Finland – Mikael Granlund (San Jose Sharks), Mikko Rantanen (Dallas Stars)
Finland will enter Milano Cortina 2026 as the defending champions, after Valtteri Filppula led the Leijonat (Lions) to gold at Beijing 2022. Neither Mikael Granlund nor Mikko Rantanen were on that team, but both forwards figure to have a spot on the Finnish team in 2026.
Granlund has been a solid performer in the NHL since 2012, playing for the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and now the San Jose Sharks where he is an alternate captain. A no-frills dependable centre, he has played for the Finnish senior national team since 2011 and played on the Sochi 2014 bronze-winning Finland team, scoring seven points (three goals, four assists) in six games.
Rantanen, meanwhile, would be playing on his first Olympic team if selected. Traded twice this season in the NHL, first from the Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes then from the Hurricanes to the Dallas Stars, MacKinnon’s former Colorado teammate and the 2022 Stanley Cup champion has topped 100 points twice in his NHL career and is on pace to do so again this year. The two-time NHL All-Star also contributed 25 points in the Avs’ run to the Cup in 2022.
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