Wild boss Bill Guerin revels in chance to pick from the best as Team USA GM in 4 Nations Face-Off

LAS VEGAS – Overseeing a team is nothing new for Bill Guerin.

He’s been at the helm of the Wild since 2019, arriving as general manager before acquiring the title of president of hockey operations a year ago.

But his role as GM of Team USA at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off has a unique vibe.

“When it’s your country, it’s totally different,” Guerin said. “It’s got a different feel to it. It’s a whole different ball of wax. No salary cap. It’s the level of the players that we’re talking about and combining them all together was what’s really exciting.”

The first six players for all teams were revealed Friday ahead of the first round of the NHL draft, with Jack Eichel (Vegas), Adam Fox (New York Rangers), Quinn Hughes (Vancouver), Auston Matthews (Toronto), Charlie McAvoy (Boston) and Matthew Tkachuk (Florida) the United States’ selections.

Canada, Sweden and Finland are also participating in the international tournament between NHLers that will replace the All-Star Game next season.

This seven-game, nine-day summit Feb. 12-20 will start in Montreal before concluding in Boston.

“When we went through it and just started making the decisions, just talking about the group of players that we get to talk about, it was exciting. It was fun,” said Guerin, who will have Wild coach John Hynes on Mike Sullivan’s coaching staff as an assistant. “These are players that you’d otherwise never be talking about because they’re franchise players. You don’t just trade for them all the time. It’s gonna be really good.”

A three-time Olympian who won silver in 2002, Guerin will also be in charge of the 2026 Olympic team.

He was supposed to lead the 2022 squad before the NHL pulled its participation due to COVID-19 concerns.

The last in-person draft before the NHL decentralizes the annual event is the first live televised event at Sphere, the dome-shaped arena just east of the Las Vegas Strip.

On the exterior, footage from the live TV broadcast was displayed on the world’s largest LED screen.

Inside Sphere, highlights and the draft board flashed on the world’s highest resolution LED screen in front of and above the draft floor where all 32 teams were huddled.

But beginning next year, teams will remain in their respective cities, which is how the NFL and NBA handle drafts.

“Maybe there’s more open discussion,” Wild director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett said. “Sometimes it’s hard at the table. You’ve got another team on both sides of you, all around you. Some of your discussions are a little bit muted.

“If you’re in a war-room setting, obviously we can have some video up. We can be exploring a little bit more of other opportunities to trade or move around.”

The Wild are scheduled to make five picks on Day 2 of the draft, beginning with No. 45 in the second round.

They also have a fourth-rounder, two fifths and a sixth.

That extra pick in the fifth round arrived in the Jordan Greenway trade with Buffalo two seasons ago. The Wild dealt their third-rounder to Washington in 2023 to add Marcus Johansson. They also moved their seventh-round selection to Tampa Bay last summer to bring in Pat Maroon.