I’m a little late, or rather this tournament seems kind of random and I have had no interest. I mean, just let the players go to the Olympics, like we want.

I digress. Last night was the start of the 4 Cheese Pizza Classic, or for the joyless, the Four Nations Face-off.

The one to beat is a classic & the work horse of most meals. Team SHARP cheddar, ie Canada.

Why sharp? Because it takes age (experience) to ‘sharpen’ up. Easily recognized on any bougee charcuterie board.

9 F Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers
71 F Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning
87 F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
38 F Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning
24 F Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes
11 F Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
29 F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
63 F Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
16 F Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
97 F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
21 F Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning
13 F Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers
61 F Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights
89 Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings
8 D Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
44 D Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets
55 D Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues
6 D Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers
27 D Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights
5 D Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche
50 G Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
33 G Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights
35 G Sam Montembeault, Montreal Canadiens

Next cheese, is not as versatile and not as refined, but ever-present. It is Team Monterey Jack, ie USA.

Bet you thought I would say ‘American’ cheese. Nope, we are the semi-hard, buttery cheese that can make any pie pop . Flavorful, though easy to melt.

• 12 F Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild
• 81 F Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets
• 9 F Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights
• 59 F Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning
• 86 F Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
• 20 F Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
• 21 F Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
• 34 F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
• 10 F J.T. Miller, New York Rangers
• 29 F Brock Nelson, New York Islanders
• 7 F Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
• 19 F Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers
• 16 F Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers
• 14 D Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild
• 23 D Adam Fox, New York Rangers
• 25 D Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins
• 15 D Noah Hanifin, Vegas Golden Knights
• 85 D Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators
• 74 D Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
• 8 D Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets
• 37 G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
• 30 G Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars
• 1 G Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins

Next is Team Goat cheese, ie Sweden.

This is a ‘smooth’ cheese; unexpected flavor, and not often appreciated. It is expensive, so you will only care, if it’s on sale.

• 33 F Viktor Arvidsson, Edmonton Oilers
• 63 F Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils
• 91 F Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks
• 20 F Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild
• 9 F Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators
• 10 F Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings
• 28 F Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins
• 88 F William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
• 12 F Gustav Nyquist, Nashville Predators
• 40 F Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
• 67 F Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins
• 23 F Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings
• 93 F Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers
• 4 D Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames
• 25 D Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild
• 26 D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
• 14 D Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers
• 42 D Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers
• 77 D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
• 65 D Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins
• 30 G Samuel Ersson, Philadelphia Flyers
• 32 G Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild
• 35 G Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators

Last is Team Blue Cheese, ie Finland.

This takes an acquired taste. It can be salty, it can be sharp, but it is always malodorous.

• 20 F Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes
• 40 F Joel Armia, Montreal Canadiens
• 16 F Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
• 64 F Mikael Granlund, Dallas Stars
• 56 F Erik Haula, New Jersey Devils
• 24 F Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars
• 84 F Kaapo Kakko, Seattle Kraken
• 92 F Patrik Laine, Montreal Canadiens
• 62 F Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado Avalanche
• 15 F Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers
• 27 F Eetu Luostarinen, Florida Panthers
• 96 F Mikko Rantanen, Carolina Hurricanes
• 86 F Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks
• 10 D Henri Jokiharju, Buffalo Sabres
• 23 D Esa Lindell, Stars
• 77 D Niko Mikkola, Florida Panthers
• 3 D Olli Maatta, Utah Hockey Club
• 33 D Nikolas Matinpalo, Ottawa Senators
• 18 Urho Vaakanainen, New York Rangers
• 6 D Juuso Valimaki, Utah Hockey Club
• 32 G Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver Canucks
• 1 G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres
• 74 G Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators

LGUSA