$25,000,000 Oilers D-man leaves no doubt about squaring off against Connor McDavid in 4 Nations Face-Off

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm is ready to play against Connor McDavid in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Team Canada will face Sweden in its first game on Wednesday at Bell Centre in Montreal. The tournament runs until Feb. 20, with games also in Boston.

Ekholm, who signed a four-year $25 million contract in 2021, knows McDavid’s skills well.

"Obviously, I've (played) against him before I got to Edmonton," Ekholm said oon Monday, via Oilersnation.com. "But yeah, he's a great player. I play him in practice every day, so I know I've seen him firsthand."

Ekholm added that Canada has many strong players, making the game a challenge for Sweden.

"And obviously, he's not the only one that's good on that team, so it's going to be challenging for us overall, but it'll be interesting to see how that pans out, or if I'm on the ice at the same time," Ekholm said. "Obviously I want to win, and I think he's wired the same way, so we won't be friends out there, but I'm sure afterwards, we can hopefully have a laugh about it."

Sweden’s defense includes Victor Hedman, Rasmus Dahlin and Erik Karlsson. Canada’s top lines feature stars like McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Mitch Marner and Sam Reinhart. It's going to be a bug test for Team Sweden to control Canada's offense.

Ekholm is looking forward to the season opener against Team Canada. When asked about the advice he would give his fellow defensemen when facing McDavid, Ekholm said that he is "so dynamic."

"That's the beauty of him, right?" Ekholm said. "Like, I don't think he has any patterns. I don't think he has any where you're like, Okay, play him like this, and you'll be good. Like, it's, he's just so dynamic, so explosive."

Ekholm also mentioned that he had no set way to defend McDavid. He stressed staying alert and avoiding foot races because he is fast.

Connor McDavid is excited about playing in 4 Nations Face-off

Connor McDavid is excited to play best-on-best hockey in the 4 Nations Face-Off. He practiced with Mitch Marner and Sam Reinhart. He talked about the need to build chemistry quickly with little practice time.

"I think for a couple of guys, (they) sre coming in from different situations," McDavid said on Monday, via NHL.com. "I think we're just trying to get a little bit of a base down, see how it's going to feel and what it's like out there together."

McDavid was happy Sidney Crosby and Drew Doughty are available to play despite injuries. He focused on working hard in the tournament, especially on special teams.