Hockey fans have been begging for best-on-best international hockey since the last time the NHL participated in the Olympics — 2014. The 4 Nations Face-Off, which is coming in February, is the closest we’ll get to that until the 2026 Olympics.
Two Utah Hockey Club defensemen, Olli Määttä and Juuso Välimäki, were chosen on Wednesday to represent their home country of Finland in the tournament.
“We’re super excited,” Määttä said after the team’s practice on Wednesday.
“(Making the team) definitely was a goal of mine going into the year and I’m just super happy about that,” Välimäki said.
Both players have represented Finland internationally on a number of occasions.
Määttä played in the 2014 Olympics, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the World Championships on three occasions and has been involved in numerous junior international hockey tournaments.
Välimäki’s most recent international experience came in the 2018 World Junior Championship, where he captained Team Finland. He has played in seven junior international tournaments and has worn the “C” in three of them.
Utah Hockey Club snubs
A handful of other Utah HC players’ names had swirled around the internet on projected 4 Nations Face-Off rosters, but they did not make their respective teams.
Utah HC captain Clayton Keller is chief among them. His 22 points this season tie him for ninth among American-born forwards.
“His work speaks for itself,” said Utah HC head coach André Tourigny, when asked to make a case for Keller to be on the team. He specifically cited Keller’s leadership, competitiveness and skill as desirable attributes that Keller possesses.
Keller receives some criticism for his size. Undersized Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield — who’s tied for sixth in scoring among American forwards — was also left off the roster. Team USA likely wanted players who could make a physical impact in addition to putting the puck in the net.
Other Utah HC players excluded from their countries’ rosters include Matias Maccelli and Kevin Stenlund. Maccelli, a gifted playmaker, has had a slow start to the season, which was probably the determining factor. Stenlund is a defensive specialist, but his offensive impact is pretty minimal.
4 Nations Face-Off details
The tournament will run from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20 with games in Montreal and Boston. It’s run by the NHL, rather than the IIHF, so it will use the NHL rulebook.
It will include teams from Finland, Sweden, Canada and the United States.