On today’s episode of Canucks Conversation, David Quadrelli and Harman Dayal previewed the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, discussing the Canucks players representing their countries and breaking down each roster’s strengths and weaknesses.

“There are real stakes; all of these guys want to make their case for the Olympics in 2026,” said Harm. “There’s not going to be any passengers. As soon as you’re representing your country, there’s a different level of pride these players feel. I think it’s going to be high-level, intense hockey with good pace and physicality. We’ve been starved of best-on-best for so long. To me, it’s the perfect appetizer for the Olympics, which is a step up.”

The Finnish roster features Canucks goaltender Kevin Lankinen, likely backing up Nashville’s Juuse Saros. However, Finland’s overall roster depth has raised some concerns.

“It’s the weakest of the Four Nations, especially on the back-end,” Harm noted. “We all love Heiskanen, but there’s a serious drop-off after that. The blue line is a real question mark that may leave the goaltenders vulnerable.”

“They’re going to need Aleksander Barkov to be the best player in this tournament in order to play upset. They’ve got Aho and Rantanen, but Barkov’s going to have to dominate on a night-to-night basis—a lot will be resting on his shoulders.”

Despite their questions on defence, Finland boasts solid goaltending. “They’ve got three really good goaltenders, but I’m giving the edge to Markstrom or Gustavsson to get the starter role,” Harm added.

Sweden enters the tournament as a team built on strong defence and goaltending, with a blue line packed with talent.

“Sweden could be a tough team to score on when you look at their goaltending and star-studded blue line,” Harman said. “Hedman, Forsling, Ekholm, Dahlin, Brodin, Andersson—they’ve got size, skating ability, and puck-moving. It’s a really well-rounded blue line.”

Their forward depth also stands out, with a strong group of two-way players at centre. “William Karlsson is a shutdown ace, Elias Pettersson is an above-average two-way player especially if he’s at the top of his game, and Joel Eriksson Ek is also a shutdown guy. This team is going to be hard to score on.”

However, Sweden’s offence lacks the same superstar power as Canada’s. “Sweden has good pieces, don’t get me wrong, but they don’t have that game-breaking superstar to the same extent Canada does,” Harm noted.

Team USA boasts elite goaltending and a deep blue line highlighted by Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, but their forward selections raised questions.

“Vincent Trocheck, Brock Nelson, Chris Kreider are on the team, but I think Tage Thompson and Brock Boeser should’ve made it,” said Quads.

“Especially Thompson, given how much Trocheck has struggled this year,” added Harm. “He’s only picked up 12 points in 24 games and has struggled from a two-way perspective. Even from a fourth-line role, I’d take Thompson because he’s been better defensively with way more offensive upside. I would’ve also taken Boeser over Nelson because they’ve got enough centre options.”

“Kreider brings something different with his speed and net-front presence,” Harm concluded.

Canada enters the tournament as the offensive juggernaut, led by Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby.

“Between Sweden and Canada, who’s their best forward?” Harm asked. “You can’t contend with McDavid or MacKinnon when it comes to that conversation. No other team has Connor McDavid, not to mention Nathan MacKinnon or Sidney Crosby, who isn’t washed, by the way,” added Quads.

Defensively, Canada’s blue line isn’t as dominant as USA’s but still boasts solid players, including Colton Parayko. “I saw a lot of people complaining about Colton Parayko making the team, but I don’t mind the pick at all. He’s a 6’6” shutdown monster with elite skating ability. His defensive metrics have been outstanding,” Harm said.

The biggest question for Canada remains in goal. “The biggest question mark for Canada is the goaltending,” said Quads. “Binnington will be good, I think he’ll surprise some people, but they still have the weakest goaltending of any team.”

You can watch the full replay of the show below!