San Jose Sharks have one representative at 4 Nations Face-Off
The San Jose Sharks will have one player participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off, as forward Mikael Granlund was chosen to represent Finland at the best-on-best event in February.
The versatile and experienced Granlund leads the Sharks with 29 points in 26 games this season and also leads all of the team’s forwards in average time on ice (20:51).
Granlund, 32, has represented Finland in international play several times, most recently at the IIHF World Championships in Czechia earlier this year.
The 23-man rosters for Finland, Sweden, the United States, and Canada were revealed Wednesday. All rosters had to be submitted by Monday.
No Sharks player was included on the American, Canadian, or Swedish rosters.
A published report out of Sweden earlier this week indicated that Sharks forward William Eklund, a Stockholm native with 23 points in 27 games this season, would be one of the country’s 13 forwards. However, Eklund, 22, and Fabian Zetterlund, 25, were left off the team.
Ex-Sharks players who made Sweden’s roster were defenseman Erik Karlsson, now with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Nashville Predators forward Gus Nyquist.
The Swedish team includes Anaheim Ducks forward Leo Carlsson, who will turn 20 later this month, but it is mainly comprised of veterans.
“We’ve got a few really good young players that did not make the roster, but we decided with the short tournament — basically do or die games, every single one of them — we went with a little more experienced group,” Sweden general manager Josef Boumedienne said Wednesday on a conference call.
Granlund’s inclusion on the Finland roster for this event bodes well for his chances of also making the country’s Olympic team for the 2026 Winter Games in Italy. Finland general manager Jere Lehtinen told The Athletic in October that players who have a good showing at the 4 Nations will boost their chances of making the Olympic roster.
The Sharks (10-13-5) have 29 games left before the start of the 4 Nations Face-Off, starting with their next game on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The 4 Nations Face-Off will be played at the Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston. Seven games will be played over nine days from Feb. 12-20, along with two designated training/practice days (Feb. 10 and 11).
All 4 Nations Face-Off games will be played following NHL rules.
Each team will play three tournament games in a traditional Round-Robin format, using the following points system: three points for a win in regulation time, two points for a win in overtime/shootout, one point for a loss in overtime/shootout, and no points for a loss in regulation time. The two teams with the best tournament record will advance to a one-game final in Boston on Feb. 20.
Finland will play the United States on Feb. 13 and Sweden on Feb. 15, with both games in Montreal, and face Canada on Feb. 17 in Boston.