NHL 4 Nations Face-Off: Final roster predictions for Sweden, Finland

The NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, scheduled Feb. 12-20 in lieu of the All-Star Game, will be the first international tournament to feature the best-on-best NHLers since the World Cup in 2016.

The United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland each named six initial players to their rosters in June. With final rosters set to be announced Wednesday, let's take a look at potential selections for each team, starting with Sweden and Finland. 

Each team will have 20 skaters and three goaltenders..

TEAM SWEDEN

Already named: F Filip Forsberg (Nashville Predators), F William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs), F Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers), D Gustav Forsling (Florida Panthers), D Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning), D Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Forwards

Locks: Jesper Bratt (New Jersey Devils), Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings), Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks), Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings), William Eklund (San Jose Sharks)

Likely: Fabian Zetterlund (San Jose Sharks), Rickard Rakell (Pittsburgh Penguins), Alexander Wennberg (San Jose Sharks), Joel Eriksson Ek (Minnesota Wild)

Has a chance: Elias Lindholm (Boston Bruins), Leo Carlsson (Anaheim Ducks), William Karlsson (Vegas Golden Knights), Gustav Nyquist (Nashville Predators), Mikael Backlund (Calgary Flames)

Dark horse: Simon Holmstrom (New York Islanders)

Sweden will have plenty of talent in its top six, with Forsberg, Nylander and Zibanejad all likely to play on the top line. Raymond, one of the best young wingers in the game, could be a top goal scorer.

Depth wise, there's plenty of options to choose from. Kempe is a near guarantee, and youngsters Eklund and Zetterlund have probably played themselves onto the rosters. A veteran such as Lindholm or Karlsson could find themselves in a depth role, or a young gun such as Carlsson may spark some offense.

Defense

Locks: Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres), Rasmus Andersson (Calgary Flames)

Likely: Mattias Ekholm (Edmonton Oilers)

Has a chance: Rasmus Sandin (Washington Capitals), Jonas Brodin (Minnesota Wild), Hampus Lindholm (Boston Bruins)

Dark horse: Simon Edvinsson (Detroit Red Wings)

The strength of Sweden is clearly on its blue line. Veterans Hedman, Karlsson and Forsling will fill out the top four, likely alongside Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin.

Andersson, having a solid season with Calgary, should be added for a depth role, and the veteran Ekholm could see time for his defensive ability. The 6-foot-6 Edvinsson, in his first full season, has an outside shot.

Goalies

Locks: Filip Gustavsson (Minnesota Wild), Jacob Markstrom (New Jersey Devils)

Likely: Linus Ullmark (Ottawa Senators)

Dark horse: Arvid Soderblom (Chicago Blackhawks)

Gustavsson is having an excellent season with a .929 save percentage. Veterans Markstrom and Ullmark should fill in as backups for the Wild netminder.

TEAM FINLAND

Already named: F Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes), F Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers), F Mikko Rantanen (Colorado Avalanche), D Miro Heiskanen (Dallas Stars), D Esa Lindell (Dallas Stars), G Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators)

Forwards

Locks: Mikael Granlund (San Jose Sharks), Anton Lundell (Florida Panthers), Roope Hintz (Dallas Stars)

Likely: Kaapo Kakko (New York Rangers), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Carolina Hurricanes), Teuvo Teravainen (Chicago Blackhawks), Erik Haula (New Jersey Devils), Eetu Luostarinen (Florida Panthers)

Dark horse: Matias Maccelli (Utah Hockey Club)

Finland should have a lot of star power up top, but there is concern about their depth. Barkov, Aho and Rantanen are All-Stars in their own right, and Granlund and Hintz have shown plenty of scoring ability.

Lundell should play a two-way role for the Finns. After that, it may be up to the two young players, Kakko and Kotkaniemi, to add depth scoring.

Defense

Locks: Niko Mikkola (Florida Panthers), Rasmus Ristolainen (Philadelphia Flyers)

Likely: Ollli Maatta (Utah Hockey Club), Henri Jokijarju (Buffalo Sabres)

Has a chance:  Juuso Valimaki (Utah Hockey Club)

Dark horse: Ville Heinola (Winnipeg Jets)

The defense should be an easy choice for Finland, as just 10 Finnish defensemen have played an NHL game this season and only seven have played more than five. The quality drops off considerably after Heiskanen and Lindell, but the veteran Maatta is a stout defender. Ristolainen could run one of their power plays, and Mikkola (6-foot-6, 205 pounds) will add size on the back end.

Goalies 

Locks: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo Sabres), Kevin Lankinen (Vancouver Canucks)

Has a chance: Justus Annunen (Nashville Predators), Joonas Korpisalo (Boston Bruins)

Dark horse: Joel Blomqvist (Pittsburgh Penguins)

Saros, already named to the roster, could play every game for Finland. The 25-year-old Luukonen should back him up. Lankinen may be the the third goalie.