From February 12 to 20, the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) staged the Four Nations Face-Off. The tournament featured leading NHL players from four teams: The United States, Canada, Finland, and Sweden. The tournament was round-robin style, where all teams faced each other at least once and gained points depending on their results. The two highest-scoring teams advanced to a final where Canada defeated the U.S. in a 3-2 overtime victory.
Among the U.S.’ roster was Andover alum Chris Kreider ’10. Kreider played with Andover Boys Hockey before pursuing the sport at Boston College’s Division I program. Currently, he plays for the New York Rangers, where he will remain until February 2027. Kreider’s NHL career has been marked by success. In the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, he became the Rangers’ all-time leader in playoff goals, playoff power-play goals, and playoff game-winning goals.
Boys Hockey Head Coach Paul Tortorella ’80 mentored Kreider on the ice and instructed him in the classroom.
“He was always a sincere and engaged student. I know he mentioned one of the books we read, Italo Calvino’s The Baron in the Trees, in a New York Post article on him. He said that the book really activated his imagination. Imagination is one of the most important parts of sports. You have to be able to imagine the field or ice and think ahead as to what will or can happen before it happens. I loved that he remembered that book and identified with it and brought it into his identity and life,” said Tortorella.
