David Pastrnak Takes A Shot At 4 Nations Face-Off Exclusion Of Czechia After Team's World Championship

Czechia won the 2024 IIHF World Championship — and did it on home soil — but despite being top dogs on the international stage at the moment, the country will not be part of the NHL's inaugural 4 Nations Faceoff, and Boston Bruins and Czech national team star David Pastrnak has some things to say about that.

If you're unfamiliar with the 4 Nations Face-Off, it's an international tournament that will take place during the NHL regular season and will be a step toward the return of the World Cup of Hockey. That tournament would then take place in 2028 and 2032 putting it opposite the Winter Olympics meaning that every other year, NHLers would be involved in some kind of best-on-best international tournament.

…alright, you got that? I know it's kind of confusing.

But what has Pastrnak's goat is that the aforementioned 4 Nations Face-off will only feature — as the name implies — four nations: the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Finland.

No, Czechia despite their recent win, and Pastrnak made sure to send a message.

"Maybe Four Nation invite now?" Pastrnak wrote.

I mean… he's got a point.

Unfortunately, if you're only picking four countries, which of those four do you drop in favor of the Czechs?

You can't drop Team USA or Team Canada; not in an event put on by the NHL.

And that's the thing; the NHL wants to fill out the roster for this tournament with NHLers. The top five countries that players hail from are Canada, the United States, Sweden, Russia, and Finland.

Russia is out for… well, I think you know, so that means the teams in the tournament represent the nations with the most NHL players. 

Unfortunately, there has to be a team that is first to be left out, and that's Czechia. Which is a shame for all of us, because we're going to miss out on seeing guys like Pastrnak and Carolina's Martin Nečas compete.

That's a tough break, but at least they're having a hell of a time celebrating their World Championship.

I mean, they're partying so hard that even the trophy can't stand up straight.