Three Flyers to Play in 4 Nations Face-Off, Tortorella Named as Assistant Coach

Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, and Rasmus Ristolainen will all represent their respective countries while John Tortorella will be helping to coach his in the 4 Nation Face-Off Tournament that will be taking place from February 12 to February 20, 2025.

The tournament will take the place of the NHL’s 2025 All-Star game and will be a round-robin style tournament between four teams made up of only NHL players representing the countries of Canada, the United States, Finland, and Sweden. Each team is made up of 23 players: 13 forwards, 7 defensemen, and three goalies.

Konecny and Sanheim will both be representing Team Canada. Konecny’s 30 points currently rank him seventh in the NHL among all Canadiens, his 15 goals place him at fifth, and 17 assists put him at ninth. He has been the Flyers’ best player this season, carrying over his high level of play from last season, where he was named as the team’s only all-star.

Sanheim is currently sixth among Canadien-born players in the blocked shots with 59. He also ranks sixth in all of the NHL for average ice time at 25:30 minutes per game.

Ristolainen will be representing Team Finland. Ristolainen has only recorded seven points this year, with six assists and a goal, but that still puts him at fourth for all Finnish defensemen.

Tortorella has been named as a bench coach for Team USA. Tortorella has a strong amount of experience coaching on the international stage, with his most recent work coming as the head coach for Team USA in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

The 4 Nation Face-Off will give hockey fans the chance to see competitive hockey being played during the All-Star break, something that has been lacking since the multiple format changes to the games throughout the years. By competing for their countries these players will feel that they have something meaningful to compete for, and so we as hockey fans should certainly be in for a treat. Even if you don’t root for the team they are playing on, it will be fun for Flyers fans to see recognizable faces on nearly every competing team in this tournament, and we wish them all nothing but the best.

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Bo Lynett

Bo has been a fan of Philly sports his whole life and has spent the entirety of his four years at Colgate University working to start a career in sports media. Double majoring in Economics and Film & Media Studies gave him the opportunity to study both the financial/ analytical and broadcasting/ production sides of the sports world. Outside of the classroom, he’s worked as a director and producer for Colgate’s athletic events streamed on ESPN+ and a writer for the Colgate Athletic Website. Through all of this, however, it was his love of Philly sports that drove him to this career.