The climb toward a gold medal for the US and Canada began long ago

MILAN — When organizers designed the 4 Nations Face-Off to be played in February 2025, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said the intent was for it to serve as an appetizer for hockey at the Olympics.

What it turned out to be, beyond a smashing success that put the sport firmly in the limelight, was a blueprint for the U.S. and Canada to build their rosters. The tournament was the first in international play to feature the best in the world in nearly a decade. The lessons learned informed what USA Hockey and Hockey Canada did over the past year.

It worked, with the U.S. and Canada advancing to Sunday's gold medal game, a rematch of the final of the 4 Nations. Canada won that in overtime and put the two teams on a crash course for a rematch. It's not a two-team tournament and there was no guarantee they'd play, but now a lot of the big decisions on either side will be tested, once and for all.

“We didn’t build our team just to play Canada,” U.S. general manager Bill Guerin said. "We built the best team possible. We feel that we built the best team possible. We did that with us in mind. We’re worried about us, not anybody else.”

Guerin and his group opted to bring back forwards like Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller who could kill penalties and defend. Left at home were four of the top 10 American scorers in the league: Jason Robertson, Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield and Alex DeBrincat.

The U.S. wanted players who could do specific jobs and also be versatile to move around the lineup, with coach Mike Sullivan making changes along the way.

“One of the things that we’ve tried to do is cast these guys in roles where they know what the expectations are and the contribution that they can make to help us have success,” Sullivan said.

Canada brought six new players who were not at 4 Nations, and injuries to Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli cleared the way for Sam Bennett and Seth Jarvis. One of the newcomers is 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini, who has turned heads since he was an NHL rookie in the fall of 2024.

“I didn’t even know I was on the radar or even in the conversation,” Celebrini said. “When (GM Doug Armstrong) brought that to my attention, it was a little bit of a push and excitement —- just a little bit more of something that I can look forward to and work to.”

Celebrini has been one of Canada's best players with 10 points, behind only tournament leader and teammate Connor McDavid (13).

“He’s got a lot of skill and a lot of confidence,” winger Mitch Marner said. “He’s not afraid of the big moments.”

Another new addition, Nick Suzuki, scored the tying goal when Canada trailed with under four minutes left in the quarterfinals. Tom Wilson started on right wing with Celebrini and McDavid and has brought size, physicality — and even fisticuffs — to the Olympics.

Canada changed out two goaltenders, picking Logan Thompson and Darcy Kuemper this time, but Cooper always had Jordan Binnington written in as the starter. Cooper made up his mind immediately after Binnington backstopped Canada to the win at 4 Nations, and the 32-year-old netminder's play over his first four starts validated that decision.

“You don’t have to be a scout to see what he did in the Stanley Cup (Final), what he did in the 4 Nations, and there’s a massive belief,” Armstrong said. “When players see that time and time again, that’s just a foundation that they know that, ‘OK, when push comes to shove, we have faith in this guy,’ and I think that’s where they are with Binner.”

The U.S. has relied primarily on Connor Hellebuyck, who starred at the 4 Nations and is the reigning NHL MVP and Vezina Trophy winner as the league’s best goalie. Just as Binnington knows the Americans who will be trying to score on him, Hellebuyck knows the star-studded roster of Team Canada well.

“He’s won a lot of trophies,” winger Jake Guentzel said. “We feel good with him back there.”