Canada's 4 Nations head coach Jon Cooper: 'You're basically playing three Game 7s'

Jon Cooper was always walking into a dressing room loaded with talent.

Canada's head coach for the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, an event marking the league's return to the international stage, and the country's hockey brain trust had an embarrassment of riches to choose from when selecting the roster.

Countless iterations could have potentially got the job done.

Apart from the jaw-dropping skill poised to be on display in February led by Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby, many of the players chosen to pull on the red and white Maple Leaf have another thing in common — championship experience.

Canada rounded out its lineup this week for the showcase event set for Montreal and Boston. Battle scars were clearly among the intangibles considered.

The 23-man roster includes no fewer than 21 Stanley Cup rings, Olympic gold medallists and world championship winners. A number of the players have also gone on deep playoff runs.

Cooper, whose day job is serving as the two-time Cup hoisting coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, said success in pressure-packed moments was part of the equation ahead of a four-team round-robin tournament that will see the two best countries play in a winner-take-all final.

"You can't put a price tag on experience," Cooper said Thursday on a video conference call. "I truly believe this is a tournament where you're basically playing three Game 7s [in the preliminary round].

"There's no real margin for error."

Canada rounded out its roster Wednesday after initially naming McDavid, Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Brayden Point and Cale Makar back in June.

Added to the mix up front were Mitch Marner, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel, Mark Stone, Travis Konecny and Seth Jarvis.

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