It’s possible this fall Golden Knights fans will openly root against their Stanley Cup winning head coach (I know I will be). On Wednesday, Bruce Cassidy was named an assistant coach of Team Canada for the upcoming 2025 4 Nations Face Off. Cassidy will join a star-studded staff led by Tampa’s head coach Jon Cooper. This will be the second time the Golden Knights head coach has been on Team Canada’s bench dating back to the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games. Canada finished 6th in the international tournament.
I am excited to welcome Bruce, Peter, Misha, Rick and James to the coaching staff for the 4 Nations Face-Off, as this is a highly skilled group of coaches that bring impressive accolades and experience at all levels of the game. I know our players will greatly benefit from this world-class coaching staff, and I look forward to working alongside all five and representing Canada in international competition in February. -Jon Cooper, Team Canada head coach
The 4 Nations Face Off is set to start in February with games being held in Boston and Toronto. Vegas’ top center Jack Eichel was invited to participate with Team USA, which will make for some fun ribbing amongst the Cup winning coach and player. However, for nine days Cassidy and Eichel will be on opposite sides of the ice. In all likelihood, so will the locker room.
You want to be confident, you want to like your chances. I think we’re going to like the group we put on the ice. With that being said, Canada, Finland and Sweden are all super competitive with great hockey players. It’s going to be very interesting and important for the teams to come together quickly, figure out what their identity is going to be and try and play that as much as they can. -Jack Eichel, Team United States
(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
Vegas is comprised of one Czech, three Swedes, three Russians, four Americans and twelve Canadians. There’s a good chance they’ll be some friendly wagering going across the organization.
This is going to be the first time in my professional career to represent the United States in a best-on-best tournament. I had a chance to play in the World Cup but represented Team North America. I am really excited about it; I think it’s a really cool format and it’s going to be great for the game and great for the fans. -Jack Eichel, Team United States
The 4 Nations Face Off rosters have yet to be finalized and it’s possible more Golden Knights will have the honor of participating in the league’s newest tournament. Adin Hill, William Karlsson, Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore are all under consideration to represent their respective nations. So far, VGK has two current representatives in Cassidy and Eichel and two former coaches Pete DeBoer and Misha Donskov. February’s 4 Nations Face Off will be a nice preview for the NHL’s return to the Winter Olympic games in 2026. It’s possible one or more players from Vegas leave Italy with an Olympic Gold medal.
