Flyers’ John Tortorella will serve as an assistant coach for Team USA at 4 Nations Face Off
The inaugural tournament will be played in Boston and Montreal from Feb. 12-20. The United States, Canada, Finland, and Sweden will take part.
John Tortorella will be coaching more hockey than usual this season. On Wednesday, the Flyers head coach was named an assistant coach for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face Off.
The inaugural tournament — which will be played in Boston and Montreal from Feb. 12-20 and feature the United States, Canada, Finland, and Sweden — will see a return of best-on-best international hockey for the first time since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Tortorella will not miss any time with the Flyers, as the NHL will pause its season from Feb. 10-21 for the tournament. The February showcase was created to build some momentum before NHL players make their long-awaited return for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
The Flyers’ bench boss, who was the head coach for the U.S. at that 2016 World Cup, will serve as an assistant under coach Mike Sullivan. David Quinn, who recently joined the Pittsburgh Penguins as an assistant under Sullivan, and Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes will serve as the other assistants for Team USA.
Coaching for the Stars and Stripes is nothing new for the 66-year-old Tortorella, who in addition to coaching at the World Cup of Hockey served as an assistant at the 2010 Olympics, head coach at the 2008 IIHF World Championships, and associate coach at the 2005 World Championships. Tortorella, who is entering the third year of his four-year contract with the Flyers, ranks ninth in NHL history for career wins (742), the most all-time by an American-born coach. He has posted a 69-71-24 record in his two seasons so far with the Orange and Black.
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“We’ve got a highly accomplished coaching staff leading our team and we couldn’t be more excited about the group,” said Bill Guerin, general manager of Team USA for the tournament. “Their experiences — both unique and shared — will be a big benefit to our country as we look to bring home a championship come February.”
Tortorella likely will be the Flyers’ lone representative with Team USA, as the likes of Cam York and Joel Farabee figure to be on the outside looking in for what is expected to be a loaded Team USA squad headlined by Auston Matthews, Quinn Hughes, and Jack Eichel. Meanwhile, winger Travis Konecny (Canada), goaltender Sam Ersson (Sweden), and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (Finland) will be in contention to make their respective nation’s rosters. The balance of the 23-man rosters for each participating nation will be submitted later this year and announced between Nov. 29 and Dec. 2.