As far as darkhorse contenders to pull a major Olympics upset go, Finland is in the conversation.
The Finnish men’s hockey roster is loaded with NHL talent as the tournament gets underway Wednesday. Finland plays in the opening game, taking on Slovakia.
They are missing one key guy, though: Aleksander Barkov, the star from the Florida Panthers. Barkov is out with an injury.
“Nobody can replace Barkov, but we have a lot of different kind of leaders,” Finland general manager Jere Lehtinen told NHL.com. “They’ll bring different kind of leadership to the team.”
They’ve got plenty of firepower to make up for it.
Finland is the defending gold medalist, too, from the 2022 tournament when NHL players weren’t a part of the competition.
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What NHL players are on Finland’s Olympic roster?
All but one of the players on Finland’s Olympic roster play in the NHL.
The other is Mikko Lehtonen, formerly a Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets defenseman, who plays in Switzerland. He was the only guy from this group part of the gold medalist in 2022.
The NHL players are as follows:
- Joel Armia, Kings
- Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes
- Mikael Granlund, Ducks
- Erik Haula, Predators
- Roope Hintz, Stars
- Kaapo Kakko, Kraken
- Oliver Kapanen, Canadiens
- Joel Kiviranta, Avalanche
- Artturi Lehkonen, Avalanche
- Anton Lundell, Panthers
- Eetu Luostarinen, Panthers
- Mikko Rantanen, Stars
- Teuvo Teravainen, Blackhawks
- Eeli Tolvanen, Kraken
- Miro Keiskanen, Stars
- Henri Jokiharju, Bruins
- Esa Lindell, Stars
- Olli Maatta, Mammoth
- Nikolas Matinpalo, Senators
- Niko Mikkola, Panthers
- Rasmus Ristolainen, Flyers
- Joonas Korpisalo, Bruins
- Kevin Lankinen, Canucks
- Juuse Saros, Predators
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There’s some serious star power on that list, as well as a lot of good depth.
It’s a team made to perform well in the grind of a tournament. Don’t be surprised if Finland is in the picture as the medal rounds approach.
