to operate. And how well these elite players can check. In NHL games, they’re not always counted on to do that, but when they are, they can. And not everybody can play in those situations.
“No matter what their offensive gifts are, if you can’t check, it’s probably not the tournament for you. … There’s just no room out there."
The United States have already named Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Quinn Hughes, Charlie McAvoy, Matthew Tkachuk, and Brady Tkachuk as their first six players on their roster.
Guerin liked what he saw from his team during the 4 Nations and the chemistry from that team could be a factor when deciding the rest of USA’s Olympic roster.
““That definitely plays in their favor, the experience of it,” Guerin said. “We had good chemistry on that team.”
Another factor Guerin has to consider is the health of the players heading into the tournament.
Winnipeg Jets announced star netminder Connor Hellebuyck needed a minor arthroscopic knee procedure that is expected to sideline him for 4-to-6 weeks.
Hellebuyck won the Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy last season after establishing a league-leading 47-12-3 record with a 2.00 goals-against average and .925 save percentage. He was also the United States’ starting goalie at the 4 Nations.
He adds to the list of the walking wounded American roster candidates that include Jack Hughes, Jaccob Slavin, J.T. Miller, to go along with Matthew Tkachuk and McAvoy.
Meanwhile, Matthews is ready to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup on Wednesday after missing five games with a lower-body injury and Brady Tkachuk announced he’s ready to return to the Ottawa Senators lineup on Friday after missing 20 games with a torn ligament on his thumb.
Guerin isn’t too concerned about injuries at this point in the season, but will be keeping an eye on the situation as they get closer to February.
“I know enough about where they are that I have comfort they’ll be ready,” Guerin said when asked about the injured players. “What I worry about is someone getting injured closer to that time.
“I’ve talked to who I need to talk to, and I’m very comfortable with where [Hellebuyck] is at,” Guerin said. “I’m confident he’ll be OK.”
There are a number of American players that were not a part of the 4 Nations roster that are making a push to make the Olympic team.
Players like Logan Cooley, Clayton Keller, Tage Thompson, Cutter Gauthier, and Shane Pinto were all a part the the United States gold-medal winning squad at the 2025 World Hockey Championship and are having a fantastic start to the 2025-26 campaign.
As well, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, Jason Robertson, Alex DeBrincat, Nick Schmaltz, Troy Terry, Matthew Knies, and Alex Tuch are all trying to push for a roster spot after good starts to their 2025-26 seasons.
How the players are able to adjust to a different role than what they’re used to playing on the NHL teams will be a big factor for Guerin deciding the team.
For that, Guerin is looking at the player’s full body of work as part of his decision process and not just how they’re playing after the first three months of the season.
“Guys are making it hard on me, which is great,” Guerin said. “That’s what you want. But in the end, you have to do what you think is best. The worst part about it is telling people they’re not going. Because they’re good guys and good players. There’s so many guys that could be on this team, but we just can’t take everyone.
“I’m a big believer in body of work. I appreciate the first two months of the season, but I’ve said this before: this is not Pee Wee tryouts. This is not, ‘Oh, just take who’s playing well.’ If you did that, you wouldn’t need a general manager or coaches. We’re actually trying to build a team.”
