‘He puts himself at that elite level’: Canada’s Jon Cooper on Mitch Marner after 4 Nations Face-Off heroics

On a big stage, players can either thrive under pressure, or they can crumble.

In the opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off, Canada forward Mitch Marner stepped into the spotlight in a huge way, scoring the overtime winner to give the Canadians a 4-3 win over Sweden.

For Marner, who has been scrutinized for his performance during the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a notable goal for his country in a “best-on-best” tournament has garnered him praise from fans and pundits alike.

During the post-game press conference on Wednesday night, Canada head coach Jon Cooper was asked if a goal of that magnitude for a player like Marner would grow his confidence.

“Are you saying it is a confidence-building goal?” Cooper asked. “Well, that kid oozes confidence. I thought it was a big-time player making a big-time play at a big-time moment. That is why guys like him are on this team. It was fabulous.”

Marner received the dropback pass from Captain Canada, Sidney Crosby, but he spent most of regulation on a line with Connor McDavid and Sam Reinhart. Though he had some tedious moments in the middle portion of the contest, the Toronto native started to show some of that confidence when the game was on the line late in regulation and into overtime.

Cooper, who’s used to seeing Marner a lot during the NHL season behind the bench of the Tampa Bay Lightning, knows there are many aspects of his game that make him a special player.

“When you are that size, you have to be unique at something,” Cooper said. “You have to be better than everyone else at something. If you really watch that game, the plays he made in tight, the plays he made in traffic… He is not the fastest kid on the ice. He doesn’t have the hardest shot on the ice. He doesn’t do a whole bunch of things that a lot of guys on both teams do better than him. But it is really hard to sit here and say, ‘Was there a better player?’

“He puts himself at that elite level with the way he thinks the game and processes the game at such a high level and at such a high rate of speed. That is why he is the player he is. I have watched him close up. I have coached against him in a playoff series. I have watched what he can do. There are not too many guys who can excel as a power play player, a penalty killer, a 5-on-5 guy, and at 3-on-3. Mitch can do it all.”

Marner finished the game with 21:06 of ice time, second only to McDavid among Canadian forwards. He registered an even plus/minus, posting two shots on goal with two blocks.

The 4 Nations Face-Off is Marner’s bit of international experience since winning silver with Team Canada at the 2017 IIHF Men’s World Championship. He also donned the maple leaf at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship and for Team Ontario at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Canada now waits for its highly anticipated matchup with the United States on Saturday, the final game of the round-robin at the Bell Centre in Montreal.