Jordan Binnington named Canada’s starter against Sweden in 4 Nations Face-Off opener

Canada head coach Jon Cooper confirmed that Jordan Binnington will start in the starter crease on Wednesday for the 4 Nations Face-Off opener against Sweden.

“Naturally, he was really excited. He’s a confident kid. And he wants to be in that spot,” coach Jon Cooper said during Tuesday’s press conference. “And I think – this wasn’t sitting here saying this decision was made months ago. There’s a lot gone into this decision. But this kid’s played in some huge moments and some big games.

“And he’s a competitor. And not that the other guys aren’t. These other guys are ready to go if anything happens. But Jordan’s been our guy. And that kid’s got fire in the belly. He’s a competitor. We’re really confident in him.”

This season, Binnington has put together a 15-19-4 record, with a 2.89 goals against average, and a .896 save percentage.

Cooper spoke on the tandem of goalies at his disposal in Binnington, Samuel Montembeault and Adin Hill.

“I think this is too short a tournament to make that call,” Cooper said Monday. “It’s not like World Championship where there’s a whole bunch of prelim games and you can put guys in and out. I think for everybody, that includes forwards, defensemen, everybody, you can lose your first game.”

“So, everybody’s here to perform and everybody’s going to try and do their best. And as a coaching staff, if we don’t feel it’s getting done, then we’ll make a change. But it’s not like anybody can’t do it. Somebody’s got to be put in the net first. But like I said, I don’t see it being a rotation.”

Back in November, Binnington set the Blues’ franchise record for wins surpassing Mike Luit’s mark of 151. Luit’s record had stood for more than 39 years, posting his 151st win during the 1984-85 season.