It’ll be a while before we find out the full rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off and if any of the Flyers' players make the cut. But we know that someone from the organization will be a part of it.
John Tortorella was named an assistant coach for Team USA. He will work alongside Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes and Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach David Quinn. The three will be working under Penguins head coach John Sullivan.
Congrats, Torts! 🇺🇸🏒@USAHockey has announced that John Tortorella will serve as an assistant coach of Team USA for the @NHL’s #4Nations Face-Off. https://t.co/55JO75Iidj
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) August 21, 2024
John Tortorella named an assistant coach for 2025 4 Nations Face-Off
Funny enough, this is the fourth time Tortorella and Sullivan will work together. Sullivan worked as an assistant coach for Tortorella with the Rangers, Lightning, and Canucks. So it's not surprising that Sullivan wanted to have Tortorella on his staff. This tournament will be the fifth time that Tortorella has represented USA Hockey.
He was first an assistant coach during the IIHF Men's World Championship in 2005. He served as the head coach at the 2008 tournament. Tortorella was an assistant for the 2010 Olympic squad that took home the silver medal. His most recent stay with the USA came during the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.
The NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off will feature the United States, Canada, Finland, and Sweden. The games will occur between Feb 12-20 with Montreal and Boston serving as the host cities. The first four games, three being preliminary, will take place at the Bell Centre. The final three games will be held at TD Garden. Games will be broadcast on TNT, ABC, and ESPN.
While the games will be played under NHL rules, the point system will be that of the IIHF tournaments. Teams will get three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win, one point for an overtime/shootout loss, and zero points for a regulation loss. Overtime rules for the round-robin games will follow a 3-on-3 10-minute overtime followed by a three-round shootout. For the final, it will be 20-minute overtime periods at 5-on-5 until a winner is determined.
The first six players on each roster were announced last month with the rest to come later this year. That leaves 15 skaters spots and two goaltending positions left on the roster. Looking at just Team USA, the Flyers may not find themselves with a representative.
Players who could represent the USA in general are Bobby Brink, Noah Cates, Joel Farabee, Garnet Hathaway, Ryan Poehling, and Cam York. As for those with the most legitimate shot, that would be Farabee and York. But it likely would have to take a breakout season for both to crack the list. There are a lot of talented players from this country.