Related: Carolina Hurricanes\u2019 Sebastian Aho\u2019s Sneaky Top-20 NHL Point Season<\/a><\/p>\n The last time Aho participated for Finland, outside the 4-Nations, was in 2018 at the World Championship. In eight games, he finished with nine goals and 18 points, along with a plus-15. It\u2019ll be interesting to watch the Hurricanes and Finnish alternate captain take the ice at the Olympics for the first time. With how he\u2019s been playing for the Hurricanes, hopefully that can translate in Italy next month.<\/p>\n In 2025-26, Aho is third on the Hurricanes in goals (17) and leads in assists (35) and points (52)<\/a>\u00a0through 52 games.\u00a0He is one behind Andrei Svechnikov for second and six behind team-leader Seth Jarvis. Aho has been an important player for both teams in his career. Will he add an Olympic Medal to his trophy case?<\/p>\n Jaccob Slavin \u2013 USA<\/p>\n The second player to watch is defenseman Jaccob Slavin<\/a>. It\u2019s been a tough season for Slavin, who missed 34 games in his first stint on injured reserve with a lower-body injury after playing the first two games of the season. Then, on Dec. 19 against the Florida Panthers, he sustained an upper-body injury and missed six more games. He\u2019s only managed to play 12 games for the Hurricanes during the 2025-26 season but has tallied two assists, with the first one as his 300th NHL point.<\/p>\n Despite missing so much time, that did not deter USA Hockey from naming Slavin to its 2026 Men\u2019s roster for the Milano-Cortina games back on Jan. 2.\u00a0USA Hockey general manager Bill Guerin called Slavin to give him the news and told him not to\u00a0\u201cstep on any Legos\u201d<\/a>, as he was building some with his kids when he got the call.<\/p>\n Outside of playing for Team USA in the 4-Nations Face-off, the only time Slavin represented USA Hockey was in 2014 during the U-20 World Juniors. He played in five games, finishing with one goal and two points, along with a plus-1 rating. This will be the biggest tournament for him on the international stage, as he is the lone American and Hurricanes defenseman going to the Olympics. After a stellar performance at the 4-Nations, where people finally took notice of why he is considered the best defensive defenseman in the NHL, there is no doubt that he will be doing his usual \u201cSlavin doing Slavin things\u201d in Italy next month.<\/p>\n Nikolaj Ehlers \u2013 Denmark<\/p>\n Last but not least, the third player to watch from the Hurricanes at the 2026 Winter Olympics is Danish forward Nikolaj Ehlers<\/a>. Ehlers will be joining teammate Frederik Andersen as both will represent Denmark after the two helped the Danes qualify back in 2024. During the Olympic Qualifiers, Ehlers had three goals and four points in four games. He followed that performance up with three goals in four games for Denmark at the 2025 World Championship, giving him four goals and 10 points in nine international games. When it comes to representing Denmark, Ehlers performs at an elite level.<\/p>\n Related: 3 Players on Denmark\u2019s Men\u2019s Team to Watch at the 2026 Winter Olympics<\/a><\/p>\n This will be the first time \u201cFly\u201d will represent Denmark at the Olympics, and he has stated how excited he is to be able to do so for his home country on a stage like this. \u201cThe Olympics is the biggest tournament you can participate in, and it\u2019s something I followed myself when I was younger. It was something special with the best players in the world against each other. So now to be allowed to play an Olympics for Denmark is a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n So far for the Hurricanes in 2025-26<\/a>, Ehlers is third on the team in points (40), second in assists (26), and fifth in goals (14) in 52 games. He has six goals and 14 points through the first 13 games of 2026. Three of those goals have come on the power play as he\u2019s been a one-man zone entry on the top power-play unit in Carolina. It\u2019s more than likely that he will be the main guy for Denmark going into Milano-Cortina next month, since they are in the same group with Slavin\u2019s USA, along with Germany and Latvia.<\/p>\n When it comes down to it, it\u2019ll be fun for Hurricanes fans to see all four players represent their countries on the biggest international stage in February. Between Aho, Slavin, Ehlers, and Andersen, there will be a ton of Caniacs watching their guys pursue the dream of winning a medal, preferably a Gold in Milano-Cortina. Regardless of how it plays out, don\u2019t be surprised to see a lot of Finland, USA, and Denmark Olympic jerseys at the Lenovo Center following the 2026 Winter Games.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a>![\"Jaccob](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Jaccob-Slavin-Team-USA-1200x800.jpg\")
Team USA defenseman Jaccob Slavin (David Kirouac-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n![\"SUBSCRIBE](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Hurricanes_Banner-1200x122.jpg\")
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