The Pittsburgh Penguins found out how many of their players would be selected for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament a while ago.

That’s because no one else from their roster was chosen beyond the preliminary selections that were announced in June.

Six players from each squad — Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States — were named in June. In the Penguins’ case, forward Sidney Crosby (Canada) and defenseman Erik Karlsson (Sweden) were selected then.

On Wednesday, the remainder of the squads were announced and no one else currently employed by the Penguins in a playing capacity was part of those groups.

“It’s probably not an easy job to pick (Canada’s) team, all the teams to be honest with you,” Crosby said. “You look at the lineups, a ton of skill. That will be a great challenge. It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to do something like this. Everyone is excited.”

Karlsson echoed that sentiment.

“It’s going to be fun,” Karlsson said. “A lot of guys that I know personally. It’s going to be fun to get a chance to see everyone and make some new connections and reunite with some old ones.”

One connection Karlsson won’t have in the tournament — which will be staged in Boston and Montreal between Feb. 12 and 20 — is forward Rickard Rakell.

The Penguins’ leading goal-scorer (10), Rakell found out, with some surprise and disappointment, that he would not be part of Sweden’s roster on Monday.

(It should be noted that with the tournament still more than two months away, replacements can be named in the event of injuries or other absences.)

“He’s had a really good year for us,” Karlsson said of Rakell. “Right from the start. He was one of the guys that I think was pretty consistent throughout this season even though we’ve been very up and down as a team. He’s done everything to showcase himself and show his abilities. He’s still a very good player.

“It’s not easy to have to pick from (78 Swedish players who have skated in the NHL this season). It’s a tough choice. It (stinks) for him. I would have loved to have him there. That’s an unfortunate part of the business sometimes.”

As for Karlsson individually, his business appears to be getting better in recent weeks.

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After missing the entire preseason with an undisclosed injury, Karlsson generated limited offense to open the regular season with eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his first 15 games. And while his defense has always been subject to scrutiny, he was routinely prone to miscues that resulted in opposing goals.

As of late, those defensive faux pas, at least to the naked eye, have been less abundant and his rate of offensive production has increased slightly (one goal and seven assists in 12 games).

An ongoing four-game winning streak, a season-best, has provided a rising tide to everyone’s boat as well. Including his.

“It’s been very up and down, I think,” Karlsson said of his individual season. “Obviously, I don’t think that we’ve reached the potential that we were hoping for, right from the start. It’s been a tough go, myself included. Lately, obviously, we’ve played some better hockey and we’ve been winning some games, which helps a lot of aspects in your individual game and team game.

“Hopefully, we can keep that going and build on some good stuff to make ourselves feel like we can play like the hockey players that we know that we are.”

Note: Penguins defensive prospect Harrison Brunicke is in town rehabilitating a wrist injury. Assigned to his junior team, the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers, out of the Penguins’ training camp, Brunicke has not played for the Blazers since Nov. 11 because of his ailment. Earlier in the week, Brunicke, a second-round draft pick (No. 44 overall) in June, was selected to Hockey Canada’s preliminary roster for the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Junior Championship tournament, which begins later this month.

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