RALEIGH, N.C. - The NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off begins on Wednesday night and the Carolina Hurricanes will be represented by four players, dressing for three different countries at the event.
Seth Jarvis will skate for Canada, Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen are set to be a part of Finland's leadership group, and Jaccob Slavin will sport the red, white, and blue of the United States.
In the first best-on-best tournament since the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in Toronto, Jarvis will put on the maple leaf for the first time in his pro career. Snubbed from the World Junior Championship (WJC) team in 2021, Carolina's #24 now gets the last laugh, as no players from that WJC team are on the 4 Nations Rosters.
Aho's appearance will be the first time since 2016-17 when he went bananas during the aforementioned World Cup of Hockey and the IIHF World Championship. The star center put on a show at both tournaments, combining for 37 points in 17 games, and was named the Best Forward at the summer event.
Despite missing the Canes' last game before break due to a lower-body injury, Rantanen, who has played 70:40 with Aho at five-on-five over five games to start their time together in Carolina, appears good to go for Finland. The duo won World Juniors gold together in 2016 and Rantanen was named one of Finland's three best players during his last international outing (2023).
The return to the international stage is one over a decade in the making for Slavin, who has skated for the United States just once in his career. During his time at Colorado College, the trusty defenseman played five games in the 2014 World Junior Championship.
