Veteran Mikael Granlund and rising star Leo Carlsson will bring their talents to the Olympics, highlighting Finnish and Swedish national team selections.
On Friday morning, Olympic rosters for the United States, Sweden, and Finland were released for the 2026 games in Milano Cortina, Italy. Canada’s roster was announced on New Year’s Eve. The US and Canada rosters won’t feature any Anaheim Ducks players, but Mikael Granlund will represent Finland, and Leo Carlsson will represent Sweden.
Granlund will be playing in his second Olympics, as he represented Finland at the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia, as a 21-year-old alongside Ducks legend Teemu Selanne. Granlund won a bronze medal and scored seven points (3-4=7) in six games. He last played for Finland at the NHL’s 2025 “4 Nations Face-Off,” where he scored four points (3-1=4) in three games.
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“It’s awesome,” Granlund said about the announcement. “Always excited to play for the national team, having experience from the Olympics, and it’s really unique. It’s going to be one of the most fun tournaments you can play (in).
Granlund has missed 18 games with the Ducks due to injury this season, his first of a three-year contract that carries an AAV of $7 million. He’s totalled 15 points (7-8=15) in 22 games for Anaheim in 2025-26.
“It was cool to get the bronze medal,” Granlund said of his first experience. “It’s just a different atmosphere, being in the village, all the other athletes. It’s almost like sports at its purest. It was a great experience. We had a pretty good tournament, so we’ll see how it’s going to go this time, but I’m excited about that.”
Leo Carlsson will be the youngest member of Sweden’s roster at the 2026 games. He last represented Sweden at the 4 Nations, where he played only one game and didn’t notch any points. Carlsson is in the midst of a breakout season in 2025-26, where he sits second (Lucas Raymond) among Swedish-born NHL players with 42 points (17-25=42) in 39 games.
“It was like a month ago,” Carlsson said when asked about getting the call to his first Olympics. “I’m super excited to be on the team. It’s just the biggest sports event in the world. I haven’t really thought about how cool it’s going to be. It’s going to be something I feel, getting over there.
Less than one year following the 4 Nations tournament, Carlsson will likely see an increase in his role for Sweden at the upcoming Olympics, perhaps even as the team’s top line center, as he’s outscoring future Swedish teammates Joel Eriksson Ek, Elias Lindholm, Elias Pettersson, and Mika Zibanejad.
“I’m not the new guy anymore, really,” Carlsson continued. “I played with a lot of guys in the world championships this year, too. It’s just going to be more fun to play in all the games, hopefully. Hopefully I can be a player that they’re going to rely on a lot offensively.”
Granlund and Carlsson will be among five players in the Ducks organization representing their countries in Milano Cortina. They’ll be joined by Radko Gudas and Lukas Dostal, who will play for Czechia, and Damian Clara, who will play for the host nation, Italy. The Olympics are scheduled for Feb. 6 to Feb. 22. The men’s hockey tournament will start on Feb. 11 and conclude with the gold medal game on Feb. 22.
“He’s a hard guy to trash-talk,” Carlsson said about playing against his stall neighbor in the locker room, Mikael Granlund. “He’s such a great guy, so no chirps yet.”
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