February 10, 2025 by Eric Friesen

Connor McDavid has waited nearly a decade for this opportunity.

After missing out on the Winter Olympics in 2018 and 2022, McDavid will finally have the chance to don the red maple lead in best-on-best competition at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off. The NHL-sanctioned international tournament featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States will take place from February 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

McDavid was one of the first six players selected to Team Canada last June, along with Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Brad Marchand and Brayden Point. The 28-year-old was also named one of Canada’s alternate captains on January 30.

While the Olympics is the pinnacle of international ice hockey, McDavid is still eager to represent his country on home soil for the first time since 2015, and help promote the sport over the next two weeks.

“I think [the 4 Nations Face-Off] will be kind of prequel to what’s to come,” McDavid told nhl.com on October 24, 2024. “Kind of dipping our toe back into international play with the Olympics to follow the next year. I think it’s a great opportunity for the four countries to put on a great show and continue to grow the game and show what’s to come in the years to come for international play.”

McDavid has represented Canada at the 2013 IIHF U18 World Championship (gold), 2014 and 2015 (gold) World Junior Championship and 2016 (gold) and 2018 IIHF World Championship. McDavid holds the distinction of being the youngest player in history to win gold at the IIHF World U18 Championship, World Junior Championship and the World Championship (19 years and 130 days). He also played for the Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Without a full training camp, nor any exhibition games to develop chemistry, it’s crucial for Team Canada to make the most of the two on-ice sessions they get ahead of the first game against Team Sweden at the Bell Centre on Wednesday night. McDavid, who is no stranger to playing with high-end skill on the Oilers, enjoyed sharing the ice with other elite players from across the league on Day 1 with the national team.

“Yeah, it was really fun,” said McDavid said following practice on Monday. “A really high pace and a lot of skill on the ice. It was really, really fun to be a part of.”

The Newmarket, Ontario native skated on a line with Sam Reinhart and Mitch Marner during Team Canada’s first practice in Brossard, Quebec. McDavid and Reinhart have previously been teammates on the international stage four times at both the junior and senior level, while this is the first time the Oilers’ captain has ever played with Marner.

Though Canada has an embarrassment of riches up front, the trio of McDavid, Reinhart and Marner has the potential to be the most dangerous line in the 4 Nations Face-Off. McDavid and Marner are two of only three players in the tournament to crack 70 points so far this season, and Reinhart is one of just four players at the event to pot 30 goals in 2024-25.

“Two amazing players,” said McDavid. “Reinhart, obviously, scores a lot of goals. He has a great shot and he’s so smart. Mitch is obviously the playmaker and kind of plays up high in the offensive zone. It’s definitely a good mix, and it’s fun to be out there with them. I think we’re just trying to get a little bit of a base down – how it’s going to feel, what it’s like out there together, so I thought it was a good first day.”

Head Coach Jon Cooper knows Reinhart and Marner’s respective games well, having coached against them in the Atlantic Division for the better part of a decade. Cooper feels confident that putting those two superstars on the top line with the world’s best player gives Canada a clear advantage whenever they step on the ice.

“You’ve got speed, you’ve got brains, and you got guys that can shoot it in the net,” said Cooper. “You hand me a line like that, I’ll take my chances.”

Not only will this be McDavid’s first time playing for Canada in best-on-best hockey, it will also be his first time skating alongside his childhood hero Crosby. It’s unknown whether we’ll see these two generational talents play on the same line in this tournament, but they will both be key fixtures on the top power-play unit.

Hockey fans were robbed of seeing No. 97 and No. 87 play together at the past two Olympics, as well as the most recent World Cup of Hockey, due to the creation of the 23-and-under North American squad. But, now, after 10 years of playing against each other in the NHL, McDavid and Crosby will finally suit up for the same side.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be his teammate,” McDavid told nhl.com on January 13. “To be on the same ice with him, be on the power-play with him, maybe be on a line with him, whatever it may be, just to get the opportunity to play on his team, it’s just so exciting.”