Projecting International Rosters: USA vs. Canada & More | The Chris Johnston Show

On This episode of The Chris Johnston show Julian McKenzie and Chris Johnston go over a variety of topics including:

00:30 Projected four nations tournament
03:30 Potential Canada roster
13:20 Potential USA lineup
19:00 Team Finland & Sweden
22:45 Bracket or no bracket?

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Uh I know that some in our audience know the finer points of hockey the Chris Johnston show we are your friends the biggest stories bringing you inside the game what did you hear the Chris Johnson show what is going on here’s Chris with your host Julian McKenzie part of the

Game Big Money CJ we are a little over a year away from best on best international hockey finally happening again at the men’s level and you along side uh Dom lisen and Eric duotek at the athletic decided to come up with these projected rosters for what Team USA team

Canada team Sweden and team Finland would look like at this four nations I guess that’s a tentative name we’re going to go with here at this four nations tournament that is scheduled to uh go down in 2025 really worthwhile exercise really fun to do what was that

Like oh man I went way down the rabbit hole like to the point you know especially when I’m doing the finish in Swedish rosters I like I sent what I was thinking to colleagues I have that work in those countries uh just to Bounce It Off to See if I was missing something

Because obviously the view from afar sometimes is a little different than than how certain players are viewed and you know there’s there’s tough choices especially when you get to the Canadian and the US rosters uh it’s funny because you’re sweating over essentially a fourth defense pairing like the seventh and

Eighth D you’re sweating over the 13th and 14th forward or sometimes even the fourth line depending you’re trying to you’re trying to figure out you know particularly again with the US and Canadian decision makers like what do you want your fourth line to look like

You know I’ve got Kyle Connor on the US fourth line right now because it’s just hard to find a spot for him up the lineup even as great of a goal scorer as he is but I’m like do Team USA want him on a fourth line or do they want maybe a

Different element there I mean that’s that’s a debate obviously that their management staff will happen have like that kind of debate I’m not saying specifically to Kyle Conor but you know you get to the after there’s sort of obvious picks I think at the top of the

You know the food chain with Team Canada like you know you’re gonna have Conor McDavid on the first line I don’t think there’s much debate about that but once you get in and you’re filling out the third and fourth line and all that it’s

It’s it’s a lot so it was it was really fun it was it took me several several hours I made phone calls like I didn’t just I didn’t just do it lightly I I I sort of did a mockup then I like left it for a bit and came back anyway I

Probably took it too little l i probably took it too seriously um but I sort of feel like if you’re going to do it you should actually try to pick how you would choose it today I mean I don’t this tournament we should be clear is not going to be played till February

2025 assuming everything goes well with the negotiations and the planning um but you kind of have to pick it like you’re picking today like because I don’t I don’t have a crystal ball you know so someone like Sam Reinhardt who’s having a monster season down in Florida you

Know earns a spot for me on the fourth line for Team Canada maybe if Reinhardt falls off next year he won’t even really be part of the conversation but you can’t you can’t know that so that that’s part of it is projection of of where players will be but also I think you

Just kind of have to go off the moment and that’s how I got there I mean I I don’t know how you want to break this down but it was uh it was a lot I think I’ll say too no spoiler alert here but Team USA has got to be favored on paper

On the paper version of this tournament we’ll spend a good chunk of time looking at the Canadian and American rosters and we’ll definitely touch off on Sweden and Finland as well we could probably start with Team Canada I I was thinking of kind of going quickly line by line and

Uh mentioning the extras but then also the defense pairings and the go tening as well let’s let’s see how far we can go through it with this one team Canada not that surprising you have Sydney Crosby Conor McDavid Conor Bedard on a line Brad I chose chaos with that line

On purpose you did you did I chose chaos I mean that’s the one chance we might get to see that line second line you have Brad Marsha Nathan McKinnon Matthew barzal there mark Stone Braden point Mitch marner’s another line Zack Heyman John Taris and Sam renhard another line

Mark shley and Steven Stam CO as extras devent T kale marar as a pairing Shay Theodore Alex petrangelo as another pairing Josh morrisy and Drew dowy as well um Morgan Riley and Aaron eblad as extra defenseman and your goenda en Hill Jordan Bennington and on the subject of you picking guys who are

In form cam talbet is your number three goalie on this team I’m very intrigued about your selection process well let’s start at the top with the forwards here’s here’s I think what team Canada’s management staff will first have to reckon with you’ve got Sydney Crosby Conor McDavid and Nathan McKinnon

They’re all natural Centers do you want to play them is the one two three centers on the team or do you shift one of them to the wing and and I’m concluding here that I think they’ll shift one of those players to the wing I

I I think you do have two options I think you could with Nathan McKinnon’s speed I think he could fit well as a as a right winger on one of the the top two lines I’ve opted to go with Sydney Crosby on the wing you know Crosby has

Said publicly that that he would welcome a move to the wing to play with Conor McDavid in this type of an event I think it makes sense I mean he’s having a monster year still right now but you know he’s an older guy I mean it gives him it reduces his responsibility

Slightly on the ice uh and and if Canada has a weakness and I’m not really saying it’s a weakness but they don’t have a ton of natural left Wingers I would say to to fill out these lines I mean Brad Maran is is to my eyes clearly the best

Natural left wing um that’s Canadian but to me it makes sense if you’re shifting one of those centers over if Crosby’s the oldest of the trio if he’s willing to do it which he said he is to move him over and have him play left wing on the

Top line with McDavid so that’s that’s kind of how I got to this the top of this roster right and then the next decision is okay can it has all kinds of skilled amazing right-wing potential players including as I mentioned could be Nathan McKinnon if you moved him over

But then you know I’ve moved Conor Bard away from center for the purpose of this exercise you’ve got Matthew barzel and Mitch Marner who I think equally could be on that Top Line when when all is said and done and so that’s that’s kind of how I got there with the top lines

Like you know I think that Marian and Crosby had so much success in the 2016 World Cup obviously skate together I think Team Canada where it can opts for familiarity um and so you might see those players play maybe it could be a second line with with Crosby in the middle I mean

The truth is is the coach of this team whether it’s John Cooper or whoever it ends up being will have all kinds of mix and match opportunities because Team Canada is strongest to my eyes down the middle of the ice um I mean you got Braden point I mean I I’ve made John

Tarus the the fourth line Center I think honestly I really like my fourth line here as I was mentioning earlier like the the debate is tough because you you don’t just all want scor is everywhere I mean someone’s going to have to kill penalties in in these tournaments you

Know I don’t think you deploy a fourth line like a shutdown line per se the way you might in in NHL but you know I think you want a certain amount of grit or board play and I think her you know Heyman toar Reinhardt does bring a

Little bit of Edge and and certainly players that can play you know well in tight spaces you have some familiarity with Hyman and taras having played together in Toronto before um you know this is where it gets tough with with the last picks right in this case i’

I’ve brought stepen Stam Co and Mark shley with Stam Co this is my reasoning over 500 NHL goals like that’s a lot to leave at home I realize in this tournament at five on five you’re probably he’s probably not seeing a ton of ice time just with the players above

Him and where he’s at in his career but he can clearly play on a power play if you get an injury or something that requires you to need another option up the lineup you know you would have no trouble rolling him out on the top line

Or the second line I just think he’s not he’s not above the players that are there just at this stage of his career you know I think shyle can can bring some different elements you know among the guys that I had to to leave off here Ryan Newan Hopkins having a great season

Um you know there’s there’s Team Canada man like someone’s gonna someone you can’t bring everyone right that’s that’s the thing and so that’s that’s kind of how I’ve landed on this lineup you know it be interesting to see where Mark Stone’s at but you know he won a Stanley

Cup I think he’s still there right now um but you know he’s getting into his 30s and um you know that’s that’s kind of where I’m at with the forwards the defense is little it’s it’s harder and easier at the same time because I know that Hockey Canada really likes to

Uh because I know this that they like to keep pairings together like why overthink it you’ve got Devin Taves and kale Mar who don’t exclusively play together but have played a lot together in Colorado and they won a Stanley Cup together you’ve got Shay Theodore and Alex petrangelo who have played a lot

Together and have won a cup in the last year in Vegas I I think that you keep those pairings together and you know especially marar obviously is you know at this point in time he’s Canada’s number one dman and so I I think it makes a lot of sense to bring them and

Then you know you’re in a tough spot you know I I’m not ignoring the great Seasons that you’re seeing from Evan Bard Edmonton Noah Dobson on Long Island both playing a lot of minutes Bard’s on Pace for like 90 odd points as a defenseman but I just don’t know if they

Fit in this kind of event fully because you know they’re both right shots you know Canada’s loaded down the right side I’ve opted keep Drew dowy on this team I think that that that will be a debate at that point in time I just think he’s

Still effective enough and and I love I love the experience level like this guy was in the 2010 Olympics right he’s he’s done everything he’s seen everything I think he he’ll calm the game down you know Josh Morris he’s emerged these last couple years as a top defenseman and

Then I went with Riley eblad as the fourth pairing they actually played together for team North America they were the top pairing for team North America uh you know I think Riley’s had a bit of an under the radar strong season in Toronto what I like about him

Is if you watch the Leaf’s last couple playoff runs he’s really elevated in those big games I think you know again in this tournament he might end up being scratched to like I don’t know because you usually only uh typically dress seven defensemen and i’ but but you have

Eight on the roster and then Aaron eblad uh was a monster for for Florida last year so that’s that’s kind of how I got there um what about your no matter what there’s going to be a good player on The Cutting Room floor uh and that’s and

That’s but you know you got to make that choice and so I actually like this group I I spent a lot of time getting to the what you see before you and what you saw in the the Artica and the athletic and then you know the goaling well yeah here’s the thing let’s

Give Aiden Hill some credit here what Canada doesn’t have like I think there’s I think there’s a misconception um what Canada doesn’t have is a Surefire alpha male top goalie the way Canada always has if you go back to whether it was Patrick W martan Broder Rob Berto long Longo Carri price

In his prime like Canada always went into this tournament with like almost no debate about I mean maybe some debate about who the number one was but but they had top of the League goal tending Aiden Hill won a Stanley Cup for Vegas last year and if you look at the starts

To this season he’s been Dy Dynamite like like there’s nothing to me that says he can’t get the job done we just don’t know how because he doesn’t have the pedigree of coming up and being a world junior star and having played in these events for Team Canada carrying

The mail you know it’s just a bit of unn unknown that’s why I’ve brought Jordan Bennington as the backup you know I think you know he also has that Stanley Cup pedigree um you know has been part of the hockey Canada program a bit more

In the past you know I’m not feeling as great about this as the US probably is with with their go tending Trio and then cam tet I think you bring as a third golender you either bring someone young or you bring someone older who’s on form

In case it’s like break in case of emergency and so that’s that’s that’s kind of how I got to to cam talit um you know there’s a few other players you you could opt for in that position but I I think you I think because you’re not sure entering the tournament like is

This going to work I weirdly with Canada’s number three I think you almost bring that number three thinking they might have to play games even though it’s a short event um and cam talbat certainly has played very well for La this season so you’re not comfortable with bringing in a steuart Skinner in

That position I I think I’m less comfortable you know if when we go through the other rosters in some cases I have brought sort of the next up and cominging guy that that could be there for experience we’ve seen Canada do both right like I think Ed bfor was a third

Goal tender late in his career in one of those Olympic runs for Canada but then you also had like a young Mark Andre flurry in 2010 as the third goalie like I think there are two approaches but you know when you were bringing Mark Andre flurry but you had martam Broder and

Roberto long Longo like you didn’t really think it was it was good experience for flurry but you didn’t bring him with the intent to play him truly right but I think because the no matter how this shakes down I think there’s going to be some questions about

Canada’s number one or two even if you make a different Choice than I make I mean maybe you’re picking Lan Logan Thompson you know Aiden Hill’s teammate in Vegas who’s had a pretty good year um exactly like maybe you’re bringing one of those players but if you do I still think

You’re going to want a third that you might have to use okay let’s get to Team USA uh a team that will likely be regarded as the favorite and why not with the roster that they have Jason Robertson Austin matth use Clayton Keller as a first line CJ that’s a dirty

First line Brady kachuck uh Jack Hughes and Matthew kachuck on another that’s that’s that might even you need the kachuck brothers on the line right it’s funny like I gave you like a hockey breakdown of why I pick Canada’s top lines my but the T USA I’m just like

Well you need the kju Brothers playing together so like that obviously so that’s not really a hockey reason but I just thought it made sense that’s still a sick line then you have Jake gensel Jack igel Jack igel’s a third line Center on the steam this you talk about

Canada strength down the middle I mean Team USA strength down the middle you can’t sleep on that Jake gensel Jack eichel JT Miller has a right winger on that line Kyle Conor Dylan Lin Alex De Bret as well and then you have Tage Thompson and Joe pavleski as extra

Forwards Quinn Hughes and Charlie mavo is a pairing Luke Fox Luke Hughes and Adam Fox as a pairing Jacob slaven and Jacob trouba two Jacobs uh as a pairing then Zach redy and Brock Faber uh as extra defenseman and then your goenda heluk fer Demco Jay gotten geez and you

Didn’t even include Brock besser or J or John Carlson or Patrick Kane uh who’s now back with the Detroit Red Wings let’s talk about Team USA for a bit yeah I mean we’re getting to the point with Team USA where it’s it’s truly like Team Canada where you’re you’re guaranteed to

Leave off one or two or three or four or five players that you really want to take but there’s roster limitations and you know obviously I I I will say like the first weakness I see with the team I picked is I’m not sure you go with that

As your fourth line but I also didn’t know where else to put to Brink it um you know I think it makes sense to play him with lurin yeah I I want lurin on my team but you’re not putting Lin above eel Jack Hughes or Austin Matthews as a

Center I so it kind of by default makes Larin your fourth liner like maybe you drop JT Miller down there like you can see me having the the wrestle match here but but you have a you have a four line with Dylan Lin as your Center and two 40

Goal scorers on his left and right like that is a I mean and maybe you do that maybe like I talked about the chaos Canada first line that I’ve made like maybe you go for chaos at Team USA and you just lean into like we can overwhelm

You with four lines now there’s not in a lot of ice time probably for that fourth line if we’re being honest and you know that’s why maybe someone like Tage Tompson you know with his size like like brings a different element could be on that line you know pavelski I I just

Think you want his experience level but you know he’s still at age 39 just keeps going and going and going having some of his best productive Seasons these last last couple years at an age where you just don’t see that happen you know he was part of the 2010 Olympic team too I

Talked about Drew dowy bringing that experience I I like pavelski there especially if you’re not bringing Patrick Kane and you know Team USA and for good reason Patrick Kane has been a loyal Soldier for them he’s went to the world hockey championships obviously played multiple Olympics um you know

World Juniors the whole bit I I’m guessing if he’s in any kind of form they’re going to try to add him to the roster I just don’t think I could do that in good faith right now I mean we have to see where he’s at uh with with

Some time on his hip resurfacing but if he’s in any kind of form I think they even bring him as an extra forward and then so one of these players can come and as you mentioned I left off Brock besser having a monster year um you know

A number of other guys the other thing about the US that that like you I haven’t really thought about until they do the exercise they are stacked on the blue line nowadays too yeah like the right side like I think I’m not sure how much attention he paid to Brock Faber

He’s he’s really early in his career less than 40 NHL games but like he is a horse he’s been playing over 30 minutes tonight you know of late here the wild have had some injuries he’s just an excellent player for getting the puck going the other direction and I’ve got

Him as an extra essentially but you know on the right side of the Blue Line am I putting him above Charlie McAvoy no Adam Fox Norris Trophy winner is he going above there Jacob trouba who I just think you know on your third pairing in this kind of event like you you want

Someone who can lay a big hit uh you want someone with his experience like it’s just hard to find a spot for these guys like that’s why I know people see these lists are like you idiot you left off this guy or whatever but it’s like

Okay but in actual like real life let’s look at this who is he playing above uh and you know I’ve had to then leave off a guy like John Carlson on this team who I think you know he’s done a lot for the Team USA like he might ultimately make

The team but I I just couldn’t find room for him you know Quinn Hughes and Luke Hughes you know I love that Jacob slaven really underrated a player and then Zach rensky I mean great skater I just think that this is where you have to go and

Then you I mean the the good side of your team youa is you’ve got sick goal tending the downside is you can only play one of these guys at a time right so it even though you have huk and Demco and tinger and and and there’s they have

Other options too you know only one is in the crease at the same time and so they have certainly more depth in any team at that position no question but you still got to choose the right player to to win you you know oneoff game if if

You get to the final or what have you so you know just just a stacked roster from top to bottom and as I say for me it’s the best on paper the the question will be though like Conor McDavid still the best player in the world cdy Crosby is

Playing like an absolute animal uh you have Conor Bard we don’t know what he’ll do in that sort of tournament but you know we saw what he’s done in the world juniors in the past like the top end of Canada’s roster might pull ahead of this

Us roster but I’m not saying that with any amount of confidence certainly not you know just looking at it all on paper you could find the full lists on the athletic website for team Sweden and team Finland as well if you want to see what CJ picked for both teams but just

Really quickly here what was it like going through the process for both well Finland you know really almost every NHL player gets on this list because the the way the rules are going to work for this tournament there’ll be no players that are permitted to play

Overseas you know there’s 40 odd fins in the league we’re picking 23 man so you know it wasn’t that difficult in that case because a lot of the choices were made for me probably my biggest quote unquote snub is vly huso here um you

Know I I kind of went with yuss Saros I went Kevin lankinen as their backup goenda world hockey championship for Finland was very good for them believe he was named the top golender that tournament and obviously he and Saros play together in Nashville and then I I

Went with uko pekcan and I went with the young UPL as he’s affectionately known in Buffalo I went for him with the young go tender route in the third spot for them and so I just couldn’t find for whoo you know I know in in bouncing this off some

Finnish colleagues they they thought my biggest oversight was not having whoo on a team uh so maybe it’s lanin that gets bumped but you know we have to remember a team like Finland you know the fact that that lanin has had that success for them at the world championship level

Well that’s not a tournament that gets as much attention in North America that will carry some weight I think with the the finished decision makers you team Sweden’s going to be fun um I go with Philip forsberg Elias pson William neander is the top line there’s some

Other things you can do there I mean I I think it’s pson and nander for sure making up two-thirds of that Top Line um you know maybe he put someone like Adrien Kemp there pretty Speedy like that that could be pretty delicious I’ve got Kempy on my

Third line in doing this um you you just don’t quite have the same same depth with Sweden um but you know certainly on the blue line I had to I had to leave off Matias EOL who I really like as a player but I look at the left side of their

Blue line like you got Rasmus Dalene and Victor Hedman one two I don’t think there’s any debate there then you get to Jonas Brin and hampus Lindholm I’ve got hampus Lindholm as the fourth option on the left side of the blue line I just I can’t I couldn’t find a spot above any

Of those players for EOL um but yeah I think Sweden will be a good team you know you’ve got Lena SAR and and Jacob markstrom I went I went young uh for for you know by putting Gus the bus on there gustofson is their third goal tender from Minnesota um you

Know maybe maybe someone else would do it differently but you know it’s pretty clear to me on paper I have this as Team USA first like just looks like the best roster Team Canada then team Sweden then team Finland but and this is a big butt Finland has won so so much in

International hockey at under 18 under 20 at the the men’s level on the men’s side of the game the fins play a certain way um you know they still have top end Talent you know the Finnish Top Line I didn’t know what to do with the left

Side for sure but but I got barkov and ranton as two-thirds of that line you can put AO and L as two-thirds of it you know in the second line like they they still have some some scoring Talent there and I just think the fins punch above their weight the the the

Collective is better than some of the individual names um when it comes to these finished national teams so I wouldn’t rule them out of this event by any means but just just on strength of roster alone I’m going USA Canada then Sweden then Finland also we don’t know I

Mean we talk about the tournament taking place in 2025 we don’t know if it’s going to eventually get to like a bracket style where you have which and and we’re trying to figure out which team’s on the other side of a bracket I’m very curious if uh I mean that

Ultimately dictates like if we’ll get a Canada USA final or a Canada Finland final final or a USA Sweden final you still have to wait for that still ways away from that I think somehow I don’t know exactly how it’s going to work but my understanding is it’s going to be

Sweden and Finland play at the start of the tournament and Canada and the US play and then there’s like a crossover where they each play a semi-final so you could still get Canada Us in the final if they both won their semi so I don’t know exactly

How many games we’re talking about it sounds like potentially two locations so maybe maybe they have part of this tournament in Europe the Sweden Finland part like I I think that would make some sense but um you know we those those decisions are still being made nothing’s

Been finalized but yeah we just you know it’s the holidays why not have some fun with with these rosters and as I say I think I I wasted so many brain cells thinking about this for like it’s still a hypothetical event uh I’m sure Dom and

And Eric did the same and and as you see we had some different choices on our rosters but uh this was my my best foot forward uh from a year out the funny thing is is that like normally you’re with your buddies and you’re just hanging out and then someone just says

Hey let’s come up with this roster for Team Canada you actually went through the trouble of putting together all this working going above and beyond and that’s why you’re so good at your job CJ well it’s funny because the the ask came from my editor Jake Leonard and when he

When he said it I just said oh no and it’s not it’s not because I didn’t want to do it it’s because it was a good idea but I knew I was going to like I wasn’t just going to slap it together and send it in I knew it was going to require

Like phone calls and thought and um it was actually it really ended up being a fun way to spend a chunk of my December here leading up to Christmas time as I finalized that but it it was I just knew it was going to be like I think that

They throw those things out just think like oh you could just do this off the top of your head but you can’t if you’re doing it the just any justice you really have to weigh the decisions that you can anticipate the management teams will make and you know I’m sure I didn’t I’m

Sure I wouldn’t have got this exactly right whether it’s Doug Armstrong or Ken Holland or whoever ends up putting together Team Canada they they probably might look at this list and go you idiot Johnston so hard we would never with this player or with that pairing or that line or

Whatever well obviously Ronnie we don’t think of you as an idiot you should go check out uh CJ’s uh picks for Canada USA Sweden and Finland before we go back in the day I worked at the Canadian press in the runup to the 2010 uh Olympics and they had me do a Canadian

Men’s roster from at least a year out maybe longer and I I updated it every month and remember once Steve Eisman chiding me about my my choices about that I saw him somewhere like playfully but you know like it’s just funny that the actual you know person in charge of

Uh picking that team was like looking at the roster to see what the media was saying and uh I remember there one specific criticism he told you about that I wish I remember it’s honestly that’s that’s faded with time you know that’s that’s almost 14 years ago crazy

Enough as crazy as that sounds but I just remember him once sort of like it was it was very playful it was not mean-spirited but he was just like yeah you know it’s so much easier I guess to pick this thing in abstract than it is

To be the one who puts your name on the roster and actually has to make the phone calls to the players and try to build the team absolutely we’ll be back on Thursday with a brand new episode of the CJ show in the meantime subscribe to the podcast on Spotify apple or wherever

You listen to podcasts on audio subscribe to the stpn YouTube channel so you can check out our podcast and more podcasts for CJ I’m Julian so long and peace the Chris Johnson show inside the game twice a week Follow Chris on Twitter at reporter Chris and follow Julian Mackenzie at jka McKenzie