The Four Nations faceoff has been arguably the best success the NHL has had in putting together an international best-on-best tournament in at least a decade.
Unfortunately though, there are a couple of the best players in the world who did not get to participate.
Obviously, all the players not from one of the four participating countries didn't get to play, but even some of Canada and America's top stars missed out.
One of those stars is Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes who will not be playing in the final unless something drastic changes.
Hughes was selected for Team USA, but an injury kept him off the roster at the last minute.
For Canada, they have gone the tournament without 19-year-old superstar Connor Bedard.
Unlike Hughes, Bedard was never chosen to represent the team in the first place.
Despite 16 goals and 49 points through 55 games with the 31st-place Blackhawks this season, Team Canada felt that his game was not rounded out enough to be relied upon in the event.
This makes sense considering the criticisms Bedard has faced this season.
That being said, this does not mean that Bedard isn't sad he missed the cut.
Today he told reporters that he has been watching all the games and is proud of the performance his countrymen have put up so far.
He added that he wanted to play for Canada. He emphasized that playing for your country is a big deal, and everyone in the NHL not currently playing in the tournament probably wishes they were.
Perhaps Bedard will make Team Canada in 2026 for the Winter Olympics, or 2028 for the next World Cup of Hockey. Until then, we will just have to enjoy watching him in the NHL.
G | A | PTS | ||
Tom Wilson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Alexander Ovechkin | - | 3 | 3 | |
Brendan Gallagher | 2 | - | 2 | |
Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Josh Doan | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Pierre-Luc Dubois | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Dylan Guenther | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Victor Hedman | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Jack McBain | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Dylan Strome | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Jake Guentzel | - | 2 | 2 | |
Brandon Hagel | - | 2 | 2 | |
Michael Carcone | 1 | - | 1 | |
Christian Dvorak | 1 | - | 1 | |
Zemgus Girgensons | 1 | - | 1 | |
Nick Paul | 1 | - | 1 | |
Brayden Point | 1 | - | 1 | |
Cam Atkinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
John Carlson | - | 1 | 1 | |
Nick Desimone | - | 1 | 1 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 56 | 39 | 14 | 3 | 81 | |
Capitals | 55 | 36 | 11 | 8 | 80 | |
Oilers | 55 | 34 | 17 | 4 | 72 | |
Stars | 55 | 35 | 18 | 2 | 72 | |
Golden Knights | 56 | 33 | 17 | 6 | 72 | |
Panthers | 57 | 34 | 20 | 3 | 71 | |
Hurricanes | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | |
Wild | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | |
Maple Leafs | 55 | 33 | 20 | 2 | 68 | |
Avalanche | 57 | 33 | 22 | 2 | 68 | |
Conference | Cumulative |