ADM Kids

As professional leagues try to reckon with decreasing interest in half-speed all-star games, the NHL tried something radically different in 2025.

Their usual format of a one-game exhibition featuring the best players in the league but barely resembling real hockey gave way to the 4 Nations Face-Off, a competition spanning nine days in February during the NHL’s typical all-star break.

Featuring only NHL players but dividing them into their countries of origin – Sweden, Finland, the United States and Canada – proved to be a jolt of intensity and quality.

After Canada avenged an earlier loss to defeat the United States 3-2 in overtime of the final, it was generally agreed that the one-year experiment was a smashing success.

With some time to reflect on it, Guy Gosselin – a Player Development Manager for USA Hockey – was asked for his thoughts on what stood out to him about the tournament and how it relates to players at the 12U level.

Here are four takeaways about the 4 Nations Face-Off:

The first thing Gosselin mentions is just the sheer quality of play. 

“Nobody really knew what to expect, I don't think,” he says. “The intensity. The speed and pace that they played at, and the style of play. … It reminded me of when Lemieux and Gretzky played together (in the 1987 Canada Cup). I felt like wow, I'm seeing this before my very eyes and it's just incredible.”

He also notes that the competition felt like a reflection of how far the game has come, particularly from the U.S. standpoint.

“We’ve been trying to guide players to make some better, quicker decisions out there on the ice. You know, things are happening so fast. We want our players to be creative, where nothing is scripted,” Gosselin says. “It’s about habits and concepts and supporting the puck – knowing where to go and where somebody is going to be. It's where the game's at right now.”

Gosselin also was blown away by the satisfaction and fulfillment players got from playing with each other and playing for their country in a format where they came together rather quickly.

“To see the players play with such pride, it was amazing. To play for their country, and to play for each other and be good teammates,” Gosselin says. “To come off playing your regular NHL schedule to come out and to form so quickly and bond so quickly and play so well together and play with such intensity and being a good teammate, being happy for someone you may be playing against in a week, right? The country pride took over. They played selflessly.”

One thing Gosselin hopes that all young players, including those at 12U, would take from the tournament is that while it took the place of an all-star game and there were plenty of stars on all teams, it was not just a tournament of high-flying goal-scorers.

There were players fulfilling all sorts of roles, which is crucial to team success.

“Obviously everybody is an incredible player in the NHL, but what is the dynamic of your team? You can't pick all top scorers, right, or all defensive players,” he says. “I thought the makeup of the teams was really, really cool, so I think that inspires kids. If you're given a role, be the best that you can possibly be in that role.”

That’s a lesson players can take onto the ice at the youth level.

“When you go into your game, whoever you are, it's team-first,” Gosselin says. “Be the best you can be and be a good teammate and play your role to the fullest. That's how you become successful.”

The final takeaway from the 4 Nations Face-Off is simple: It was the stuff that dreams are made of, but dreams do come true.

“We want a 12U player to aspire to become a player like that,” Gosselin says. “The immense amount of preparation, training, hard work, sacrifice, and being so committed that it takes. You know, and they get rewarded. I think it's awesome for kids to be dreaming of that because you never know.”