With the 4 Nations Face-Off officially underway, we’re finally witnessing best-on-best hockey for the first time in nine years. Just a small taste of the NHL’s best facing off has sparked a ton of hype and interest around the international game once again. With that said, the 4 Nations tournament has also drawn some criticism, as plenty of the world’s best players won’t get a chance to compete in such a small tournament.
So how would the NHL set up an international tournament that includes every possible top player in the league while also balancing the field? How about a high-powered showdown of North America vs the World? Canada and the U.S. are widely regarded as the top two nations in the world, so how would they fare teaming up and facing a team of the best the rest the world has to offer? Needless to say, it’d be a star-studded affair.
Team North America
First up, let’s take a look at a potential Team North America roster if the team was constructed today. We got a good taste of just how good a Canadian and American team-up could be with the U23 team at the 2016 World Cup. Now just imagine if the team could pull anyone onto the roster, and not just young guns.
I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch this? All this debate about who has the better roster between Canada and the U.S., just imagine if they could team up and join forces. They’d create a roster that has simply no weaknesses. Canada’s glaring hole between the pipes is easily fixed by taking along the American trio in net. On the blue line, it’s the same story, with the Americans bringing their incredible depth to pair alongside a Canadian generational talent in Cale Makar. That first pairing would be the stuff of legend.
Up front, the Americans’ lack of generational talents is easily solved by adding the Canadian trio of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby. Imagining the pest that is Matthew Tkachuk roughing it up in the corners to create space for McDavid and Mackinnon is any hockey fan’s dream.
Team World
We also got a small taste of what a potential mash-up team could look like at the 2016 World Cup, with Team Europe pulling from multiple countries and nearly winning the entire tournament. With that said, the team was only constructed of smaller nations that weren’t already in the tournament. Imagine if they could take any player from any country in Europe? Now, that would be fun.
Personally, I think this team is just a step behind Team North America, but make no mistake, this is an insane roster from top to bottom. Combining the regular powerhouses in Finland and Sweden would make a tremendous roster alone, but adding on the likes of Leon Draisaitl and Tim Stutzle from Germany, Nikita Kucherov and Kirill Kaprizov from Russia, and David Pastrnak and Roman Josi from Czechia and Switzerland takes this team to the next level.
In particular, the team’s top six very much rivals that of the North Americans, providing a ridiculous amount of skill, speed, and goal-scoring ability. Kucherov setting up two 50-goal scorers in Draisaitl and Pastrnak would certainly cause team North America plenty of issues. Backed up by a trio of elite goalies and a defence group that offers a perfect blend of skill and defensive ability, this would be a tough team to beat.
Who takes home the crown?
So, if these two above rosters faced off in a winner-take-all-seven-game series, who would take home the title? Both squads are insanely stacked and would arguably be considered the two best hockey lineups ever assembled. For that reason, I think it’d be an incredibly tight series, with both teams taking their share of wins.
However, in the end, I think the generational talent on Team North America would be the deciding factor and help guide them to the win. Being able to throw out the likes of Auston Matthews and Sidney Crosby on your second and third lines just isn’t fair, and I think Team World would struggle to keep up with the ridiculous depth and blend of talent on Team North America.
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