2026 Milan Olympics Team Finland Preview

This article is part of an ongoing series that follows up on Predicting Olympic Rosters as Chris, Roberto, and Chip take note of how their predictions match each countries official line up for the 2026 Milan Olympics. To view more of the series go here.

The NHL is in Milan for the 2026 Winter Games, with the puck set to drop for Men's Hockey Wednesday, Feb. 11. Chris, Chip and Roberto are back with a follow up on their predictions and preview for how they see the Preliminary Round playing out. In this series, the trio will analyze the differences between their projected rosters and how each country will actually line up to see how much they got right and more interestingly, where they went wrong. 

Team Finland may have been the only team in the 4 Nations Face-off to not win a game last year, but in round robin play they could find a way to sneak into the qualifying round. The biggest challenge for the Finns surrounds the fact that they are without their captain and number one center, Aleksander Barkov.

Aside from that, one notable change to the Finnish roster from the time they officially announced the team is goaltender Joonas Korpisalo of the Boston Bruins replacing Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Buffalo Sabres, who is out with a lower-body injury.

Sadly, the New York Rangers own Urho Vaakanainen did not make the cut for the Finns this time around. Taking his place on their blue line is the only member of Team Finland to not be a current player in the NHL in veteran Mikko Lehtonen.

Names To Get Familiar With

An undrafted, two-way defensemen who spent 26 games in the NHL during the 2020-21 season, Mikko Lehtonen has three championships under his belt. His first one came in 2017 in the Swedish League, the other two came in back-to-back seasons with Zurich SC in the Swiss-A League. Lehtonen represented Team Finland in a number of previous tournaments, including the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. His experience overseas, as well as his history with Team Finland on the Olympic stage surely played a huge role in him making the team over current NHLers like Vaakanainen.

The only other names that none of us predicted to make the team were forwards Joel Armia and Joel Kiviranta. Armia was on the 4 Nations roster and appeared in two games, finishing with a -1 and no points. Putting up points isn't necessarily what Armia is here for, as he's a defensively responsible right winger that can play an effective role in a team's bottom six. As for Kiviranta, many folks likely remember him for his hat-trick in Game 7 which included the overtime game winner for the Dallas Stars as they beat the Colorado Avalanche.

Chris (22 of 25 Correct)

Teravainen - Aho - Rantanen 
Lehkonen - Hintz - Granlund
Luostarainen - Lundell - Kakko 
Tolvanen - Haula - Laine
Kotkaniemi - O. Kapanen - K. Kapanen 

Lindell - Heiskanen 
Mikkola - Ristolainen 
Maatta - Jokiharku 
Vaakanainen - Matinpalo 

Saros - Luukkonen* - Lankinen 

*Injured
+Replacement

Not a ton of surprises here, and it's a real shame that Ukko-Pekka Luukunen won't be able to make it. But the Finns will be fine in net with Juuse Saros. I am glad to see Oliver Kapanen made the team. He's having a fantastic year in Montreal with 30 points in 56 games and could be a hidden weapon of sorts for the team in a bottom-six role. I am a little surprised Kasperi Kapanen didn't make it, as he really has rejuvenated his game a bit since landing in Edmonton. He did deal with some injuries this season, which could have played a role, but his 11 points in 18 games goes to show he can be a valuable asset.

As for Patrik Laine and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, this has to be a wake up call and possibly one of their last ones. Second- and third-overall picks respectively, the fact that they have not panned out the way anyone hoped in the NHL is one thing, but the fact they're at a point where they're not even one of the top players from their country that doesn't have the deepest pool of NHL players is quite concerning.

Chip (22 of 25)

Teravainen - Aho - Rantanen 
Lehkonen - Hintz - Granlund
Luostarainen - Lundell - K. Kapanen
Kotkaniemi - O. Kapanen - Kakko 
Tolvanen - Haula - Laine

Lindell - Heiskanen 
Mikkola - Ristolainen 
Maatta - Jokiharku 
Vaakanainen - Matinpalo 

Saros - Luukkonen* - Lankinen

*Injured
+Replacement

The second biggest draft disappointment to come out of Finland over the last decade—Patrik Laine—didn't make the team. That's a shame. He's injured, I get it. Also, we don't talk enough about how bad that gamble on Kotkaniemi worked out for the Carolina Hurricanes. Look, I get it, they were chapped that the Montreal Canadiens went out and signed Sebastian Aho to an offer sheet and they wanted payback, But, boy oh boy, did that backfire. Also, poor Urho.

Roberto (21.5 of 25)

Teravainen - Hintz- Rantanen 
Lehkonen - Aho- Granlund
Luostarainen - Lundell - Kakko
Kotkaniemi - O. Kapanen - K. Kapanen
Tolvanen - Haula - Laine

Lindell - Heiskanen 
Mikkola - Ristolainen 
Maatta - Jokiharku 
Vaakanainen - Matinpalo 

Saros - Luukkonen - Korpisalo+

*Injured
+Replacement

What can I say? Living in Massachusetts and being so close to the Boston Bruins, I felt in my bones that Korpisalo was going to get the call, even if it was due to an unfortunate injury. If Kakko has stretches of dominant play, brace yourself for a wave of emotional resentment to sweep through the Rangers fandom.

Team Finland Preliminary Round Schedule

• Feb. 11, 2026, 10:40 a.m. ET vs. Team Slovakia
• Feb. 13, 2026, 6:10 a.m. vs. Team Sweden
• Feb. 14, 2026, 10:40 a.m. vs. Team Italy

Predictions

Chris: Slovakia has some young NHL talent, as well as veterans like Erik Cernak and Martin Feheravary. Their goaltending is a bit weak, but they could be solid enough to give the Finns a run for their money. Still, I expect Finland to go 2-1. Sweden should come out on top, but stranger things have certainly transpired.

Chip: It's a fairly straightforward run through the prelims that should see them go 2-1. I can't see any way that they make it to the podium, though.

Roberto: Finland benefits from having an easier preliminary schedule. The only game they shouldn't easily take is against Sweden, but with emotions high between the two Scandinavian teams, we're bound to see some intense hockey.