TORONTO — Mitch Marner skated alongside Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby this summer in preparation for the season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs winger will get a chance to do it for real in February.
Marner was one of 17 players named Wednesday to round out Canada's 23-man roster for the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off tournament with the league poised to re-enter the international hockey sphere.
"Really looking forward to it," the winger said following Toronto's 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators. "It's gonna be a very cool moment. You always want to wear your colours. It's always a great honour when you get to represent your country."
Linking up with Marner as part of an attack that already featured McDavid, Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand and Brayden Point — five star forwards announced back in June — are Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers along with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Also making the team up front are Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, Travis Konecny of the Philadelphia Flyers and Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes.
The defence corps led by Cale Makar, who was also tabbed in June, will see Colorado Avalanche teammate Devon Toews suit up in red and white, and also include the Vegas duo of Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo, Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets, Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia's Travis Sanheim.
The biggest question mark for Canadian general manager Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins and the rest of the country's hockey brain trust since the selection process began has been in the crease — especially with stud netminders like Carey Price and Roberto Luongo a distant memory.
Canada doesn't have the same goaltending pedigree as at past international events, but head coach Jon Cooper of Tampa will likely lean on Stanley Cup winners Jordan Binnington of the Blues and Adin Hill of the Golden Knights. Sam Montembeault of the Montreal Canadiens rounds out the puck-stopping trio.
"We are thrilled to unveil the group of players who have earned the opportunity to represent Canada," Sweeney said in a statement. "We believe we have assembled a roster that features world-class talent, as well as success at the NHL and international levels.
"We are confident this group will give us the best chance to accomplish our goal on the international stage."
The 4 Nations tournament, which also includes the United States, Sweden and Finland, runs Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston, and will serve as an appetizer for the NHL's Olympic return in 2026.
It's also the closest hockey has got to a best-on-best men's tournament since the 2016 World Cup.
This showcase won't technically meet that threshold with Russia — because of its ongoing war in Ukraine — and reigning world champions Czechia not in the mix. But there should still be plenty of interest with McDavid, Crosby, Leafs captain Auston Matthews of the U.S. and a host of other big names finally sharing the ice on the world stage.
"It's been a long time since we've seen NHL players in these kind of settings," said Matthews, who was named to his country's roster in June.
"Great for the game, great for the fans."
The NHL, which went to five straight Olympics between 1998 and 2014, announced at last season's all-star game that players would participate at the next two Games after the league skipped 2018 for business reasons and missed out in 2022 due to COVID-19.
"It's a pretty good precursor to the Olympics the following year," Matthews added. "I think everybody's very excited. "
The goal of the NHL and NHL Players' Association is hold a World Cup with an expanded field in both 2028 and 2032 to get international events on a two-year cycle moving forward.
Canada opens the 4 Nations on Feb. 12 against Sweden at Montreal's Bell Centre before facing the U.S. in the same building three nights later, with Marner and Matthews going toe-to-toe for the first time in their careers.
"Everybody's got depth, everybody's got great players, star power," Matthews said. "In these kinds of settings, in my experience, it's just the team that's able to gel together the quickest usually that has the most success."
The tournament then moves to Boston, where the Canadians meet Finland on Feb 17.
The countries with the two best records after the round robin will battle in the Feb. 20 final at TD Garden.
"It's gonna be crazy," Marner said. "All four teams are stacked. It's gonna be a great tournament. I'm super excited and super honoured that I get the privilege."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2024.
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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
