The 4 Nations is over, Brock Nelson and Team’urica fell just short.
As one of the many skeptics of the short and limited tournament, I’ll confess I enjoyed what I saw. I’m not sold on the “epic, historic” billing it received, because it’s a small tournament, brief, with teams thrown together with little prep and practice.
However, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of play. The hockey IQ was off the charts and helped tie players together who only became “a team” less than two weeks ago. I gained new respect for Auston Matthews’ defensive game (unfortunately), and even more grudging respect for Jaccob [sic] Slavin’s monstrous dream-killer D.