On Friday, Jan. 2, Seattle Kraken forwards Eeli Tolvanen and Kaapo Kakko were named to Team Finland for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano and Cortina, Italy.
Kakko hails from Turku, Finland. So far in 2025-26, he has nine points via two goals and seven assists through 22 games. He was injured twice this season, once in the preseason and then again seven games in. A broken hand and a lower-body injury were not enough to keep him from making his home country’s Olympic roster.
This will be the fourth time Kakko has represented Finland at international play. He has played in the U18 World Juniors, the World Juniors – where he scored the gold-medal winning goal for Finland, the World Championships, and was selected to last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
Tolvanen comes from Vihti, Finland. He has played in all 38 games this season and has recorded 25 points via seven goals and 18 assists. He is coming off a career-high point streak, with 10 points in six games. He was also named the NHL’s Second Star of the week on Monday, Dec. 29.
Tolvanen has represented Finland at every major international tournament throughout his career, including the 2018 Winter Olympics, where he ended the tournament with nine points through five games.
The men’s Olympic ice hockey tournament will take place in Milan from Feb. 11 to Feb. 22.
