Mikael Granlund named captain of Finland’s Olympic men’s hockey team
Finland’s leadership group is set heading into the men’s hockey tournament at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
On Sunday, the Finnish men’s team named Anaheim Ducks forward Mikael Granlund as their captain for the Olympic tournament. Carolina Hurricanes forwards Sebastian Aho and Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen will serve as Finland’s alternate captains.
Mikael Granlund has been named captain of Finland 🇫🇮 for the Milan Olympics, with Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen serving as alternate captains.
Granlund, 33, is one of just a couple players on Finland’s roster that also represented Finland at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, which was the last Olympics that included NHL players. That experience likely went a long way towards earning Granlund the captaincy. His other best-on-best experience for Finland came at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, where he was an alternate captain, and at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He has also played for Finland at seven IIHF World Championships, capturing gold twice, and the 2009 and 2010 IIHF World Junior Championships.
Granlund is having a solid season in Anaheim, as he has 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points in 38 games. He is currently the ninth-highest scoring Finnish player in NHL history, and the third-highest scoring Finn among active players. The two players above him on the active list will be his two alternate captains at the Olympics.
Aho, 28, was an alternate captain for Finland at last year’s 4 Nation Face-Off, and also represented Finland at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He has also played for Finland at three World Championships, as well as the 2015 and 2016 World Junior Championships. Aho currently serves as an alternate captain for the Hurricanes, where he’s put up 20 goals and 37 assists for 57 points in 57 games this season.
Rantanen, 29, represented Finland at a best-on-best tournament for the first time at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off. He has played for Finland at four World Championships and two World Junior Championships. He has 20 goals and 49 assists for 69 points in 54 games for Dallas this season.