Ranking the top 10 players making best-on-best debuts at 4 Nations
It's been over eight years since there was a best-on-best men's international hockey tournament, so there's no shortage of superstars playing in an event of this magnitude for the first time.
Some of the NHL's best players were just starting their careers when the World Cup of Hockey took place in Toronto in September 2016, and some of them weren't even in the league yet.
The term "best-on-best" describes an event such as the Olympics, the World Cup of Hockey, or this 4 Nations Face-Off that features full rosters made up of the game's top talent. The World Championship occurs simultaneously with the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so that tourney doesn't get the cream of the crop.
Quinn Hughes would've ranked No. 1 on our list had he been able to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off, but he pulled out of the tourney Sunday due to injury.
Here are the 10 most talented players getting their first cracks at best-on-best competition.
10. Mitch Marner ๐จ๐ฆ
Marner is often overlooked on a Toronto Maple Leafs squad that includes Auston Matthews and a certain Swede who's also on this list. But the Canadian winger leads his NHL club by significant margins in assists and points this season. The 27-year-old is on pace to surpass the 100-point plateau in a campaign for the first time after narrowly falling short with 97 and 99 in 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively.
Even though he hasn't yet taken part in best-on-best action, Marner has worn the Red and White on several occasions. He won gold representing Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2014, and he was part of a sixth-place entry at the world juniors two years later. Marner collected four goals and eight assists in 10 games as Canada took home silver at the World Championship in 2017.
9. Brayden Point ๐จ๐ฆ
Point somehow remains one of the NHL's most underrated players. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward routinely puts up big numbers and posted a 51-goal, 95-point season in 2022-23, followed immediately by 46 and 90. He continues to thrive even after Steven Stamkos' departure to Nashville and clinched the fifth 30-goal campaign of his nine-year career Saturday night.
The Calgary-born center has played for Canada a half-dozen times. He helped the nation win gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2013 and the World Junior Championship in 2015. Point also buried four goals in 10 games when Canada won silver at the World Championship in 2017.
8. Sam Reinhart ๐จ๐ฆ
Reinhart exploded for 57 goals and 94 points last season after posting a pair of 30-plus-goal campaigns. He's on pace for 45 tallies in 2024-25, and he's relying much less on power-play goals than he did for his career-high output in 2023-24. The Florida Panthers forward benefits from playing alongside Aleksander Barkov, but the Canadian clearly possesses plenty of talent.
Reinhart is the oldest player on this list at 29, but he wasn't chosen for the 2016 World Cup as a 20-year-old. He had just begun his career with the Buffalo Sabres. The British Columbia-born winger does, however, have a decorated history of representing Canada. He's won five medals, including gold at the Under-18 World Championship, the world juniors, and the World Championship.
7. Zach Werenski ๐บ๐ธ
Werenski often gets overlooked in discussions of the league's most valuable players, but the Columbus Blue Jackets rearguard has been one of the best at his position in 2024-25. He has already surpassed the career-high point total he established last season with 59 in 55 games, and he leads all Columbus skaters in assists and points in this campaign.
The 27-year-old suited up for the United States in five previous events, including two World Junior Championships and two go-arounds at the Worlds.
6. William Nylander ๐ธ๐ช
Nylander has been potent in recent years. He racked up precisely 40 goals in both of the previous two NHL seasons and is on pace for 49 in 2024-25 while posting a point per game. The Maple Leafs forward, who turns 29 on May 1, notched a personal-best 98 points in the last campaign and has excelled in the playoffs despite his team's postseason woes.
The Canadian-born Swede has only ever played for the Tre Kronor, and he's done it in eight previous tournaments. He notched 12 goals and 20 assists in 18 contests over two World Championships, and he helped Sweden win gold at the event in 2017. However, he hasn't played internationally since the 2019 Worlds.
5. Kyle Connor ๐บ๐ธ
Connor has been even more consistent than Nylander. The Winnipeg Jets winger has collected at least 30 tallies in all of his seven full NHL seasons, along with a 26-goal effort while playing all 56 games in the abbreviated 2021 campaign.
The 28-year-old American has buried at least 30 goals in three straight seasons, including the current one, after racking up 47 in 2021-22. Connor also logs heavy minutes. He averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time in three of his eight previous campaigns and is doing so again in 2024-25. Internationally, he helped the USA win gold at the Under-18 Worlds in 2014 and represented his country at the World Championship two years later.
4. Matthew Tkachuk ๐บ๐ธ
Tkachuk authored back-to-back seasons of at least 40 goals and 100 points in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and finished third in MVP voting in the latter campaign. He's in the midst of what would be his fourth straight point-per-game season, but Tkachuk's contributions are about far more than offensive numbers. The 27-year-old provides an unparalleled combination of skill and snarl, with an uncanny ability to get under his opponents' skin.
He delivers in the playoffs, too. Tkachuk posted 22 points, including six goals, across 24 games while helping the Panthers win the Stanley Cup last season, and he registered 24 points over 20 games during their run to the final one year earlier. The gritty forward has played for the U.S. in three international tournaments, winning gold at the Under-18 Worlds in 2015. He last wore the Red, White, and Blue while claiming bronze at the world juniors one year later.
3. Jack Hughes ๐บ๐ธ
Hughes was only 15 years old during the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, so it's by no fault of his own that the youngest player on this list has never played in a tourney like the 4 Nations Face-Off. The New Jersey Devils center set a franchise record with 99 points in 78 games as a 21-year-old in 2022-23 and produced at a 98-point pace the following season with 74 in 62 contests. He's nearly matching that rate in 2024-25.
Despite being too young for previous best-on-best competition, Hughes has represented the U.S. a handful of times. He was named MVP of the Under-18 Worlds in 2018 and broke Alex Ovechkin's goal-scoring record in the same tourney one year later. Hughes also became the youngest player to suit up for Team USA at the World Championship when he began the event as a 17-year-old just days before his 18th birthday in May 2019.
2. Mikko Rantanen ๐ซ๐ฎ
Don't be fooled by Rantanen's struggles with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Finnish winger was caught off guard when the Colorado Avalanche sent him east in a late-January blockbuster, and he's also been dealing with an injury.
Rantanen remains one of the best playmakers in the world and boasts a sterling track record. He's coming off back-to-back seasons with over 100 points, and he's on pace to approach triple digits in 2024-25 despite his early woes with the Canes.
This will be Rantanen's 10th time representing Finland, which is pretty impressive for a 28-year-old. He's played in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, the Under-18 World Championship, as well as two trips to the world juniors and four World Championships.
1. Cale Makar ๐จ๐ฆ
Makar isn't just one of the league's best defensemen. He's been one of the NHL's best players, period, since he arrived in 2019-20. The 26-year-old Avalanche dynamo has a Calder Trophy, a Norris Trophy, and a Stanley Cup ring. He's been a finalist for the Norris in four of his previous five seasons and will surely finish in the top two for the honor this spring.
Makar has amassed arcade-like offensive numbers for a player at his position and set career highs with 69 assists and 90 points last season. The Calgary-born blue-liner also perennially shoulders a heavy workload. He's averaged nearly 25 minutes of ice time in his career and almost 26 minutes so far in 2024-25.
The Colorado rearguard has only played for Canada at one major tournament aside from a pair of stints with the Canada West squad at the World Junior A Challenge. Makar helped his country take home gold at the 2018 World Junior Championship. Hockey Canada reportedly invited the then-UMass phenom to play in the Olympics about a month later, but he declined.