EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Drew Doughty is holding out hope he will be a late addition to Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Canada has yet to name a replacement to its roster after defenseman Alex Pietrangelo of the Vegas Golden Knights withdrew on Jan. 26, and Doughty, the Los Angeles Kings defenseman, has been in contact with Canada's player relations adviser Ryan Getzlaf.
"Very. Very, very, very," Doughty said about his interest level in playing for Canada. "I want to be there."
Doughty made his season debut in a 3-0 loss at the Florida Panthers last Wednesday, playing 23:51 in his first action since breaking his left ankle in a preseason game against the Golden Knights on Sept. 25.
"[Getzlaf] basically just asked if I thought I'd be ready to play at that type of level," Doughty said Tuesday. "There's guys that they're looking at. They're going to watch me to see how my game is, so hopefully I play well enough."
Having ranked in the top four of time on ice per game in nine of the past 10 NHL seasons, including leading the League in total ice time five times, Doughty has played at least 23 minutes in all three games this season. That included 27:43 in a 3-0 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday after defenseman Mikey Anderson sustained an upper-body injury.