Rasmus Ristolainen has expressed strong confidence in Finland’s chances at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. He’s part of Team Finland’s roster (announced in early January 2026), making his Olympic debut after injuries limited his recent international play.
“I think we’ve got a really good team; a really good chance to win. We’re going to go there to win,” Ristolainen said last Thursday. This reflects his belief that Finland can win the Gold medal.
Ristolainen also embraced the pressure of being the defending Olympic champions (from Beijing 2022), noting that “The more pressure, the better” and that everyone wants to play in those high-stakes games. This ties into his history with Finnish success—he famously scored the overtime golden goal for Finland against Sweden to win the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship gold, a huge moment in Finnish hockey.
Finland is viewed as a dark horse contender with strong NHL talent like Miro Heiskanen, Mika Zibanejad (though rosters vary), Juuse Saros in goal, and a disciplined system. Ristolainen is paired with Niko Mikkola on the blue line, adding size and physicality.With preliminary games underway as of February 11, 2026, it’s an exciting time—Ristolainen has worked hard through injuries to get here and clearly believes in the team’s shot at repeating as gold medalists.
Ristolainen and Finland kick off men’s hockey today at 10:40 a.m. against Slovakia.
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