Haula, Saros Proud to Return to Nashville as Olympic Bronze Medalists

The last time Erik Haula stepped foot inside Bridgestone Arena before Thursday, he had one less accolade to his name. 

But, thanks to a 5-1 victory over Slovakia last Saturday in Milan, Italy, the Predators forward may now also be referred to as an Olympic Bronze Medalist. 

Haula, along with fellow Preds teammate Juuse Saros, combined to help their country to its fifth medal in six tries with NHLers at the Olympics, more than any other nation. 

And that newfound title? There’s a nice ring to it.

“It feels awesome,” Haula said Thursday morning following his first skate with the Preds since returning to Nashville. “I mean, just the experience as a whole is something I'll remember for the rest of my life, and it’s pretty cool to bring some hardware home. Obviously, our goal was to win gold and just came up short. And as you could see when you're watching the close games and best of the best, one bounce here, one bounce there could have been a different two teams in the finals. Great tournament. Real grateful.”

“Obviously cool to bring a medal home and just a very fun couple of weeks,” Saros said. “Very, very special experience.”

Saros made 30 saves in the win over Slovakia and Haula scored twice - including what proved to be the game-winning goal - against the Slovaks to give Finland their eighth Olympic medal overall in men’s ice hockey. 

Combined with last Friday’s 3-2 loss to Canada that almost saw the Finns advance to the final, Saros made 66 saves across Finland’s final two games, and Haula recorded three goals over those last two days.

Saros started every game for Finland in his first Olympic Winter Games appearance and finished with a 4-1-1 record and a .938 save percentage while backstopping his country.

Count Haula among those who were certainly impressed with the Olympic showing from his goaltender. 

“He’s had a really good season, and I think he just stepped it up a notch,” Haula said of Saros. “When you put that jersey on, it just seems to bring the best out of you in some ways. And he was just awesome. He played really well, and he’s just showing and proving what a good goalie he is.”

The final results were not only gratifying for Saros, but motivating as well. He had performed on the international stage previously, but in his first Olympic showing, the Nashville netminder showed just what he’s capable of under immense pressure. 

“It was really cool, and that was, so far, probably the coolest thing I've experienced in my career,” Saros said. “Hopefully I can do something like that soon again.”

Neither Haula nor Saros know exactly what they’ll do with their medal or how they’ll display it in the years to come, but it’ll forever serve as a reminder of what they were able to do for their county against the greatest hockey players in the world. 

“It’s something that I'll remember forever,” Haula said. “Just so grateful, and then getting to share it with people I love the most. It just makes it that much more special walking in and showing my oldest [son], who maybe will remember [the trip], but showing him the medal - just special moments.”