Brandon Hagel fires up Team Canada at 4 Nations Face-Off
(Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire)

Exhilarating. There aren’t many words that can describe what we just witnessed with this brand-new iteration of international best-on-best hockey, but exhilarating is probably the most appropriate.

Here’s my breakdown of the 4 Nations Face-Off, from initial skepticism to record-breaking viewership, as well as a look at what’s next for international hockey.

Initial Skepticism and Concerns

Now, I’ll be the first to admit, and I know many other people out there are also guilty of this, but expectations going into this new in-season tournament were low, extremely low. It felt manufactured, advertisements felt forced, and the overall concept just felt hollow. It was almost like a distraction from the ongoing issue of NHL players still not having represented their countries on the grandest scale in the Olympics for over a decade.

I personally doubted how much the players would even buy in to this tournament. But man, were all the doubters wrong. Both the league and its players made us eat our words and quickly put any and all possible concerns and critiques to rest. The 4 Nations Face-Off proved to be nothing short of incredible.

Ticket Pricing Issues

Now, that’s not to say there weren’t signs early on that were a cause for concern. Ticket sales weren’t looking too good in the weeks before the tournament as sales struggled with noticeably hundreds upon hundreds of unsold seats, where most of the complaints were cost-related. Just for the round-robin game between Canada and the U.S., upper bowl seats reached a peak of over $400 CAD each, while lower bowl seats reached a peak of an outrageous $2200 CAD.

Bell Centre 4 Nations Face-Off
The Bell Centre, home of the 4 Nations Face-Off. (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire)

So clearly, the barrier of entry was anything but fan-friendly, and this was before we even knew what product we would be getting on the ice. Luckily, however, the product on the ice did not disappoint and, if anything, probably exceeded everyone’s expectations. Little did we know what was in store, specifically regarding the aforementioned Canada vs. USA round-robin game.

Canada vs. USA: An Electric Rivalry

Everyone knew going into this game that Canada and the U.S. would put on a show, as the rivalry has never, ever disappointed. And given the current unfortunate political climate, there was definitely an expectation of a passionate battle on the ice. But I don’t think anyone could have predicted the utter chaos that ensued between these two countries, quite literally the second the game started.

As everyone is probably aware by now, right away barely two whole seconds into the game, American forward Matthew Tkachuk and Canadian forward Brandon Hagel dropped the gloves. Then, literally just one second after that scrap, Matthew’s younger brother Brady Tkachuk dropped the gloves with Canadian forward Sam Bennett. And of course, just 6 seconds after that, we had a third tilt between American forward J.T. Miller and Canadian defenseman Colton Parayko. Three fights in nine seconds.

The roof practically blew off the Bell Centre as everyone in attendance could barely believe what they were witnessing. Arguably the most chaotic yet simultaneously exciting and awesome start to an international hockey game ever.

Even beyond the fighting, the hits were massive and vicious, the goals were thrilling, and the saves were huge. That round-robin game between Canada and the USA was nothing short of jaw-dropping in all the best ways.

Record-Breaking Viewership

Viewership for the game totaled over 10 million, and it was the most watched non-Stanley Cup final NHL game since 2014. Which speaks to just how massive this tournament turned out to be.

The match garnered attention and conversation from all over, and that transcended not only the league but arguably the continent. It became the talking point of sports fans everywhere, especially from other major leagues in North America, and it set up an incredible stage for the 4 Nations Championship game, where Canada was once again victorious over their neighbors to the south.

ESPN reported Friday that the championship game on their network garnered more viewers than any NHL game, ever. When it comes to growing the game, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Success Beyond the Canada-US Rivalry

Of course, the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off spreads far beyond just the reigniting of the Canada vs. U.S. rivalry. Every single game played was exciting and highly competitive with every team leaving it all on the ice. It’s safe to say every player in this tournament bought in, and in turn, so did the fans.

At the very least, if nothing else, it was a monumental upgrade in the entertainment department over NHL All-Star weekend. It has seemingly been going steadily downhill in popularity for several years now.

The Decline of NHL All-Star Weekend

A prime example of how the NHL All-Star weekend has completely lost its way was seen last season during the Skills Competition. How can we forget when Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov had his turn in the stickhandling challenge, where he not only brought zero intensity or excitement to the event, but was absolutely dogging it. He sloppily completed the challenge with the worst score of all and was hilariously booed by the crowd for his efforts, or should I say lack thereof.

Yeah, the NHL All-Star game is not in a good place right now, and hasn’t been for a long time. This makes the success of this pivot to the 4 Nations Face-Off championship all the more significant. It was really just a breath of fresh air for NHL hockey fans, and that was proven by the engagement all over social media, along with television ratings and viewership numbers.

What’s Next for International Hockey

The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off sets the table for the NHL players to finally, after 12 long years, return to the Winter Olympics. Which they will soon have the chance to do next year at the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy. After that, the NHL already announced that the World Cup of Hockey would be returning in 2028 for the first time since 2016. So, there will be no shortage of international best-on-best hockey in the coming years.

As for when the next 4 Nations Face-Off will take place? That has yet to be announced by the NHL, as there is currently no word on when the tournament will return. However, with NHL players finally being able to return to the Olympics and represent their countries on the grandest stage of all, NHL fans and hockey fans worldwide have plenty to look forward to. And in the meantime, hopefully the NHL can work some more magic and revive All-Star weekend, getting it to a more enjoyable state as it once was.