Rasmus Ristolainen found out on Friday that he\u2019s going to be playing in his first Olympics next month for Finland.<\/p>\n
But the Flyers defenseman is a realist. At 31, he realizes this could be his first and last Olympics. Which is why he wants to make the most of this opportunity at Milano Cortina when the world\u2019s best hit the ice.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery special,\u201d he said of the appointment during a media Zoom call. \u201cMissed the last one because the NHL didn\u2019t go, and now you never know what\u2019s going to happen in four years. So this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So very excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
The native of Turku has played in 242 games for the Flyers, with 10 goals and 61 points. For his career, the 6-foot-4, 208-pounder has accumulated 784 games, 56 goals and 306 points.<\/p>\n
Ristolainen, 31, was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres on July 23, 2021. The trade sent defenseman Robert Hagg to the Sabres along with a first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n
Surgery had kept him out of the Flyers lineup from February to mid-December. He has played in eight games since his return, with two assists and an even plus-minus.<\/p>\n
There might have been some doubt if Ristolainen would be ready to play in the Olympics. But he\u2019s erased any concerns about his readiness.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really tried hard to make sure I get healthy,\u201d Ristolainen said. \u201cAnd to get some games in before that, too. So we have been going well and I feel healthy. It means a lot to be named.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paired with Nick Seeler for much of the 2024-25 season, Ristolainen was enjoying one of his best years prior to the injury. The pairing was often used in key defensive situations.<\/p>\n
In his eight games back, Ristolainen looks like his old self. His physical play can bring fans out of their seats, and he shows no signs of letting up in that department.<\/p>\n
He was injured for the 4 Nations Face-off Tournament in February. This Olympic appearance will help make up for any regrets.<\/p>\n
\u201cInjuries happen when you play a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t do anything about that. I was excited about 4 Nations and ended up watching it on TV. It looked pretty fun and exciting. It kind of felt bad that I couldn\u2019t make the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been working my butt off for nine months trying to get healthy and then getting in some games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ristolainen believes his style fits in well with the intense Olympic tournament, especially his physical play.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The Olympics) are kind of like (Stanley Cup) playoff games, almost,\u201d he said. \u201cOne winner takes it all type thing. That kind of makes it for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finland is a threat for a medal. Just about everyone has their eyes on teams like Canada, the U.S. and Sweden, but Finland is a legitimate dark horse candidate.<\/p>\n
\u201cA very good team,\u201d Ristolainen said. \u201cWe have a lot of good players. Finland always has a chance and now, hopefully, we\u2019re going there to take it all home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ristolainen likes the Flyers\u2019 chances the rest of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we get back, that time of year, the games get even harder,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot to play for. The games have a lot of speed, playoff-like hockey. Coming back, feeling pretty good about myself. Getting into the playoffs with the Flyers a big goal for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ristolainen joins fellow Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim, named last week to the Canadian Olympic team, and Latvian forward Rodrigo Abols as Flyers named to Olympic rosters.<\/p>\n
There was speculation that Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson might be named to Team Sweden\u2019s roster, but that did not happen. Ersson has experienced a sub-par season so far with Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
Ersson had been on Team Sweden for 4 Nations. Only one goalie from that team \u2013 Minnesota\u2019s Filip Gustavsson \u2013 made the Olympic roster. He\u2019s joined by Wild backup Jesper Wallstedt and New Jersey\u2019s Jacob Markstrom.<\/p>\n
Markstrom was unavailable due to injury for last February\u2019s tournament. Linus Ullmark, currently on a personal leave of absence from the Ottawa Senators, also was on the 4 Nations roster but not the Olympic team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rasmus Ristolainen found out on Friday that he\u2019s going to be playing in his first Olympics next month…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":387082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5112],"tags":[1468,5,4,1467,56,5205,43,5095],"class_list":{"0":"post-387081","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-flyers","8":"tag-flyers","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-flyers","13":"tag-philadelphiaflyers","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-top-stories-tmc"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115827207334978920","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}