February 09, 2026
Nick Tricome/PhillyVoice
The Flyers' Olympians are honored ahead of their last home game before the break at Xfinity Mobile Arena last Thursday.
Travis Sanheim, Dan Vladar, and Rasmus Ristolainen were called into the spotlight over center ice on Thursday night.
They were the three Philadelphia Flyers headed for the Olympics in a few days' time and were being honored ahead of the team's last home game at Xfinity Mobile Arena, before the NHL's scheduled three-week Winter Olympic break.
Sanheim, the Flyers' leading defenseman, will be on the blue line for Canada, while head coach Rick Tocchet will be on the bench behind him as an assistant to Jon Cooper.
Vladar, their surprise goaltender, had his name called for Czechia.
And Ristolainen, healthy enough in time, will bring his bruising presence to Finland's defense.
Forward Rodrigo Ābols also got his moment on Thursday night for making Latvia's Olympic roster, but he'll be missing the games and considerable time for the rest of the season because of a brutal lower-body injury suffered last month, which his leg resting on a scooter by the Flyers' bench pregame clearly indicated the severity of.
So what can be expected of the Flyers who made it over to Milan, and when will be the first chance to see them play for their home countries?
Here's a Flyers Olympic primer...
Sanheim was a carryover from the 4 Nations Face-Off last February.
He was a depth defenseman who skated limited minutes, but when he was out on the ice, he looked great paired next to Blues defenseman Colton Parayko, and had the confidence to jump in on rushes to generate chances for offensive superstars like Connor McDavid.
Last year at 4 Nations was the first time a lot of people got to see Sanheim on a bigger stage, and it did wonders for his reputation among NHL executives and the Team Canada decision makers, who saw enough of a case this season to bring him on to the Olympic roster.
Sanheim looks to be a depth defenseman for Canada again, based on the initial line combos being reported out of Milan, which have him on an extra fourth defensive pairing with Vegas' Shea Theodore.
He might not be a lock to dress for Game 1, but whenever he gets his call, his international body of work so far has shown that he'll make the most of it.
🇨🇦 lines at first practice of Milan Olympics
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) February 8, 2026
Celebrini - McDavid - Wilson
Marchand - MacKinnon - Suzuki
Stone - Crosby - Marner
Hagel - Horvat - Reinhart
Jarvis, Bennett
Toews - Makar
Morrissey - Parayko
Harley - Doughty
Theodore - Sanheim @TSN_Sports
Vladar signed with the Flyers in the summer with an opportunity to come in and prove himself a starting goaltender.
He ran with it.
Through 33 games (32 of them starts), Vladar posted a .905 save percentage and a 17-8-6 record. He's played fundamentally sound in the crease, has usually given the Flyers a chance from night to night when he's in (even when it came to last Thursday's lethargic 2-1 OT loss to Ottawa), and has so far proven one of the offseason's better diamond-in-the-rough finds.
It all put him on the Olympic radar, too, creating a spot for him with his native Czechia.
Vladar will be part of a strong goalie rotation that also consists of Anaheim's Lukas Dostal (21 wins, .897 save percentage) and Utah's Karel Vejmelka (27 wins, .903 save percentage).
Czechia would have a reason to lean on any of those three netminders for any given game, while looking to their star forwards in David Pastrnak, Martin Necas, and Tomas Hertl to get the puck moving downhill.
Checking in from #MilanoCortina! 👋 #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/7CXtbbbppW
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 9, 2026
Ristolainen fits into an immediate and larger role for Finland's defense, with the initial line combos appearing to have him skating next to Florida's Niko Mikkola.
Ristolainen gradually revived his career in Philadelphia over the past several years with the adoption of a more physical game that's better suited to his size at 6'4" and 208 pounds, which Finland is clearly welcoming to its Olympic roster.
He'll be surrounded by some notable talent on the Finnish roster, too.
Dallas' Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell headline the top of the blue line, Nashville's Juuse Saros is expected to be the leading goaltender, and Dallas' Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, Carolina's Sebastian Aho, and Colorado's Artturi Lehkonen highlight some considerable forward talent up front.
Finland might not be Canada levels of stacked, but they might surprise some with a fight.
Team Finland lines from the first practice session #Olympics
— Konsta Kiviniemi (@kkiviniemii) February 8, 2026
Granlund-Hintz-Rantanen
Lehkonen-Aho-Teräväinen
Luostarinen-Lundell-Kakko/Kapanen
Armia-Haula-Tolvanen
Kiviranta
Lindell-Heiskanen
Määttä-Jokiharju
Mikkola-Ristolainen
Lehtonen-Matinpalo
Saros
Lankinen
Korpisalo pic.twitter.com/URDFAhnyPM
*Preliminary games will be broadcast on USA Network and streamed on Peacock in the U.S.
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