Projecting 4 Nations Face-Off rosters for Sweden, Finland

Sweden /Finland
United States
Canada

We're still seven months away from the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off, but we figured there's no better time than the dead of the offseason to project the rosters for each nation competing in the February 2025 event.

We begin our three-part series with Sweden and Finland. While neither country is as deep as Canada or the United States, the top-end talent is on par. Both Nordic nations have shown in the past that the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.

Each team unveiled six players in late June; those names are bolded in the tables below. Teams will carry 23 total players - 20 skaters and three goalies.

Toughest omissions: Gabriel Landeskog, Mikael Backlund, Gustav Nyquist

The biggest question mark for Sweden is Landeskog's status. If he's healthy and looks like his old self on the ice, he's a key member of this team - potentially the captain. But the Avalanche winger's undergone three knee surgeries since last appearing in an NHL game (the 2022 Stanley Cup Final), so we're erring on the side of caution and assuming he won't be ready. Even if Landeskog returns early next season, it's unclear how effective he'll be.

Sweden's forward group has a nice blend of high-end speed and skill - especially on the wings - and two-way reliability, particularly down the middle.

Toughest omissions: Rasmus Andersson, Adam Larsson

As usual, Sweden is loaded on defense. The main issue is that it's not a perfectly balanced bunch, as Erik Karlsson is the only right-handed shooter. Still, these are undoubtedly Sweden's seven best blue-liners. Would the brain trust of team manager Anders Lundberg and head coach Sam Hallam instead pick Andersson or Larsson, just for the sake of having another righty?

We pondered it but decided to roll with the best players, regardless of handedness. Dahlin regularly plays on his off-side in Buffalo. That hasn't been the case for the other lefties in recent years, though. However, as long as one of them is comfortable making the switch (Ekholm?), we don't foresee any issues.

Toughest omission: Jesper Wallstedt, Samuel Ersson

Barring a breakout first half from the Wild's Wallstedt - one of the sport's top goalie prospects - Sweden's pretty set between the pipes. There's a case to be made for starting Ullmark, who won the Vezina Trophy in 2023, but we decided to give the nod to the more experienced netminder in Markstrom.

Markstrom, 34 and almost 500 games into his career, finished third in the NHL last season in goals saved above expected, according to Evolving-Hockey.

Toughest omissions: Mikael Granlund, Jesperi Kotkaniemi

We were tempted to slot Granlund into the extra forward slot, but Haula's well-roundedness is more useful than Granlund's playmaking-heavy game in a bottom-six role. On the whole, Finland's built to grind teams down.

There's a notable dip in talent after Barkov, Rantanen, Aho, and Hintz. Laine, who's part of the second tier of offensive weapons, is a true wild card. He's currently in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program and has reportedly requested a trade out of Columbus, yet he still produces at a fairly high rate.

Toughest omissions: Jani Hakanpaa, Urho Vaakanainen

The Finns are blessed with just one marquee defenseman in Heiskanen, who'll surely be logging upwards of 30 minutes per game. His familiarity with Stars teammate Lindell should make for a solid top pair, whereas the rest of the blue line is a mishmash of NHL depth guys. One positive: lots of size and strength.

Hakanpaa, a 6-foot-7, 222-pound defensive specialist, would be on the second or third pair if not for serious injury concerns. It'll be interesting to see how team manager Jere Lehtinen handles the remaining five defensive selections on defense if Hakanpaa is competing and looking decent but not feeling 100%.

Toughest omission: Ville Husso

Lehtinen and coach Antti Pennanen technically have plenty of options, with eight Finnish goalies appearing in at least 14 games last season. The picks are easy, though: Saros, arguably a top-five goalie in the world, is the starter, and Luukkonen, who's fresh off a career-high 51 starts for Buffalo, is the backup.

Saros, 29, hasn't played a ton of high-stakes games for Finland or Nashville over the years. This will be both a tremendous opportunity and a challenge.

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