SUNRISE, Fla.– With their 6-1 win over Slovakia today at Santagiulia Arena in Milan, Italy, Florida Panthers forwards Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen and defenseman Niko Mikkola earned bronze medals for their home nation Finland at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Panthers Assistant Coach Tuomo Ruutu also served as an assistant coach for Finland.
Lundell (1-1-2), Luostarinen (0-4-4) and Mikkola (0-3-3) combined for nine points over Finland’s six games in the tournament. Lundell contributed the primary assist on Arturri Lehkonen’s overtime goal in the quarterfinal vs. Switzerland, and Mikkola tied for the lead on Finland with a plus-nine rating. Lundell, Luostarinen and Mikkola become the seventh, eighth and ninth players in franchise history to win medals at the Olympics while on Florida’s roster. The Cats now boast six Finnish Olympic medal winners in the club’s history, with Esa Tikkanen (1998, Bronze), Olli Jokinen (2006, Silver) and Aleksander Barkov (2014, Bronze) among the group.
The United States of America, including Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Zito and Head Equipment Manager Teddy Richards, will face off against Canada and Panthers forwards Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart in the gold medal game tomorrow, Feb. 22 at 8:10 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
The Panthers have a league-leading 10 players and five staff representing their nations at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
Players
- Uvis Balinskis (Latvia)
- Sandis Vilmanis (Latvia)
- Anton Lundell (Finland)
- Eetu Luostarinen (Finland)
- Niko Mikkola (Finland)
- Sam Reinhart (Canada)
- Brad Marchand (Canada)
- Sam Bennett (Canada)
- Gustav Forsling (Sweden)
- Matthew Tkachuk (USA)
Staff
- Bill Zito (Assistant General Manager – USA)
- Teddy Richards (Equipment Manager – USA)
- Tuomo Ruutu (Assistant Coach – Finland)
- Myles Fee (Video Coach – Sweden)
- Jamie Kompon (Assistant Coach – Germany)
The Florida Panthers return to action on Thursday, Feb. 26 facing off against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Amerant Bank Arena at 7 p.m. ET on Scripps Sports and Panthers Plus.
