Zach Werenski could be USA’s most important player in 4 Nations final
In the lead-up to one of the most anticipated games of the season, Team USA is going to need all hands on deck if they want to beat Canada and win the first (and probably only) 4 Nations Face-Off.
With defenseman Charlie McAvoy out of the lineup after suffering an upper-body that led to an infection, players like Zach Werenski are going to have to step up if the U.S. wants to beat Canada in a “best-on-best” final for the first time since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
So far in the tournament, the 27-year-old has five assists in the three games, with a plus/minus of +2. Werenski’s had to play big minutes for the Americans and will have to play even more in the final.
Werenski has garnered a reputation as one of the best blueliners in the NHL over his career, but he can cement himself in the class of top-end defenders with a big performance on Thursday night.
On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk explain why Werenski might be the United States’ most important player in the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Zach Werenski’s had an incredible tournament so far…He has the chance to be an absolute game-changer for me in this final. They might need Zach Werenski to play 28 minutes in this final.
Frank Seravalli: He’s been really good in this tournament and I would expect that to continue. I’ll take it a step further. He’s been really good this season. Not for his career, but for this season alone, he’s right there with Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar. For me, he’s just a small notch down. That says something because we’ve never talked about Zach Werenski in that conversation. He’s been a stout player for Columbus and, obviously, someone that you pay attention to league-wide.
The other interesting part of this season is that Zach Werenski wasn’t on this Team USA team in the summer. He was a guy on the fringe. He was a guy they were thinking about, but the way he started this year and how well he’s played for Columbus, he was undeniable.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…