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The 2026 Winter Olympic Games have a pair of favorites heading into it. Canada and the United States are arguably the top two superpowers in global hockey competition. Still, countries like Finland believe they have what it takes to capture the gold medal in Italy this coming February.
Finland‘s pursuit of that gold medal officially kicked off with the announcement of their 2026 Winter Olympic Games roster. The nation finished fourth in the recent 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, but they have a strong chance to win the entire thing this time around
Shortly after the United States and Canada announced their official rosters, Finland joined the bunch and shared the group of men who will be pursuing that top prize this winter. The group is led by Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho and a quartet of Dallas Stars players in Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell and Roope Hintz.
The roster for Finland at the #MilanoCortina2026 #WinterOlympics is here! 🇫🇮 pic.twitter.com/H6blKyxjGV
The forward group is largely what was expected for Finland, aside from two surprise omissions. Montreal Canadiens sniper Patrik Laine was left off the team, as well as Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
In their place is rookie Canadiens forward Oliver Kapanen. His first year in the NHL has been beyond impressive, and he takes the spot of two veteran players many projected to be on the team.
There's also the glaring and heavy absence of Florida Panthers and Finland team captain Aleksander Barkov. While he's progressing well after surgery to repair a torn ACL and MCL, he is nowhere close to being ready to return.
The most intriguing position to monitor for Finland is their goaltending. The team selected Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Buffalo Sabres, Kevin Lankinen of the Vancouver Canucks and Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators as the trio that will backstop their gold-medal push.
Saros enters as the presumptive starter. He was their go-to goalie during the 4 Nations Face-Off, and he enters the tournament with the most NHL experience. But he's not the Finnish goaiie having the best stretch.
That honor belongs to Luukkonen. He's been limited due to injury, but during his 12 starts for the Sabres, he's looked excellent. He's compiled a record of 7-5-1 with a 2.46 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. He's the only goalie on Finland's roster with a GAA below 3.00 and a save percentage above .900.
That gives Finland options, and a tough choice to make. Saros is the veteran who has played in a Stanley Cup Finals before, but Luukkonen is undoubtedly the hottest goalie on their roster. It will be interesting to monitor how they handle the goal crease when the Winter Olympics begin.
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Jacob is a featured writer covering the Pittsburgh Steelers for Steelers On SI and the NHL for Breakaway On SI. He also co-hosts the All Steelers Talk podcast. Previous work covering the NHL for Inside the Penguins and The Hockey News.
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