Florida Panthers star and United States assistant captain Matthew Tkachuk is thrilled for the opportunity to put it all on the line at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.
"I can promise you the players will be engaged," Tkachuk recently told The Athletic's Chris Johnston. "This is not an All-Star Game, that is for sure."
The tournament marks Tkachuk's first opportunity to represent the USA in a best-on-best event at the NHL level. He's only previously represented his country at the junior level.
The 4 Nations Face-Off is the NHL's first best-on-best event since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. The league had an agreement to go to the 2022 Olympics in Beijing but pulled out because of the pandemic.
Tkachuk said he's particularly looking forward to squaring off against Canada. The rivals are scheduled to play each other in their second games of the tournament Feb. 15 in Montreal.
"For us to be able to play in that now, I'm just super excited," Tkachuk said. That U.S.-Canada rivalry is so big. It doesn't get much better than playing them on a Saturday night in Montreal.
"It's going to be amazing."
Tkachuk's defeated Canada in different events as a junior, but he expects a tougher test this time around.
"I don't think they had Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby on those teams that I beat," Tkachuk joked. "So I'm sure it'll be definitely a different challenge."
Tkachuk is one of eight Panthers selected to the tournament but the only American.
