Laine makes team as Finland announces roster for 4 Nations Face-Off
Published
Finland named its roster for February’s 4 Nations Face-Off on Wednesday.
Star goalie Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators as well as talented forwards Sebastian Aho of Carolina Hurricanes, Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers and Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche are the biggest names on the roster.
All were included as part of the original six players selected back in June.
Including Barkov, four members of the Stanley Cup-winning Panthers made the Finnish roster. Four players from Canadian teams were selected, including forwards Patrik Laine and Joel Armia of the Montreal Canadiens, defenceman Jani Hakanpaa of the Toronto Maple Leafs as well as Kevin Lankinen of the Vancouver Canucks.
Finland begins its 4 Nations Face-Off tournament against the United States on Feb. 13 at Bell Centre in Montreal. They will then play Sweden on Feb. 15, also in Montreal, before closing round robin play against Canada on Feb. 17 at Boston’s TD Garden. The championship game between the top two teams goes Feb. 20 in Boston.
Sweden also unveiled its roster on Wednesday afternoon.
See the full roster below:
Forwards
Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes
Joel Armia, Montreal Canadiens
Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
Mikael Granlund, San Jose Sharks
Erik Haula, New Jersey Devils
Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars
Kaapo Kakko, New York Rangers
Patrik Laine, Montreal Canadiens
Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado Avalanche
Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers
Eetu Luostarinen, Florida Panthers
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche
Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks
Defencemen
Jani Hakanpaa, Toronto Maple Leafs
Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars
Olli Maatta, Utah Hockey Club
Niko Mikkola, Florida Panthers
Rasmus Ristolainen, Philadelphia Flyers
Juuso Valimaki, Utah Hockey Club
Goalies
Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver Canucks
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres
Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
Bold = Originally selected to roster in June
The 29-year-old Saros is having another strong season in Nashville, posting a 2.62 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage across 21 games for the struggling Preds.
Aho, 27, has netted seven goals and 19 assists over 25 games for the Hurricanes while Barkov, 29, has scored six goals and 19 assists over 18 games for the Panthers.
Rantanen, 28, might end up being Finland’s most important offensive weapon as he’s put up 15 goals and 20 assists over 26 games in 2024-25 with the Avs.
Antti Pennanen will serve as the team’s head coach.
Without NHL players participating, Finland won gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2022 with a 6-0 record, also winning silver in 2006 and bronze in both 2010 and 2014.
Finland has been ousted in the quarterfinal round at the last two World Championships, but captured gold in two of the previous three tournaments (2019 and 2022), also winning silver in 2021.