After the last two incarnations of Olympic ice hockey didn’t feature the National Hockey League, the world’s premiere players are at last headed back to the grandest international stage the sport has to offer. It was announced last Friday (Feb. 2, 2024) that the NHL will allow its talent to participate in both the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics. The league had previously ended its involvement starting with the 2018 games, a decision that was widely unpopular amongst players.
It’s great news for Olympic hockey, but also for the players themselves and they will once again have the honor of representing their countries. And as for the Buffalo Sabres, the team stands a chance of being well-represented at the 2026 games in Milan, Italy.
Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin are all but guaranteed to be selected for the United States and Sweden, respectively — while the “Latvian Locomotive” Zemgus Girgensons will undoubtedly lace up for his homeland as well — but a few of their contemporaries also stand a chance of being selected. Some of these are more realistic than others, but the following Sabres could be in contention as well.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen — Finland
Though he still has a good amount of growing to do, 2023-24 has been Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen‘s breakout season and he’s established himself as the Sabres’ top goaltender after years of being shuffled back and forth between the NHL and the American Hockey League (AHL.) The team in front of him has struggled with consistency all season and many of his best efforts have been squandered, but he’s proven nevertheless that he has what it takes to succeed. And as a result, the Finnish National Team may take note.
The man fans know as “UPL” has already represented Finland in several international tournaments at the junior level. He helped them to the gold and silver medals at the 2016 and 2017 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Under-18 Championships, respectively, and won gold once again at the 2019 World Juniors. Suffice it to say, his homeland is already quite familiar with him and more than likely has him on the radar for future competitions.
Finnish stalwarts Juuse Saros and Joonas Korpisalo would admittedly be on the list ahead of him, but Luukkonen is younger than both and that might play into his favor down the line. Saros will be 30 by the time the Milan Olympics arrive and Korpisalo will be 31. Luukkonen,…
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