US duo of Jake Sanderson and Brock Faber together again with Quinn Hughes out of 4 Nations Face-Off

BROSSARD, Quebec — An unfortunate injury to Quinn Hughes knocked the reigning Norris Trophy winner out of the U.S. lineup for the 4 Nations Face-Off and opened the door for a younger defenseman to make some Olympic hockey history.

USA Hockey selected 22-year-old Jake Sanderson to replace Hughes. Sanderson joining the U.S. puts him back together with Brock Faber three years after they were teammates in the Beijing Olympic bubble after the NHL pulled out at the eleventh hour because of pandemic-related scheduling issues.

Faber, the rookie of the year runner-up last season with Minnesota, and Sanderson now have the best chances of being the only U.S. players at back-to-back Olympics in 2022 and '26 with Milan on the horizon.

''We're focused on this tournament, but it's hard not to look in the future with the possibility of an opportunity like that,'' Faber said Monday. ''That's definitely something we both strive to be a part of. It would be a huge honor to represent this country on the biggest stage like that.''

The U.S. would have loved to have brothers Quinn and Jack Hughes together for the 4 Nations. But the Vancouver captain, who was injured in a recent game, decided it was in his and the Canucks' best interest to sit this one out.

''People get injured all the time, and I was looking forward to spending time with him, but it's all good, and hopefully he heals up and is ready to go for a big second half with Vancouver,'' said Jack, who is one of the faces of the New Jersey Devils. ''Obviously, it's frustrating. He's not the only one though. I mean, there's a lot of good players that are injured and can't play in this tournament. But definitely something he was fighting over for a week now since he got injured, and he wants to be a part of this.''

It's now an opportunity for Sanderson, a big piece of Ottawa's future, to show he belongs in the national team conversation for the Olympics when it has the world's best players, like the 4 Nations.

''This is best on best,'' Sanderson said. ''I think the Olympics, there wasn't NHL players there, so this is a whole new monster.''

Finland's rotating ‘D'

Much like the U.S. with Hughes, Finland lost an elite defenseman when Miro Heiskanen injured his left knee and underwent surgery that changed his status to ''month to month.'' Finland also lost two other veterans at the position, Jani Hakanpää and Rasmus Ristolainen, testing the country's depth in a year with a lack of potential options.

''We lost Heiskanen: No secret he was our best D," center Sebastian Aho said. "He's a superstar, obviously, and he's not here, so somebody else has to step in. I think it's more as a group we have to fill those holes, not just the one player. We have to step up as a group and maybe help in some areas that we need help and, obviously, work as unit.''

Captain Aleskander Barkov, the best defensive forward in the league, has skated a few shifts back on defense and is ready to go to the rescue if absolutely, positively needed.

''I'll do whatever it takes,'' Barkov said. ''Whatever they tell me to do, I'll do, but I think we have good enough defensemen there.''

Doughty is ready

Drew Doughty has played just six games with the Los Angeles Kings since recovering from surgery to repair a broken left ankle. Still, the 35-year-old leapt at the opportunity of being added to Canada's roster to replace fellow two-time Stanley Cup champion Alex Pietrangelo, who withdrew.

Wanting to represent Canada after winning Olympic gold in 2010 and ‘14 was Doughty's top motivation, but it wasn't the only one.

''It's good for me to play hockey,'' Doughty said. ''Like, I don't need to go on vacation for two more weeks, my ankle blows up or something. You know what I mean? This is good for me and good for the LA Kings because when I come back I'll be rolling and hopefully make our team a lot better.''

When Doughty plays, it'll be with the jersey No. 89. Cale Makar, who has supplanted Doughty as the country's most well-rounded defenseman, has his usual No. 8.

''It was too late to switch numbers and stuff,'' Doughty said. ''I'm sure he would have given me it. But I was born in '89, so I went with 89. It's going to look weird but whatever.''

Ullmark is also ready

Sweden found out a few weeks ago goaltender Jacob Markstrom would not be available for the 4 Nations because of injury. Around the same time, 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark was nursing some back problems.

Ullmark went out just before Christmas but insists now that within a week or so he was not worried about making it back in time.

''It didn't feel like we had to rush through the process to get me to be a part of this team,' said Ullmark, who starts for the Senators. ''Once we kind of settled that in and talked it over and had the communication throughout this whole process, from the beginning, I never felt that I was stressed about it or concerned that I wasn't going to be a part of it.''

Sweden also has Filip Gustavsson and Samuel Ersson, Markstrom's replacement, but Ullmark is the most accomplished of the three.

''I played with him a couple years ago, so I know how good he is and how good he makes the defense feel just for him to be out there,'' Buffalo captain and countryman Rasmus Dahlin said. ''I'm very happy he's healthy and ready to go.''

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