4 NATIONS: Ekholm excited for challenge of defending McDavid on international stage

MONTREAL, QC – Edmonton Oilers teammates Connor McDavid, Viktor Arvidsson and Mattias Ekholm all said their “goodbyes” and “good lucks” on the plane before each of them turned over their priorities to their respective countries for the 4 Nations Face-Off – two of them being teammates on Team Sweden, who open against Team Canada in the tournament opener on Wednesday night.

For the next two weeks, all Oilers loyalties will be checked at the plane door.

The trio of Oilers skaters all boarded a plane together this past weekend in Edmonton bound for the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal, where their duties to their respective countries in a best-on-best tournament will overrule their club responsibilities as teammates chasing a Stanley Cup championship.

The teammates exchanged handshakes and pleasantries for the last time before they’re back on a flight to Philadelphia after the tournament to regroup with their Oilers counterparts for their lengthy five-game Eastern road trip coming out of the break.

Until then, McDavid and Ekholm & Arvidsson are rivals with only one goal in mind: winning the 4 Nations Face-Off for their countries.

“Yeah, incredibly important to each other back home. But as you said, ultimately, we're here to do a job, and we're not on the same team here,” McDavid said on Tuesday.

“I'm going to have to be on top of my game, and everybody that's out there against him is going to have to do that,” Ekholm said on Monday. “But at the end of the day, he's the best in the world. We know that, but we're going to have to focus on our team and what we're doing.”

McDavid – the game’s greatest player and the focal point of a star-studded lineup for Team Canada – will prove a tall order to defend for Ekholm, Arvidsson and Team Sweden, who’ll have the challenge of fending off the Red & White as members of the ‘Tre Kronor’ in Wednesday night’s opening match inside the partisan Bell Centre in Montreal.

Ekholm expects a tough battle between Canada and Sweden and doesn’t foresee either him or McDavid holding off against one another when push comes to shove, and he trusts there’s going to be a lot of that and a lot of those situations.

Having been a teammate of McDavid’s for nearly two years now, the 34-year-old blueliner is hoping to lean on his experience defending rushes and competing in corner battles against him during practice, along with nearly eight seasons as a member of the Nashville Predators from 2015 to 2023.

“That's just what it is. I'm going to battle for the puck with them, and I'm not going to want to lose that battle whatsoever, and I know he is the exact same way,” Ekholm said. “It's going to be special for sure.

"I haven't played against him obviously since I got to Edmonton, and I haven't had a chance in a long time to play against him. But he's obviously the best player in the world, and I see him every day in practice, so hopefully there's some muscle memory of some of the things that he does.”

McDavid reciprocated those feelings felt by Ekholm, saying it comes with the territory of playing at the peak of their profession. They may still be Oilers teammates, but for now, they're all just one of the opposition they're going to be tasked with stopping.

"He plays a hard game. I would expect him to play me hard. I'm going to go at him too," McDavid said. "It's the nature of the business, and we're here on different sides. That's just the way it is."

Above all, Ekholm doesn't want to get caught in any situations that play into McDavid's advantages.

"I think he's so good at taking what you give him, so there's no real script," he said. "How do you play defense against him? He's so good, so dynamic, so explosive that you just got to make sure you're on your toes and do your best. Try not to get into foot races and stuff; that's usually not going to end well. He's a hell of a player."

There are also the other 21 supremely-talented players on Canada’s roster that will make his job even harder, including defending a power play that will boast the likes of McDavid, Crosby, MacKinnon, Reinhart and Makar.

"They got 22 of that kind of players on their roster, and so do most of these teams," Ekholm said. "It's best on best. It's amazing. It's so much fun, so hopefully, we can be a good team out there and get a good start."

Ekholm and Arvidsson feel strongly about the skill that Sweden possesses and their ability to challenge Canada, starting with a strong team cohesion that's been built up through a lot of long-lasting connections as former teammates at both the international and NHL level.

"It's awesome to meet everybody again and play on the same team," Ekholm said. "It's huge, and it's fun to do it with the best friends that you have in the business, so it's going to be a fun experience, and I think it's good for everybody. Everybody's been waiting for it, so it's going to be fun."