• Loading stock data...
Tuesday, October 7, 2025

NHL Showcasing Its Young Stars in 4 Nations Face-Off

The NHL’s youngest players have already made their mark on 4 Nations Face-Off. Their faster, flashier brand of hockey will be the key to the NHL’s future.

Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) skates with the puck during the second period in a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game against Team Finland at TD Garden
Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images

The speed, intensity, and precision of 4 Nations Face-Off has already been everything the fans, league, and players had hoped for. The game’s veteran stars including Sidney Crosby and Brad Marchand have tallied points and highlight-reel moments, but the tournament has been marked by the high level of play of its youngest stars, including Connor McDavid, the Tkachuck brothers, Mitch Marner, Sebastian Aho, and Matt Boldy. 

These players have been critical to the success of the one-off international best-on-best tournament replacing the 2025 All-Star Game. But the future of the NHL is also in their hands. 

The league well knows some of its brightest stars will hang up their skates in the next few years, including 37-year-old Crosby, 39-year-old Alex Ovechkin, and 40-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury. (This is something the NBA is facing as well: LeBron James is 40, and Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook are all 36.) The upcoming generation will need to carry the torch for both the NHL and hockey at large in a way unique to today’s on-ice product and fandom. 

The league has used 4 Nations Face-Off to begin leaning on this vanguard of talent. 

In Montréal, these stars’ faces plastered the city; leading up to the event, both ESPN and the NHL thrust them onto broadcasts and social media to explain the tournament and build anticipation in interviews and memes. But even before 4 Nations Face-Off, the league has already gone hard to shift focus to young players and the modern brand of hockey they play that’s faster and flashier.

Casey Hall, the NHL’s SVP of marketing and innovation, says there’s a different product on the ice in the past decade that has changed the face of the game, and opened the door to beckon a new wave of fans. “Eliminating the two-line pass, really getting tight on how we call clutching and grabbing really allows skill and speed to showcase itself,” he says. “It took a little bit of time for players in the league to adjust. And what we’re seeing now … is this group of players who grew up playing the game that way,” he says. 

Hall has led the NHL’s “Golden Era Is Now” viral media campaign, including “Tricky,” which premiered leading up to 4 Nations Face-Off and features players including Matthew Tkachuk and William Nylander one-upping each other on trick shots. The spot leads with the “Michigan” goal from 19-year-old Connor Bedard, one of the game’s biggest stars—the kind of move that’s primed to dazzle.

“There’s so much skill in our games now, and you see it even more throughout younger generations,” 23-year old Boldy of Team USA, who plays regular-season hockey with the Minnesota Wild, told FOS at 4 Nations Face-Off in Montréal. “It’s just so natural for them, so I think that skill level is definitely climbing, which makes things a little bit more exciting.”

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly tells FOS, “There could be any number of players from any of the teams who could kind of raise that profile in and of themselves with their sheer skill. This can benefit not only those players and their teams … but also the National Hockey League.”

The league is looking far into the future: Hall says fans as young as Gen Alpha are part of the growth calculus. In the present, the NHL is enjoying dividends as a huge swath of eyes are on the young players of 4 Nations Face-Off. Canadian fans in the Bell Centre erupted when McDavid netted the first goal in Saturday’s game, and the youth-stacked U.S. and Canada teams will rematch in what should be a contentious—and potentially record-viewership—final. 

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Maverick Carter, LeBron James
exclusive

New International Basketball League Plans Launch, Without Maverick Carter

The venture plans to launch men’s and women’s leagues next fall.
Oct 4, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive back DeShon Singleton (8) celebrates after making an interception during the game against Michigan State at Memorial Stadium.
exclusive

Big Ten Considering Investment From California Pension Fund

In the proposed deal, the Big Ten would spin off assets into a new entity.

NHL Skates Into Season With Record Revenue, Rising Cap, and Labor Peace

The new season begins after a productive and historic summer.
Oct 4, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys outside linebacker Poasa Ute (35) and Wendell Gregory (4) celebrate during the third quarter of the game against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium.
exclusive

New Bill Aims to Prohibit Athletic Department, Conference Private-Equity Deals

The bill would bar schools from selling ownership stakes.

Featured Today

Paul Cartier

Sports Organists Are Still Thriving in the Era of Raucous Arena Music

“When they walk out and they see a real organ guy, it’s like, ‘Wow.’”
Sep 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio (11) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field.
October 4, 2025

Milwaukee Moneyball: Brewers Are Beating MLB’s Deeper Pockets

Milwaukee is holding its own against big-budget competitors.
Kōloa Rum Company Rum Rusher
September 27, 2025

Panthers Bubbly, Jets Wine, Manning Whiskey: The Sports Booze Boom

A sommelier dives into the sports booze trend—and tries Jets wine.
Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers fans wave Terrible Towels against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium
September 26, 2025

Steelers’ Irish Roots Are Deeper Than NFL Dublin Game

The Steelers have history and the foundation for a future in Ireland.
Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift Explains Why She Isn’t Playing Super Bowl Halftime

She said she’s “too locked in” on Travis Kelce’s season to perform.
Scott Foster
October 6, 2025

NBA Refs Testing Earpieces in Preseason Games

The technology won’t be used in the regular season yet.
UFL Football
October 7, 2025

UFL Moving Three Teams to Soccer Stadiums in Columbus, Orlando, and Louisville

The UFL is moving its teams to smaller stadiums.
Sponsored

How Jenny Just Is Shaping the Future of Sports Ownership

Jenny Just on bringing her investment experience to sports ownership.
Soccer
October 6, 2025

UEFA ‘Reluctantly’ Approves LaLiga, Serie A Matches Abroad

The matches need final approval from FIFA.
Jul 19, 2019; South Bend, IN, USA; Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk (4) passes the ball in the second half of a preseason preparation soccer match against the Borussia Dortmund at Notre Dame.
October 6, 2025

Liverpool’s $598M Gamble Looks Pretty Average on the Pitch—So Far

Liverpool struggles after historic offseason spending and lofty expectations.
October 6, 2025

NFL London Fans Get Partial Refunds After Ticket App Glitches

Fans experienced delays entering the Vikings-Browns game.
October 5, 2025

Bad Bunny, U.S. Officials Trade Barbs Over Super Bowl Halftime Show

DHS Secretary Noem attacks the choice, while Bad Bunny responds on SNL.