Connor McDavid can etch name in Canada lore in 4 Nations Face-Off

MONTREAL — Sam Bennett has known Connor McDavid since they were little kids, playing minor hockey as linemates before the age of 10.

He was on the other side of McDavid in last year’s Stanley Cup Final, as the Oilers stormed back from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7, with McDavid eventually winning the Conn Smythe Trophy even after the Panthers took the series.

So when Bennett talks about what Saturday’s USA-Canada matchup will mean to McDavid, who has not yet played in a best-on-best version of this rivalry, take him seriously.

“You can tell how badly he wants to win,” Bennett said after Canada practiced Friday. “He came in the locker room after the win the other night [against Sweden], he was jacked up. He was probably the most jacked up out of anyone. Just shows how badly he loves winning. It’s definitely an admirable trait he’s got.”

Stages like this are where legends get written.

Connor McDavid of Team Canada skates against Team Sweden in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off at Bell Centre on February 12, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Getty Images

All McDavid has to do for a reminder is to look a few stalls over in Canada’s locker room to Sidney Crosby, who scored the most famous goal of his decorated career in the 2010 Olympic final to take gold over Team USA.

McDavid was playing for the Toronto Marlies at the time, still young enough to be teammates with Bennett in the Greater Toronto Hockey League.

The team watched together.

“I just remember it being so exciting to see that goal go in,” McDavid said. “Every Canadian was excited.”

Saturday’s match between the two hockey heavyweights does not have the same stakes as an Olympic final.

After both teams won their opening matches at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the winner is all but assured a spot in the final, but it’s entirely possible — even likely — that there will be a rematch between these two teams with a trophy on the line next Thursday in Boston.

Canada’s Connor McDavid (97) and Sidney Crosby (87) hug following their overtime win over Sweden during 4 Nations Face-Off hockey game in Montreal, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. AP

Still, it is the first best-on-best match between Canada and the United States in over eight years, and it is taking place amid heightened tensions between the two countries, with the “Star Spangled Banner” receiving boos north of the border.

“I think the feeling I have for this game,” Bennett said, “is very similar to how I felt before Game 7. Just the buildup and how badly I want this.”

For the defining player of his generation, this could be a defining game.

“It’s big. It’s exciting,” McDavid said. “Playing the Americans in Montreal, best-on-best tournament. It’s what you dream of.”