Seattle Kraken forwards Eeli Tolvanen and Kaapo Kakko were named to Finland’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy on Friday.
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After scoring a career-high 23 goals last season, Tolvanen has seven to go with a team-high 18 assists in 38 games for the Kraken this season. His 25 points trail only Jordan Eberle (26) for the team lead. This will be Tolvanen’s second Olympics appearance. He had three goals and six assists over five games for Finland at the Pyeongchang Games in 2018.
Kakko, a trade acquisition by Seattle last season, has two goals and seven assists while being limited to 22 games by a broken hand and lower-body injury this season. Kakko is set make his Olympic debut, but has recent international experience after notching one assist over two games for Finland in the Four Nations Face-Off last winter.
Of the 25 players on Finland’s roster, 24 are from the NHL. The only one playing in Europe is defenseman Mikko Lehtonen, who was part of Finland’s gold-medal-winning team at the Beijing Games in 2022. Lehtonen has skated in eight games this season for Zurich.
Two-time Stanley Cup champion Aleksander Barkov is not on the team after undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right knee from an injury he suffered during Florida Panthers training camp. Montreal’s Oliver Kapanen was among those picked to fill that void after not participating in the 4 Nations Face-Off early last year.
Much like the U.S. and Canada, the vast majority of Finland’s 4 Nations team is back for the Olympics, including all three goaltenders: Kevin Lankinen, Juuse Saros and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Urho Vaakanainen of the New York Rangers is the only one not returning and the only Finnish defenseman in the NHL not chosen.
Dallas and Florida are well-represented, even without Barkov. The Stars have four players, Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz, Esa Lindell and Mikko Rantanen, while the Panthers have three: Niko Mikkola, Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell.
The men’s tournament begins Feb. 11 with Finland playing Slovakia.
The Seattle Sports staff made additions to this story.
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