CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR chairman Jim France had a stronger second day of testimony Wednesday as the final witness called by Michael Jordan’s side in the federal antitrust lawsuit against the racing series, explaining advice from his late parents helped shape his stance against granting teams permanent charters in the new revenue-sharing model.

NASCAR attorney Christopher Yates opened the eighth day of the trial by asking the soft-spoken France how old he is (81) and if he wears hearing aids (he does). He walked France through a background that included working for the family business in various roles since high school and following a stint serving in Vietnam.

NASCAR, the largest motorsports series in the United States, was founded in 1948 by Bill France Sr. and remains privately owned by the Florida-based France family. Jim France said he was raised by two core principles passed down from his parents.

His mother, credited with helping her husband build NASCAR from nothing, told her two sons to always pay their bills. Bill France Sr. advised them to “do what you say you’re going to do.”

It was those two principles that influenced France’s refusal to budge on permanent charters in the 2025 revenue-sharing agreement.

“I’ve just seen so much change over the years, and things are changing at a fast pace, and I don’t know how to put something in place — I don’t know how we could come to an agreement that covers forever,” he testified.

He later tied it directly to his parents’ advice.

“I don’t have a sightline for the future, and I don’t feel comfortable making a promise I can’t keep forever,” he testified.

That thinking aligns with Tuesday testimony from commissioner Steve Phelps, who gave NASCAR’s version of the chaotic Sept. 6, 2024, final agreements presented to teams late that Friday afternoon with an end-of-day deadline to sign the 112-page document or forfeit their charters.

Phelps testified that the delay in sending the final drafts was because France had promised Roger Penske — owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar and teams in multiple racing series including NASCAR — that they would speak before the agreements were delivered. France tried to call Penske several times that day, and Phelps testified that Penske didn’t answer.

It wasn’t until after the two had finally spoken that the charters were sent to teams, at close to 5 p.m. with a midnight deadline.

“Jim is a man of his word,” Phelps testified.

23XI Racing, which is owned by basketball Hall of Famer Jordan, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and Jordan’s financial adviser Curtis Polk, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins, were the only two teams out of 15 organizations that refused to sign. They sued instead.

Multiple team owners have described that day on the opening weekend of the 2024 playoffs as a “take it or leave it” ultimatum from NASCAR that they signed with “a gun to their head.” Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress testified Tuesday that his team would have gone out of business if he didn’t sign the agreement.

France was much stronger on the stand Wednesday than he was the day before as plaintiffs attorney Jeffrey Kessler had to repeat many questions and France said on numerous topics that he was either unable to recall, did not remember or was not sure — even in response to evidence introduced that the France Family Trust received $400 million in distributions from 2021 through 2024 and that NASCAR is valued at $5 billion.

He wasn’t sure of the title his niece, Lesa France Kennedy, holds with NASCAR or the ownership percentages between the two. Evidence showed Jim France owns 54% of NASCAR, while France Kennedy, the vice chair, owns 36%. France also testified he believes he is paid in “the $3.5 million range” as chairman.

While the extension offer presented in September 2024 did increase annual revenue promised to the teams, it fell short of the team’s request for $720 million — a sum Phelps testified would have put NASCAR out of business.

It also fell short of the four “pillars” the teams were demanding. Teams ended up receiving $431 million annually in increased revenue but were not granted permanent charters, did not get a voice in governance or the terms they sought on new business streams.

France testified Wednesday that he believed the teams received several of their asks.

He was the final witness called as the plaintiffs rested and NASCAR began to present its defense.

Evidence has so far been introduced that shows the top team owners in NASCAR all wrote personal letters pleading for France to make the renewable charters permanent. The plaintiffs also introduced several documents detailing communication between NASCAR executives that showed France was stubbornly opposed to permanent charters throughout the two-plus years of bitter negotiations.

France’s position never changed, even though he received pleas from Hall of Fame team owners Joe Gibbs, Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush and Penske. All four are close personal friends, France said on the stand.

Yates is hopeful to wrap his defense by Friday.

The nine-person jury will have to decide if NASCAR violated antitrust laws, and if so, what the damages are to 23XI and Front Row. An economist has previously testified that NASCAR owes 23XI and Front Row $364.7 million in damages and that NASCAR shorted 36 chartered teams $1.06 billion from 2021 to 2024.

Should NASCAR lose the case, it will be up to U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell to unravel the monopoly, and he can make any decisions he chooses. Among them are forcing the France family to sell NASCAR and the racetracks they own and even dismantling or changing the charter system.

A win for 23XI and Front Row does not guarantee the teams will receive a combined six charters from NASCAR. They have both said they will go out of business if they are not chartered teams.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — When Navy quarterback Blake Horvath returned to his dorm room during Army-Navy week last season, he found pictures of Army quarterback Bryson Daily taped all over his door. Elsewhere, banners had mysteriously appeared in the dining hall, reading, “GO ARMY, BEAT NAVY.”

The likely suspects? West Point cadets spending a semester in Annapolis, Maryland, as exchange students. It’s a program that will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year — one of several enduring traditions between the two academies.

“I can neither confirm nor deny if that was us that evening,” Army senior cadet Jayram Suryanarayan said, “but I can say we were up to some shenanigans — so it could have been.”

The shenanigans were unfolding simultaneously in West Point, where the Navy exchange students’ clothes and uniforms had disappeared and been replaced by costumes — including a smelly fish outfit and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle — to wear the entire week.

“They bought a Marine Corps raincoat, cut it as fabric, and then sewed — and then this is what impressed me because it took time and skill — they sewed together a miniskirt for me to wear and they got a Marine Corps sweatshirt and they cropped it,” Navy senior Michael Middleton said. “They stole all of my uniforms, all of my civilian clothes. It wasn’t just to school — I had to work out in it. It was really quite a scene. It was really fun.”

(Last year’s antics were relatively tame compared to “Operation Black Knight Falling” in 2022, when five Navy midshipmen led three flight crews in formation over the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, and dropped thousands of BEAT ARMY ping-pong balls and leaflets on campus.)

After spending a semester at their rival school, the tradition culminates when the exchange students stand front and center on the 50-yard line ahead of the Army-Navy football game in what is casually referred to as a “prisoner exchange.” The men and women on the field who annually participate in that program embody everything that follows in the global game — tradition, respect, pageantry, precision — and a deep understanding that one of college football’s longest and strongest rivalries is also about an immeasurable bond that infiltrates beyond the field.

“Army and Navy, West Point and Annapolis, we’re not that different,” said Middleton, who will be a ground officer in the United States Marine Corps after graduation. “We like to have this friendly banter, and we say we’re going to beat Army by a million because that’s what we’re going to do — that’s a fact you can quote that — but really it’s one fight and one team.

“We’re all in the Department of War,” Middleton said. “We all work for each other. If we’re in some far-flung place, having to do a job the nation has called us to do, I don’t care where you graduated because we’re all out there for each other.”

On Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, this year’s group of exchange students will be released to their classmates and hoisted back into the stands to watch the 126th Army-Navy game together. It’s one of many traditions from America’s Game that don’t involve the players: From the “demonstration of discipline” as thousands of classmates from each academy “March On,” to the grit and fortitude of the relay teams who deliver the game balls after running from their schools along backroads, through states and cities, and into the stadium. It’s the thoughtful, historically accurate and detailed uniforms, which this season will celebrate respectively the 250th anniversaries of the United States Army and Navy. It’s the nearly 800 celebrities and high-ranking dignitaries, including President Donald Trump, who will attend. It’s the live mascots — one mule and two goats — who need careful delivery and their own parking spaces.

The players earn the spotlight in the final and most emotional tradition — singing their alma maters on the field after the game. And woe to the team that lost and has to sing first.

“You just feel like you not only let yourself down, your teammates down,” Army center Brady Small said, “but you feel like you let the Army down.”

While you might be familiar with some or all of these traditions from watching the game on TV, ESPN interviewed more than a dozen people from both academies who make it all come together, taking you behind the scenes for how each tradition unfolds and what it means to be a part of them.

Jump to section:
Alma mater | Uniforms
Ball run | March On
Mascots | Presidential visit

Alma mater

In preseason camp, every Army football player is tested on the school’s alma mater. It’s something they learn from the “Book of Knowledge,” which is required reading during Cadet Basic Training and has been published since 1908. It includes the history and traditions of West Point.

“I can’t tell you the exact page number,” said receiver Noah Short of where the alma mater appears, “but it’s definitely in the first few pages.”

Hail, Alma Mater dear,
To us be ever near.
Help us thy motto bear
Through all the years.
Let Duty be well performed.
Honor be e’er untarned
Country be ever armed.
West Point, by thee.

“I make them write it down,” Army coach Jeff Monken said, “they have to write it out.”

“If you don’t do it right — literally word for word — Coach Monken will not travel you,” Army linebacker Kalib Fortner said.

Both schools sing their alma maters at other games and events, but the tradition of singing it after the Army-Navy football game is unlike any other. The winner sings second.

“It’s awesome,” Monken said, “and there’s just so much emotion and relief that we’re the ones standing there singing second. … It’s equally as gut-wrenching and emotionally just rips you apart to have to stand there and mumble the words of your alma mater if you’ve gotta do it first.”

Horvath, Navy’s quarterback, said the Midshipmen are quizzed on their alma mater about four days into their plebe summer. They’d sing it before they went to bed each night around 10 p.m.

Now colleges from sea to sea
May sing of colors true
But who has better right than we
To hoist a symbol hue
For sailors brave in battle fair
Since fighting days of old
Have proved the sailor’s right to wear
The Navy Blue and Gold

“Singing first, it physically hurts a little bit,” Horvath said. “You know that your fans aren’t singing with as much enthusiasm, you’re not singing with that same sort of loudness and excitement as you would if you were singing second. It’s sort of, as a player, an embarrassment to sing first. On the flip side, singing second, you can feel the joy and excitement like after the Army-Navy game last year. It’s the loudest I’ve ever heard our alma mater sung.”

Uniforms

Army and Navy reveal special uniforms each season, but don’t bother trying to sneak a peek at either before they’re publicly announced — it’s classified, for a whopping two years.

“We don’t really keep files stored here, we just kind of keep things very hush-hush,” said Mike Resnick, associate athletic director in charge of internal operations at West Point. “Nike’s really good on the shipping. It’s West Point; we have some trustworthy people here.”

Just for added security, though, some nondisclosure acts are signed along the way. There are only about 14 or 15 people who know what Army’s uniform will look like — including the history department.

“We don’t let the Pentagon know,” Resnick said. “We keep it pretty close to the vest.”

As parts of the uniform and other sideline gear are shipped, Navy stores everything in a warehouse on the other side of the Severn River. The artist who handpaints their helmets is in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, so when Navy played at Temple this year, a few members of the equipment staff visited him to check on the progress.

A uniform 250 years in the making…https://t.co/168T92kRln#GoNavy | #Navy250 pic.twitter.com/N0LVQkHCKG

— Navy Athletics (@NavyAthletics) November 18, 2025

Every detail in both uniforms has a meaning. For Navy, the six strands of rope on the helmets represent the six original frigates of the U.S. Navy, and the knots were a spin-off of the 126 knots on the sides of the pants to represent and pay homage to the 126th Army-Navy game. On the jersey, there are 250 knots around the neck and sleeves to represent 250 years of the Navy.

“The guys always want hints,” Navy senior associate athletic director Greg Morgenthaler said. “From our first team meeting with Coach Newberry. I talked to the team in November about expectations and stuff, and they’re all like, ‘What are we wearing this year? G, what are we wearing?'”

Around noon on Nov. 17, Navy players, coaches and staff started to file into the auditorium in Ricketts Hall. It wasn’t a mandatory team meeting, but nobody was going to miss the highly anticipated uniform reveal for the Army-Navy game.

“Nobody’s posting anything regarding the unis, everybody good?” Newberry said.

“Yessir!”

Proud to honor an enduring symbol of service and sacrifice for the past 250 years.https://t.co/QlUpMO7VlC#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/5DeHAW0pm9

— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) November 15, 2025

Army’s marble print uniforms are designed to mirror the marble headstones at Arlington National Cemetery and the ultimate sacrifice that has been made. The Great Seal on the right shoulder indicates Army’s duty to the United States in peace and war. There is an old guard espontoon etched into each helmet to symbolize Army’s role as the tip of the spear, starting on the back of the helmet and culminating in a tip on the front.

Lieutenant Colonel John Zdeb teaches in the department of History and War Studies at West Point and has been helping with the accuracy of the football team’s uniforms for five years. He’s a graduate of the academy and also had two deployments to Iraq, one to Afghanistan, another to Eastern Europe and another to Kuwait.

“There’s always different elements where they’re asking us, my team in particular, ‘Hey, the way we’ve depicted this, is it historically accurate? Is it representing the historical event in the correct way? And if it is going to veer away from that a little bit, is that a creative liberty that makes sense? That’s worth doing?’ And so we have a lot of feedback.”

Ball run

At 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning, a group of 17 cadet marathoners, four officers and three vans departed from the West Point superintendent’s house on campus to run 240 miles across four different states — all while carrying an Army game ball to be delivered to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore at 2 p.m. ET on Friday. On Saturday, each of the teams will jog the ball onto the field at a designated time and present it to their First Captain or Brigade Commander.

At approximately 7 a.m., on Thursday the team will pass from New York into Mahwah, New Jersey, and then continue along Route 202 into Pennsylvania. The marathon team will then run through southeastern Pennsylvania before entering Maryland, near Rising Sun. The final portion of their journey will lead them to downtown Baltimore via Route 1.

“The ball itself is always in a cadet’s hands and is moving nonstop from when we leave up until we reach the stadium,” said senior cadet Michael Clay, who is part of his fourth Army-Navy relay team and estimated he has run about 90 miles total to the past three stadiums.

The Navy relay team has a slightly more advantageous route this week — by more than 200 fewer miles from Annapolis to Baltimore. The Midshipmen will meet in front of Bancroft Hall on Friday before leaving at noon and heading out Gate 8. They will arrive at Fort McHenry in Baltimore at sunset and finish the final few miles to the stadium on Saturday.

“It’s kind of fun because we have the rest of the company there waiting at the stadium for the ball to get there, and then the people that are running that last leg kind of run up to the stadium,” Midshipman Connor Mollberg said. “The whole company’s there. It’s a big celebration that we got the ball there.”

Though not without someone occasionally fumbling along the way.

“It never intentionally hits the ground,” Clay said, “especially in those subfreezing temperatures with gloves on, it can be really hard to tell how firm of a grip you have on the ball. So yes, it has been dropped, but never intentionally — and never more than 13th company.”

The tradition began with Navy’s 13th company, which has about 120 Midshipmen in it, and while nobody is required to participate in the ball run, “people are usually more than willing to run the ball a couple of miles and help out,” said Mollberg, who is on Navy’s parachute team — not track or cross country.

While Army’s relay team is much smaller because it comprises the school’s marathon team, they tend to pass the ball around with anyone who joins them for the last few miles — typically members of the community, first responders and high-ranking West Point officers.

Because Army has a longer trek, their runners will aim for between six and 13 miles per stretch, while Navy will run seven legs of four miles per runner. Along their way, they have both cultivated relationships with small communities they routinely pass through. Elementary and school-aged kids line the streets, cheering for both teams along the way — even at 2 or 3 a.m. when the runners least expect it.

“They let us know who they’re rooting for pretty early on,” Clay said. “Certainly a healthy mix.”

‘March On’

The spectacle of watching roughly 3,000 cadets and another 4,000 Midshipmen march onto the field in unison before the Army-Navy game — entire schools of uniform-clad future military leaders taking their seats in the stadium — is one of the most recognizable traditions of the pregame ceremonies.

The cadets and midshipmen will start to march from Camden Yards about a half-mile away. Navy will be on the first-base side, Army will be in left field, and will come down Ravens Walk before entering the stadium at noon.

“We use it as a demonstration of discipline within the corps, everybody moving in the same uniform, at the same time, in the same place,” said Adam Brady, who has done this as a cadet and now as the Operations Officer at Army. “It’s one of the few times when we have the entire corps of cadets marching.”

At Army, it’s the same 30-inch step. It’s the same arm movements for thousands of students who must keep in line with the person to the right. They guide right (keep the group moving in a straight line), dress right (fine tune everyone’s position so the formation looks perfectly straight), and are centered on the person in front of them. It’s something they practice for a total of four or five hours on one of the campus athletic fields.

Aden Alexander, a plebe at Navy, will be marching onto the field for the first time and said a key to staying in line is listening to the drum beats.

“Typically over the plebe summer we’re taught with a cadence, so our detailers will be saying out loud, ‘left, right, left, right,'” Alexander said. “And we’ll have little ditties or songs that we’ll sing along to get our brains trained to walk in-step, so we’ve gotten pretty good at that.”

Everything is a competition.

“Army always marches on better than Navy,” said Jeff Reynolds, Chief of Protocol, United States Military Academy, West Point. “That’s our first win of the day.”

Mascots

It might be the only game on the planet where two goats and a mule get together before kickoff.

The Army has two mules — Paladin and Ranger IV — but only Paladin will be traveling to Baltimore. Army has an equestrian team, and cadets whose members earn the positions of “mule wranglers.” At Navy, there are eight Midshipmen in the Goat Squad, the group that takes care of Bill(s) the Goat(s) at events and games. Once you’re chosen, the job is yours until graduation. The identity of the daily caretaker, who keeps the goats on a nearby farm, is classified.

Senior Myles Brown leads the Goat Squad and has been a member since his sophomore year. He said the two goats — both named Bill — will arrive at the Stadium around 10 a.m. and be available in the parking lot to visit with fans. The Goat Squad will enter the stadium between noon and 12:30 p.m., and they’ll look for a spot on the field secluded from the football players “so they’re not overstimulated.” After Bill 37 retired, Bill 38 took his place — and Bill 39 is the new addition (for anyone who might be counting).

“They like to be together,” said Brown, who worked on a sheep farm during high school in Georgia. “They’re a lot more calm when they’re around each other.”

The goats will be on leashes, with two handlers per goat, one person to clean up any messes they leave behind (literally), one to carry water and treats, and everyone else is “crowd control.” Though the goats will eat just about anything, Brown said, “they really like animal crackers.”

The mules eat hay and the mule wranglers will bring four bales for Paladin to travel with as well as a hay net filled for him to eat on the field.

“I always think about Bevo,” said LTC Adam Brady, of the Texas Longhorns‘ mascot. Brady is a member of the commandant’s staff responsible for training and operations. “Nobody cares about Bevo until something goes wrong. We’ve got to be aware of that. They’re a huge draw. Kids love them, parents love them. People try to get on them. But they are something that we are concerned about. We have to take care of the animals, but we also do have to recognize that they are wild animals, and they’re significantly larger than the Navy goat.”

“There are some things we have to be aware of,” Brady said. “Logistically, some of that is, hey, can we even get them in the stadium? Just from a safety perspective, how can I get a spooked mule out of a stadium safely? We have to evaluate that, whether it’s here at home with our construction that we’ve been doing, or the different stadiums. The sidelines are a lot tighter than you’d expect.”

This year, one other live mascot might try to steal their spotlight.

Chesty, an English bulldog who is the mascot of the United States Marine Corps, could make a surprise appearance during the coin toss.

“That’s what we’re planning,” said Ann McConnell, the Naval Academy’s director of protocol. “However, that may change. The Secretary of War may come over to our side to walk out with the President. That’s still a little bit in flux.”

Presidential visit

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the Department of the Navy and the Department of the Army, we are honored to invite you and Mrs. Trump to attend the 126th Annual Army-Navy football game, on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.

The home team sends the official invitation to the White House and this year that is Navy. Both schools confirmed President Trump will attend — along with hundreds of other high-ranking officials, dignitaries and celebrities. It’s a massive coordination effort that takes a year of planning and above all else — security.

Jeff Reynolds, Chief of Protocol, United States Military Academy, West Point, said he was expecting close to 800 celebrities and dignitaries in Baltimore, and is in charge of credentialing more than 600 seats on Army’s 50-yard line — extending from the first row up to the first few rows on the upper deck.

Throughout his career, Reynolds has credentialed Elon Musk, Phil Knight, Gary Sinise, Rachel Ray, Charles Barkley, Mark Wahlberg, Peyton and Eli Manning. There’s one person, though, at the top of his list — Army superintendent Lieutenant General Steven W. Gilland, “who for me, outranks everybody else. I work directly for him. I got to make sure he’s taken care of.”

Reynolds, whose first Army-Navy game was in 2008 when President George W. Bush attended, has worked with Presidents Bush, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden and Trump.

“The challenging part is to try to make sure the fan experience is still great,” Reynolds said. “We want everybody coming to the stadium to have a great time, to enjoy America’s Game.

“But the logistics,” he said. “The White House staff determines the itinerary of the President. The Secret Service’s job is to make sure that itinerary is secure for the President — and everybody — but really they’re focused on the President. My job is to meld all that into the fan experience and the team, so they can still take the field at the right time, do whatever the coaches need them to do.”

Ann McConnell, who has worked in the Naval Academy’s protocol office for 27 years and been its director for nine, said there would be an additional 500 distinguished visitors (DVs) on Navy’s 50-yard line and will include senators, congressmen, cabinet members, and senior military leaders. This year’s coin toss will include: President Trump, the secretary of the Navy, chief of naval operations, master chief of navy, command master chief at naval academy, president from USAA, superintendent, commandant of marine corps, and the sergeant major of marine corps.

(And Chesty.)

While most of the dignitaries start to arrive between 11 a.m. and noon, the President typically comes just before kickoff for security reasons.

“I actually don’t ever sit,” said McConnell, who enlisted in the Navy in 1992 as a yeoman to follow in her father’s footsteps. “I am constantly moving. I am down on the field making sure everyone’s where they need to be for the coin toss and the crossover. I am up in the Midshipmen’s seats when our [distinguished visitors] come up to interact with the Midshipmen, I am down on our seating section making sure everyone has what they need. I am up in the warming room making sure everyone is all set. Sometimes I end up at gates making sure people that can download the tickets are able to get in. So I really from the time we arrive at eight o’clock, I do not sit until I get in my car at seven and head home.”

On Dec. 31 — or thereabouts — we are going to learn which NHL players are going to spend at least two weeks in Italy representing their nations at the Olympic Games, along with knowing who will be on a beach watching those Olympics from afar.

Every nation that’s competing at the Milan-Cortina Games is expected to have its roster finalized by the Dec. 31 deadline. It’s what makes the time between now and then quite crucial, and it could play a role in the difference between potentially challenging for an Olympic medal or thinking about what that would be like.

Canada, Czechia, Finland, Sweden and the United States each have a unique set of decisions to make in the coming weeks. ESPN did its first round of projections in November for those five teams. Now comes one final set of predictions about what those five nations could do with their respective rosters.

Jump to a roster:
United States
Canada
Sweden
Finland
Czechia

United States

Note: Players in bold were the first six selected.

Team USA is facing many uncertainties entering the Dec. 31 roster deadline, which is reflected in my roster projection.

It’s a rather lengthy conversation that starts with how much injuries could impact what Team USA does with its final roster. Adam Fox (upper body) is out for an indefinite period, and Charlie McAvoy (puck to the face) could return later this week. There is also a quartet of players recovering from long-term injuries:

• Matthew Tkachuk (sports hernia and torn adductor) resumed skating in November with the idea that he could potentially return in December.

• Jaccob Slavin (lower body) began practicing on Dec. 2 in a noncontact sweater but has not played since Oct. 11.

• Jack Hughes (finger surgery) is expected to return to the lineup around the second week of January.

• Connor Hellebuyck (knee surgery) is on a path to return by early to mid-January.

My projection takes those injuries into account, with the idea that those five players should be available for the Olympics. But there are other selection discussions that go beyond these five players.

Enter Jason Robertson.

Will he make the final cut if Team USA has a full complement of players, or is he in the mix only if there’s an injury at forward?

Robertson and his potential addition (or omission) has become a talking point because of what he has done since Nov. 5 (the date of my earlier roster projections). No player has scored more goals in that time than Robertson, and Nathan MacKinnon is the only player who has more points than Robertson within that window.

That has intensified the conversation about why Robertson should make the final roster, though there is an opposing side to the debate:

• Proponents will point out how he gives Team USA another scorer who can create for others. They’ll also note that Robertson provides the U.S. with a 6-3, 207-pound option for a tournament in which physically imposing players could play a role.

• Opponents will argue that there could be two-way players who provide more continuity in the defensive zone than Robertson. They’ll also likely present the case that Robertson is not the fastest or most technical of skaters — a detail that became one of the themes of the 4 Nations Face-Off, when it was superstar vs. superstar each shift.

Team USA general manager Bill Guerin told The Athletic in late November that Robertson is doing all he can to make a compelling case. Guerin also acknowledged that there are only so many roster spots. “And when you look at it, there’s so many guys that are close in the way they’re performing, in their statistics, in their body of work,” Guerin said then. “It could come down to fit. What do we need?”

play

Jason Robertson scores on the power play for Dallas Stars

Jason Robertson capitalizes on the power play

Targeting defensibly responsible forwards was part of the blueprint Team USA used for the 4 Nations Face-Off. That approach is why there has been so much attention paid to Vincent Trocheck. He sustained an early-season upper-body injury that created questions about his place within the Team USA setup. Since returning on Nov. 10, he’s averaging 0.93 points per game. That’s the sort of production that reinforces his value as a two-way center who can anchor the fourth line and be used in numerous defensive situations.

Trocheck’s play is a contrast to his New York Rangers teammate J.T. Miller. There’s still a chance Miller could make the final roster given he is another two-way presence that can be used on the wing or down the middle. But his selection has been complicated by the fact that he’s averaging 0.62 points this season, despite having a 0.81 points-per-game career average.

That also highlights another reality facing Team USA: There is no shortage of forwards that Guerin and his staff could use to fill out those final spots:

play

Tage Thompson tallies goal for Buffalo Sabres on the power play

Tage Thompson scores power-play goal vs. Flames

Having three defensemen who are injured or recovering from injuries means that the U.S. will need to stay nimble right until Dec. 31. They have some options on the blue line, too:

• Has John Carlson done enough to be in the discussion? His potential addition would give the U.S. another veteran. He has also been sixth in points among defensemen since Nov. 5.

• There are young player options, such as Lane Hutson, Luke Hughes and Jackson LaCombe, who have been logging heavy minutes over the past month. Veterans like Shayne Gostisbehere or Seth Jones could also be in play.

One area in which it appears Team USA could find continuity is goaltending. As I see it, the U.S. will retain the three goaltenders it used at the 4 Nations Face-Off: Jake Oettinger, Jeremy Swayman and Hellebuyck, in the event he’s healthy. Joey Daccord and Spencer Knight have created compelling cases for why they could pose a selection discussion (particularly if Hellebuyck’s availability is in question).

Swayman, Oettinger and Knight are fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, in GSAA among goalies in 5-on-5 play (min. 300 minutes), per Natural Stat Trick. Daccord is 13th, and Hellebuyck, who last played Nov. 15, is 19th.

Canada

Note: Players in bold were the first six selected.

Creating the strongest and most strategic lineup possible is the objective for every front office. This particular projection is reflective of what Canada’s front office believes it can achieve, by creating a roster that allows coach Jon Cooper to have as many options as possible at his disposal based on his game-by-game strategy.

Many of Canada’s forwards have shown they can fit within that structure: They can score, create for themselves, create for others around them and defend in ways that allow them to be trusted in any scenario.

Determining how forwards like Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini, Anthony Cirelli, Seth Jarvis, Wyatt Johnston, Mark Stone and Tom Wilson fit into those plans appears to be the primary challenge facing Canada’s front office ahead of the roster deadline.

Why? Because it’s essentially choosing between having the additional personnel that fits within a proven plan, versus having players who can fit in to an altered strategy should circumstances change on the ground in Italy.

Cirelli, Jarvis and Stone are two-way players who can both score and create for teammates, but their defensive zone impact is just as crucial. Bedard and Johnston can provide instant offense, and Celebrini is a blend of both; he has shown he can perform highly in every area of the ice.

Wilson is an outlier, in that he might be the most unique forward of this group. He provides Canada with one more tall and heavy presence up front at 6-4 and 225 pounds, and also gives the team another forward who can create problems at the net front.

My projection goes with Bedard, Celebrini, Stone and Wilson to make the final roster because it is a way of getting all those items. Morgan Geekie and Bo Horvat, who could each finish with more than 50 goals this season, may give the Canadian front office some sleepless nights before the deadline.

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Macklin Celebrini’s hat trick wins it for Sharks in OT

Macklin Celebrini scores on the power play for San Jose Sharks

On defense, the emphasis is on players who can possess the puck, create for others and score goals. They must be able to be used in numerous situations while logging heavy minutes.

Experience and size are two of the assets they lost with Alex Pietrangelo, who is out recovering from a long-term hip injury. My projection gives Canada five defensemen who are each taller than 6-2, with the idea that there are other options to consider, like Evan Bouchard, Jakob Chychrun, Mike Matheson and Matthew Schaefer. Canada also has 6-0 Brandon Montour to consider.

Continuity and game strategy could be the hallmark for how Canada assembles its roster. That is also what makes the situation around goaltending difficult, because there’s been a lack of continuity (and long-term strategy).

The three goalies Canada brought to the 4 Nations Face-Off — Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill and Sam Montembeault — have had challenging 2025-26 seasons. A lower-body injury sent Hill to injured reserve in October, and he is possibly weeks away from returning. Montembeault has the worst GSAA of any goalie in the NHL in 5-on-5 play (min. 300 minutes) as of Dec. 8.

The discussion around Binnington has become a rather complicated endeavor. The St. Louis Blues struggled in the first quarter of the season, but entered Dec. 9 just two points out of a playoff spot. Part of what has made the discourse around Binnington complex is that the Blues were one of the strongest teams in the NHL in allowing the fewest scoring chances and high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes in the first quarter. But Binnington is 53rd in save percentage — of the 57 goalies who qualify in the NHL. He has the fourth-lowest GSAA in all scenarios, and the sixth-lowest GSAA in 5-on-5 play entering Dec. 9, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Of course, one of the counters to those questions is that Binnington has a history of overcoming his inconsistencies to win important games. He had a combined .895 save percentage in December and January last season before backstopping Canada to a 4 Nations Face-Off title. He also led the Blues to a Stanley Cup win in 2019, including a clinching victory on the road in Game 7.

Binnington recently told The Canadian Press that he was “aware of what’s going on, and you want to put yourself in the best position to make that team and make it easy for the people making the decision.” He added, “At the same time, I feel like I’ve been around the league for a decent amount of time, and I know that if I control my inner world and what I need to do to feel at my best, then the rest will take care of itself.”

He made the cut (and the starting nod) in my projection, but the other two spots bring new faces. Logan Thompson entered Dec. 8 ranked first in GSAA among those with more than 10 games, and Scott Wedgewood was third, per Natural Stat Trick. Those two round out the goalie battery for Canada.

Could others like Jake Allen, Mackenzie Blackwood, Tristan Jarry and Darcy Kuemper present a case before New Year’s Eve?

Sweden

Note: Players in bold were the first six selected.

Sweden has quite a few moving parts it must manage. The need for consistency is even more crucial upon knowing that the Dec. 31 roster deadline is quickly approaching.

Elias Pettersson is one of the players at the heart of this conversation. He faced questions at the start of the season about whether he would be a better fit at center or on the wing, considering his offensive struggles along with Sweden’s additional options down the middle. Pettersson came into Dec. 8 averaging 0.79 points per game, while on a team that is in the bottom third of the NHL in goals per game. He also missed the Canucks’ past two games with a lower-body injury.

It has all led to a discussion about who makes the most sense at second-line center between Elias Lindholm, Mika Zibanejad and Pettersson. Lindholm returned from a lower-body injury and scored eight points in his first eight games back, averaging 0.85 points per game for the season. Zibanejad averaged 0.78 points per game through his first 31 games and came into Dec. 8 as the second-highest scoring center in terms of points among Swedes.

I’ve got Zibanejad centering the second line, with Lindholm in the middle of the third and Pettersson on the wing.

Deliberating between those three — with the idea that Joel Eriksson Ek can anchor the fourth line — also comes as Sweden awaits news on William Karlsson. He sustained a lower-body injury in mid-November that led to him being moved to long-term injured reserve on Dec. 6. Karlsson makes the final roster in this projection, with the idea he could be an extra forward who can play down the middle or on the wing.

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Elias Pettersson scores while falling down for Canucks

Elias Pettersson nets an impressive goal while falling onto the ice to give the Canucks a 2-1 lead over the Sharks.

Sweden has seen progress in other areas of the lineup. Gabriel Landeskog went from three points in his first 12 games to having nine points in 13 games in November. Two-way veteran forward Marcus Johansson is averaging 0.69 points per game, one of the strongest offensive campaigns of any Sweden player.

This could result in Sweden’s front office having a difficult decision to make when it comes to finalizing its forward group. Among those left off my roster, Andre Burakovsky, William Eklund and Emil Heineman have each made cases, and Rickard Rakell could also be under consideration despite the fact that he broke his hand in mid-November and is expected to return around mid-January.

The only injury concern facing Sweden’s blue line was Victor Hedman, who returned on Dec. 6 after a nearly monthlong absence. And in fact, my projected roster here has Sweden taking the same D group it used at the 4 Nations Face-Off, plus Hampus Lindholm.

Who’s making a late push? Oliver Ekman-Larsson had the most points of any Swedish defenseman this season entering Dec. 8, and Philip Broberg was fourth in average minutes played among Swedish defensemen. Simon Edvinsson and Adam Larsson could also be in the mix.

Now comes the most interesting question facing Sweden: Is Minnesota Wild rookie Jesper Wallstedt going to Milan-Cortina?

As of Dec. 8, Wallstedt is in the top three in the NHL in GSAA, goals-against average and save percentage among goalies with more than 10 games played. He has worked in tandem with fellow Swede Filip Gustavsson to create one of the best duos in the NHL. I’m sending both Gustavsson and Wallstedt to Italy.

Jacob Markstrom and Linus Ullmark have not fared up to expectation this season. Both entered Dec. 8 carrying save percentages below .880. Ullmark’s performance is particularly puzzling; the Ottawa Senators are among the top five teams in the NHL in fewest scoring chances allowed per 60, fewest high-danger chances allowed per 60 and fewest shots allowed per 60, and the former Vezina Trophy winner’s save percentage is a career-low .877.

Finland

Note: Players in bold were the first six selected.

Finland continues to encounter an extra degree of difficulty when building its roster, because there seems to be some sort of new injury on a near-weekly basis.

It started with Aleksander Barkov tearing his ACL and MCL in training camp. That was followed by Kaapo Kakko, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Rasmus Ristolainen all missing the start of the regular season with injuries.

Kakko returned on Nov. 1, got injured on Nov. 13 and returned again on Nov. 29. Luukkonen has remained mostly healthy, and Philadelphia Flyers coach Rick Tocchet provided a timeline on Dec. 3 for Ristolainen’s potential return, saying, “It’s not a month and it’s not a week.” There’s also the fact that Juuso Valimaki, who was on Finland’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster but didn’t play, sustained a knee injury that required surgery last season and has yet to play this season.

Adding on to that list, Patrik Laine underwent core surgery in late October. He’ll miss three to four months, with his earliest return being Jan. 25. That would give him a five-game window to get ready for the Olympics if he’s named to the final roster. Mikael Granlund (lower body), Eetu Luostarinen (burns from a grilling accident) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (ankle) were each on IR at various points this season and returned during the first weekend of December. Olli Maatta (upper body) has been out of the lineup since mid-November.

My roster projection takes those injuries into account, with the premise that everyone except Barkov and potentially Laine should be fully healthy when Finland’s front office submits its final roster on Dec. 31. It’s possible Finland could select Laine, but that puts a lot of faith in a five-game window after a major surgery being enough preparation for the Olympics.

Juggling that many injury concerns — with the reality that there could be even more in the coming weeks — has made depth even more imperative. Finland has forwards like Matias Maccelli and Aatu Raty who didn’t make the cut in my projection, but either could make the final cut or be called upon should another injury arise.

Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that 13 of the 28 Finnish forwards who have played a game in the NHL this season had five points or fewer entering Dec. 9. It’s the sort of dynamic that could prompt Finland’s front office to consider Finnish players who aren’t in the NHL, such as Jesse Puljujarvi.

It’s a similar situation with Finland’s defense. Finland has had only seven defensemen who have played a game in the NHL this season.

Czechia

Note: Players in bold were the first six selected.

Like its Finnish counterparts, Czechia’s front office is trying to figure out how it can piece together its best possible roster while navigating injuries. And as noted above with Puljujarvi, Czechia may also rely upon quite a few personnel currently playing in Europe.

Filip Chytil, who has had his career interrupted by injuries, sustained an upper-body injury this season that has kept him on IR since Oct. 20. He resumed skating in mid-November but a timeline has not been given for his return. Jiri Kulich remains out indefinitely with blood clots, while Tomas Nosek continues to recover from a knee injury with the expectation he will miss the Olympics. Czechia’s front office is also monitoring Michal Kempny’s status after he sustained an injury on Nov. 27 while playing in Sweden, with no reported timetable for his return.

Chytil and Kempny are included on my roster because there appears to be enough of a runway for them to prepare for the Olympics. If not, that would leave Czechia seeking another forward to fill its top nine while also losing one of its top six defensemen.

Certain portions of Czechia’s projected roster is in flux. Czechia has seen players like Adam Klapka get more playing time this season, while others like Ondrej Palat are playing every game but struggling. Palat is projected to finish with a career-low 14 points in an 82-game season.

Another player who has struggled this season is David Tomasek. He averaged 1.21 points per game playing in Sweden last season, but his transition to the NHL has been difficult, with five points through his first 19 games. There’s also the possibility that David Kampf could factor into the discussion now that he’s consistently playing games in the NHL again.

All of the above is what has made the performances of those playing in Europe even more important toward creating the strongest Czechia roster. There are forwards like Ondrej Beranek, Filip Chlapik, Ondrej Kase, Michael Spacek and Matej Stransky who are having strong seasons. Jan Kostalek and Libor Zabransky provide another set of options on defense. Kostalek has 27 points in 28 games. Zabransky had 11 goals and 21 points and is second in average ice time through his first 29 games in the Extraliga this season.

Czechia also has some deliberating to do with its goalies beyond Lukas Dostal. The conversation started gaining momentum when rookie Jakub Dobes won his first six starts this season while posting a .930 save percentage. However, he has gone 4-4-2 in 10 games since, with a save percentage below .900 in six of those contests.

Dostal and Dan Vladar are both in the top 22 of GSAA among goalies with 300 minutes or more played this season. Karel Vejmelka is 42nd and Dobes is 44th entering Dec. 9, according to Natural Stat Trick. So I give the slight edge to Vejmelka in this final projection.