Team Finland chasing Olympic gold medal repeat at Milano Cortina

Esa Lindell realized the incredible opportunity he’s about to have with Team Finland while at its Olympics orientation camp in August.

“There are lists of athletes who have gone to the Olympics that (it’s like they) won the lottery,” the Dallas Stars defenseman said. “So that’s kind of stuck in my mind, how small of a percentage it is back home. It shows how unique it is and kind of a rare opportunity and go.”

Finland wants to win a sweepstakes of another kind at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Finland, which is in Group B, opens its Olympic schedule against Slovakia on Wednesday (10:40 a.m. ET; USA, TSN, CBC).

It won Olympic gold for the first time in its history at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, which did not feature NHL players. Now stocked with great NHL talent, including Lindell, fellow Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen and forwards Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz, Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho and Florida Panthers forwards Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen, they’re looking for more.

“We have a good team. We have unbelievable team chemistry,” Aho said at the NHL/NHL Players Association European Player Media Tour in Milan in August.

“Last year we played in 4 Nations (Face-Off) and it could’ve gone better, the tournament and all that. But just to be there, you pretty much grow up with those guys and play with each guy in junior/international games. Now everyone’s played with their NHL team, and you get together, it’s special to play for your own country.”

Indeed, the 4 Nations Face-Off, which included Canada, the United States and Sweden, was a tough run for the Finns. They were missing several top defensemen, including Heiskanen and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, each of whom will be there for Finland this month. Nevertheless, Lundell said it was great preparation for them heading into Milan.

“It was the first time in a decade all the best players were together,” he said. “We saw how it is, we saw what we did well, and we saw what didn't work. So now we're going to the next tournament and it's going to be big for us. We know it's going to be a short tournament, and we obviously want to play better than we did in 4 Nations. I think it was super important to have that experience and get to know guys and get to know coaches and the whole team.”

The challenge this time is doing without Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov and Montreal Canadiens forward Patrik Laine. Barkov, the Panthers captain who won the Stanley Cup with them the past two seasons, has been out this season with a knee injury sustained in the preseason. Laine is out after having core muscle surgery in October.

“When that happened, we knew we were missing one of the best players in the world (in Barkov). It’s sports. It happens and guys know that, and they’ve been in the same situation,” Finland general manager Jere Lehtinen said. “It’s huge but we have those players there who can kind of help as a team through the lineup.”

Not that the Finns lack firepower. Rantanen leads the Stars with 69 points (20 goals, 49 assists) this season, and Aho leads the Hurricanes with 57 points (20 goals, 37 assists). Heiskanen is third among Finns in the NHL with 46 points (seven goals, 39 assists) and Hintz is next with 44 points (15 goals, 29 assists).

Nevertheless, this is where Finland’s greatest asset will have to come through.

“Of course, it’s tough to miss guys like Barkov and Laine but for Finland, it’s always the team game, the system and play together,” Chicago Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen said. “That’s the kind of way we have to play to win, so whoever we have in the game, those are the guys who are going to do it for us. It’s a good feeling to know one of our biggest strengths is always how good we work together.”

Finnish players have plenty of familiarity built up through past international tournaments. For the Stars and Panthers, who have four and two Finnish players heading to the Olympics respectively, there’s that much more familiarity. Lindell and Heiskanen have been the Stars’ top defense pair for a while now. Lundell and Luostarinen are usually linemates in Florida.

“It will be a benefit. It’d be a fun team to coach, wouldn’t it, no question. They’ve got some pieces there that have played together, so it’ll be up to that coaching staff to build on that a little bit,” Stars coach Glenn Gulutzan said. “Those countries, Finland, Sweden, those players have known each other a long time, played with each other so they enjoy coming together. To have some of that chemistry playing together, that’s an advantage for them.”

Finland is feeling good going into the Olympics. The NHL players who didn’t get to be there with the 2022 gold-medal team watched with pride. Now they want to be part of bringing home gold again.

“It’s a big thing in Finland. Hockey’s the No. 1 sport and people love to watch it, especially when the national team plays. It’s a whole country thing, I would say, everybody supports the team,” Rantanen said. “To do something in the Olympics, that’s the biggest stage you can do something, so hopefully we’re able to play some good games and get some good results.”

NHL.com senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke and independent correspondent George Richards contributed to this report