The Finnish Ice Hockey Association has named defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen one of eight defenders for Team Finland at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. He is the third Flyers player to be named to their respective country’s Olympic roster (Rodrigo Abols – Team Latvia, Travis Sanheim – Team Canada).
Ristolainen, a native of Turku, Finland, will make his Winter Olympic debut after representing his country on the international stage on seven previous occasions, most recently at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He was part of Finland’s gold-medal-winning team at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship and scored the game-winning gold medal goal and earned the tournament’s Best Defenseman. Overall, Ristolainen has recorded eight goals and 10 assists in 38 tournament games for the Finnish National Team.
Despite missing the first 31 games of the season while recovering from an injury, Ristolainen has made an immediate impact in his first eight games back. The defenseman has recorded two assists and is averaging the fourth-most time on ice per game for the Flyers at 20:26. Since his return, he has recorded the second most shots on net among Flyers’ defensemen with 13 and the second most hits (12).
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games will feature NHL players for the first time since 2014 in Sochi. Since then, there have only been two other best-on-best hockey tournaments: the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off – both organized by the National Hockey League.
