Rangers HC Mike Sullivan praises "fierce competitors" J.T. Miller, Adam Fox & more from 4 Nations experience

Newly appointed New York Rangers coach Mike Sullivan praised several of his future players after the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Speaking to the media, he mentioned the competitive spirit he saw in Adam Fox, J.T. Miller, Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck. Sullivan coached Team USA and got to work with them directly.

He called them “fierce competitors” and said they have a strong desire to win.

"What I learnt is that they're fierce competitors and they have an insatiable appetite to win," Sullivan said on Thursday.

Fox played in all four games. He didn’t record any points but played solid defense. He had two shots and a neutral plus-minus in most games. In the final game, he had a -2 rating. He averaged around 17 minutes of ice time per game.

J.T. Miller also played four games. He did not score but was strong in his two-way play. Miller's ice time increased as the games got tougher, and had a +2 rating in the win against Finland and -1 in the final two games.

Chris Kreider played in two games. He scored the team’s only goal in the 2-1 loss to Sweden on Feb. 17, with a +1 rating. In the final on Feb. 20, he played only six minutes and had no shots or points.

Vincent Trocheck also played all four games. He had no points and took only two shots, one of them in the final. His average ice time was about 10 minutes per game.

"All you need to do is watch that tournament," Sullivan said. "It was a great experience, the 4 Nations, that's how I came to know a couple of these guys, but that's what I learned about those 4 guys in particular. They're fierce competitors, and they want to win in the worst way. That's the type of people I'm excited to work with."

Rangers’ new coach Mike Sullivan excited to join historic franchise

Mike Sullivan was named the 38th coach of the New York Rangers on May 1. He expressed his excitement about joining the team, calling it an honor to coach a historic franchise with passionate fans.

“It’s an incredible honor to be the head coach of such a storied franchise, an Original Six team, a team that has such deep history and such a passionate fan base,” Sullivan said on Thursday, via Yahoo Sports. “It’s hard not to get excited about being the head coach of an organization like this.”

Sullivan led the Pittsburgh Penguins to two Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. He coached the Penguins for seven seasons but was let go after the team missed the playoffs for three years. When Sullivan became available, Rangers general manager Chris Drury immediately moved to hire him.

Sullivan has experience coaching in New York as he was an assistant coach for the Rangers 15 years ago and has coached at Madison Square Garden many times. He looks forward to coaching in front of the Rangers' fans and leading the team to success.