Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States Face-off In New NHL Spot

After debuting ESPN’s puck-drop anthem, “That’s Hockey”, to launch the 2024-25 NHL on ESPN season, A&L's long time partners at ESPN connected the NHL and the NHLPA with A&L to partner on a campaign for the 4 Nations Face-Off, an international hockey tournament staged by the NHL and the NHLPA featuring four of the worlds’ top hockey nations: Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. The teams will face off in a total of seven games played from February 12 to 20, 2025 and will take place in two iconic hockey cities, Montreal (Bell Centre) and Boston (TD Garden).

The 4 Nations Face-Off will feature some of the top players in the NHL, passionately representing their home countries, so A&L, the NHL and NHLPA knew they had to create something that made fans feel the magnitude of this unique and elite addition to international hockey.

“This spot helps position the 4 Nations Face-Off as a social and cultural event that unites casual and avid fans through national pride,” said Casey Hall, NHL’s senior vice president of marketing & innovation. “It reinforces the NHL’s global fanbase, star players and the return of best-on-best international competition that will continue over the next decade with NHL players in the Winter Olympics and World Cup of Hockey.”

The campaign leans into the theme of national pride, while also leaning into unique storylines, such as NHL teammates, Mikko Rantanen (FIN), Nathan MacKinnon (CAN) and Cale Makar (CAN) of the Colorado Avalanche becoming rivals. The multi-layered stakes of the 4 Nations Face-Off are conveyed to the audience through the campaigns spot, delivered by both players and fans of the four countries.

“Culture has conditioned sports fans to expect All-Star matches to be fun spectacles, but often with low stakes and low urgency,” said Chris Kim, creative director at Arts & Letters. “We saw an opportunity to create something that made fans buy-in to the competition and feel a sense of anticipation for it. ‘For Country. For Glory. Four Nations.’ heightens the stakes and gets you excited for the return of the best-on-best International hockey competition.”

“For Country. For Glory. Four Nations.” was shot by the avid and passionate hockey player and fan, Malik Vitthal of Cornershop. The spot also features the song, “Boys in the Better Land” by Fontaines DC. Additionally, the NHL players you’ll see throughout the spot are:

• Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins (representing Canada)
• Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs (representing USA)
• Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers (representing USA)
• William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs (representing Sweden)
• Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers (representing Finland)
• Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche (representing Canada)
• Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (representing Canada)
• Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche (representing Finland)

“The opportunity to represent their home countries on the international stage is something that all players cherish. The pride of pulling on those sweaters is an absolute honor and this is the mindset that the Players brought to the making of ‘For Country. For Glory. Four Nations.’,” said Rob Zepp, NHLPA senior director, international strategy & growth. “Skating alongside their compatriots, competing against their international rivals, and feeling the passion and support of fans from their nations, was not only influential in the creative process, but will without a doubt play a role in what we hope is an incredibly exciting and successful event. One that paves the way for consistent international best-on-best competition moving forward.”