Projecting which Stars players will make 2025 4 Nations Face-Off rosters
The best NHL players from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden will take part in the Round-Robin tournament in Boston, Montreal - February 2025.
For the first time ever, the NHL will forego the usual All-Star Weekend festivities and instead feature the best 23 players from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden in a Round-Robin best-on-best international tournament. It is the first best-on-best tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the first time without an All-Star Game since 2014.
The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off will run Feb. 12-20 in two host cities, Boston and Montreal.
From NHL.com:
“All seven games in the 4 Nations Face-Off will be played with NHL rules. Each team plays three tournament games in Round Robin format: 3 points for a regulation win; 2 points for an OT/shootout win and 1 point for an OT/shootout loss. The two teams with the best record will advance to the Final Championship Game!”
Here is the full 4-Nations Face-Off schedule for both locations:
Each roster will feature 23 NHL players (20 skaters, three goalies). The first six players from each nation were announced in June, with the full rosters being unveiled between Nov. 29 and Dec. 2.
Let’s take a look at which Dallas Stars have already been selected, which have a real shot and the ones who will not be considered for each of the four nations’ final rosters.
Finland
First Six: Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho, Aleksander Barkov, Juuse Saros
Heiskanen, 24, served as the number-one defenseman, finishing the season seventh in team scoring with 54 points (nine goals, 45 assists) and a plus-8 rating in 71 games. He added 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff games and led all Dallas skaters in ice time, averaging 24:32 per game. Heiskanen may be the best Finnish defenseman in the NHL and is an easy choice for this roster.
Let's talk about Miro Heiskanen for a minute
Miro Heiskanen is one of the best defensemen in the NHL. He is the Stars’ top blueliner, potentially their best player.
Lindell, 30, is a shut-down defenseman. In 2023-24, Lindell recorded the second-most points of his career with 26 (five goals, 21 assists) in 82 games. The Vantaa native has played all nine seasons of his NHL career in Dallas and has been one of the most consistent pieces of their blue line and penalty kill over that span.
Another lock to make the final roster is Roope Hintz. Hintz has been the top center in Dallas for a while now, shining brightest alongside Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski on one of the better lines in the League. Hintz finished 2023-24 with 30 goals and 65 points. He has surpassed the 65-point mark in each of the past three seasons, recording a career-high 75 (37 goals, 38 assists) in 2022-23. For most, Hintz is a lock to center the top line for Finland at the tournament.
Jani Hakanpaa is no longer on the Stars’ roster after signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs (TBD) but is worth mentioning as a real possibility to make the Finland roster. The 6-foo-7, 222-pound blueliner has 288 career NHL games under his belt and played a big role with Dallas over the past three seasons.
United States
First Six: Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Matthew Tkachuk, Adam Fox, Quinn Hughes, Charlie McAvoy
No Stars were listed in the first six for Team USA, but that doesn’t mean there will not be any suiting up for Mike Sullivan’s squad.
Jason Robertson should and will be selected by Team USA. The 25-year-old California native led Dallas with 80 points (29 goals, 51 assists) last season. He also paced the team with nine power-play goals and played in all 82 regular-season games. He added 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 19 playoff games.
Robertson recorded a career-high 109 points in 2022-23 and tallied 40 goals in back-to-back seasons (2021-22 and 2022-23).
For the Stars’ other US option, Jake Oettinger, things are a little more blurry.
Oettinger is among the top goaltenders in the NHL. He has made that clear in his young career, compiling a .913 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average over four seasons. The 25-year-old from Minnesota finished 8th among NHL goalies last season with a .905 save percentage, and that was a career-low for him. He ranked 4th in 2022-23 (.919), 12th in 2021-22 (.914) and 34th in his first season in 2021 (.911).
In the playoffs, Oettinger burst onto the scene with his .954 save percentage through seven games and a 63-save performance in Game 7 against the Calgary Flames in 2022.
He struggled in 2023, finishing 10-9 with a .895 save percentage and 3.18 goals-against average, but quickly re-established himself last spring. In 19 starts, Oettinger once again went 10-9, leading the Stars to Game 6 of the Western Conference Final for the second straight year, but this time he ranked third among goaltenders with a .915 save percentage and a 2.24 goals-against average. He has played for the US in a few World Junior Championships (WJC) along with the 2021 World Championships (WC).
So, Oettinger is among the elite. But how high does he rank on that list? And more importantly, where do the other Americans fall?
Unfortunately for Oettinger’s chances, Team USA will have the best goalies in the tournament. It is likely that any of the top four could start for one, two, or even all three of the other nations competing. And they only get to bring three to the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets) is probably the best goalie in the world. He will be selected despite struggling in the 2024 playoffs (who didn’t struggle in that series against the Colorado Avalanche?) Behind him is a trio of Thatcher Demko (Vancouver Canucks), Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins) and Oettinger.
Demko is coming off a career year (with backup Casey DeSmith) and was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. The 28-year-old former Hockey East goalie (Boston College) has finished with a save percentage above .915 in three of the past four seasons. He holds a .912 save percentage over 219 career games. Demko has been excellent in his small playoff sample size, going 3-1 with a .974 save percentage and has played for Team USA multiple times at both the WJC and WC.
Swayman may have been the odd man out earlier in the season, but after what he did in the playoffs, is probably near the top of this list. The 25-year-old Alaska native ranked first among goaltenders with an elite .933 save percentage in 12 playoff starts. Boston planned to evenly split time between Swayman and Ullmark in the playoffs but was quickly forced to abandon that strategy due to Swayman’s performance. Swayman holds a career .919 save percentage with 132 games under his belt and suited up for the US at the 2017 WJC and 2022 WC.
My first instinct is to pick Oettinger as one of the top three. But Demko has proven himself on the international stage, has the same tough Hockey East experience and is coming off a career year. Swayman was incredible in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the most important tournament of them all. It is going to be incredibly tight and I could see it shaping out in either of these ways:
Connor Hellebuyck
Jeremy Swayman
Thatcher Demko
OR
Connor Hellebuyck
Jeremy Swayman
Jake Oettinger
It seems likely that the final choice comes down to either the former Boston College Eagle (Demko) or Boston University Terrier (Oettinger). Both have similar career numbers, both have had ups and downs in the regular season and postseason and both are coming off injuries, with Demko’s being more recent during the 2024 playoffs. I believe Team USA will wait until the final minute to make this decision.
Other Dallas Stars not mentioned: DeSmith, Colin Blackwell
Canada
First Six: Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Cale Makar, Brayden Point, Brad Marchand
Pete DeBoer. Yes, I know that I said players, but this one is worth mentioning. DeBoer was recently announced as one of three assistants (also Rick Tocchet and Bruce Cassidy) on Jon Cooper’s Team Canada staff. DeBoer has served as an assistant for Team Canada on multiple occasions.
There are a ton of Canadians on the current Stars roster. Among those who will not contend for a 4 Nations roster spot are Thomas Harley, Matt Dumba, Alexander Petrovic, Brendan Smith, Sam Steel, Logan Stankoven, Mason Marchment and Mavrik Bourque.
While the duo of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn was once seemingly a guarantee to represent Canada, Benn won a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics, that time has now passed. Neither will be a real possibility for the 4 Nations despite having a nice resurgence toward the end of their lengthy contract extensions.
There are two players that could be included, however.
Wyatt Johnston exploded for a career-high 32 goals and finished second on the club with 65 points last season. The 21-year-old became a staple in just about every situation for Dallas and played all 82 games, averaging 17:00 of ice time per night.
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Johnston once again showed his maturity, tallying 16 points (10 goals, six assists) in 19 games to pace the Stars. While Johnston has a massive hill to climb with the crazy level of talent among Canadian NHLers, he has at least put himself into the conversation.
Right there with him is Matt Duchene. Also finishing with 65 points (25 goals, 40 assists), Duchene had a much-needed productive season following his buyout by the Nashville Predators. The 33-year-old was kept quiet in the playoffs, recording only two goals and six points in 19 games. But he has international experience, winning gold alongside Benn in 2014, and has proven plenty in all areas throughout his 14-year NHL career.
If I were to make the pick right now, I believe both Johnston and Duchene would be among the first players out for the Team Canada roster.
Sweden
First Six: Filip Forsberg, William Nylander, Mika Zibanejad, Gustav Forsling, Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson
It seems all but certain that Dallas will not have a representative for Team Sweden.
Nils Lundkvist is the Stars’ best Swede, and he has not yet made his name enough to get a shot at this tournament. Although the 24-year-old still shows plenty of promise, enough to earn him another chance with a one-year, $1.25 million contract, he still has a lot to prove.
The only other Swede on the current roster is Oskar Back, who has yet to play in an NHL game.
Final projection of Dallas Stars who will play in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off:
Miro Heiskanen (Finland)
Esa Lindell (Finland)
Roope Hintz (Finland)
Jason Robertson (USA)
Jake Oettinger (USA)
Pete DeBoer (Assistant coach - Canada)
All four nation’s first-six players side-by-side:
