Standing in the hallway outside the Flyers’ locker room in the bowels of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Rasmus Ristolainen confessed that he isn’t the most emotional person. But for a few fleeting seconds, as he chatted with The Inquirer, a smile radiated from his face.
“Means a lot. I haven’t had the chance to play the last couple of Olympics, so [it] means even more,” he said, confirming that he had that rare smile when coach Antti Pennanen called to welcome him to Finland’s squad.
“And then, obviously, think about all the players who wore the jersey and when you watched them play when you were a kid. So that means a lot.”
For the first time since the 2014 Sochi Olympics, NHLers will be back on the world’s biggest stage. At that time, Ristolainen was 19 years old, splitting time between the Buffalo Sabres and Rochester of the American Hockey League during his first year in North America.
On Jan. 5, a few weeks before Finland would win the bronze in Sochi, he scored one of the biggest goals in the nation’s history. In overtime, the physical defenseman hopped over the boards, carried the puck around Sweden’s Robert Hägg — the Flyers’ 2013 second-round pick — cut across the crease, and tucked in the golden goal to clinch the World Junior Championship.
His game-winner gave Finland its first World Junior medal since 2006 and first gold since 1998.
“Obviously, it was a big one, and, you know, sometimes I used to make plays and play a little offense,” he said with a chuckle.
“World Juniors is a great tournament, and it’s the first time you get to play on the big stage,” he added. “So much excitement, and obviously, I have good memories when we won it.”
Worth the wait
Ristolainen manned the blue line two years later at the 2016 World Cup for a Finnish squad that went 0-3-0, was shut out by Sweden and Russia, and scored just one goal against Team North America.
But then that was it.
There were several reasons he hasn’t represented Finland since, but the biggest was a dark injury cloud that seemed to follow around the native of Turku.
Last February, the Flyers defenseman was all set to play at the 4 Nations Face-Off, but right before the tournament, he was knocked out with an upper-body injury. A month later, he underwent surgery on a right triceps tendon rupture. That came after two surgeries in 2024.
“So basically, three surgeries in the same elbow. Obviously started with a pretty bad infection, which I played with for multiple weeks until I couldn’t anymore,” he disclosed in December of the injuries that cut his last two seasons short and had him start this season late.
“And then we found out there is some infection and a torn triceps tendon. So obviously, did those two things separately, and then tried to get back.”
He returned — probably too quickly in hindsight, he thinks — “and then it suddenly snapped, and not sure when or where it happened again.”
“Obviously, second time the same tendon [was] torn,” he said. “So saw a different doctor this time, and his timeline and recovery were a lot longer, which I think was the key and helped. And, yeah, right now I’m here and feel pretty good.”
‘The more pressure, the better’
In the last few weeks, Ristolainen missed a handful of games for the Flyers, and everyone held their breath, hoping he wouldn’t have to skip yet another opportunity to don the blue and white of Suomi. Nobody held their breath more than former Dallas Star Jere Lehtinen.
“We know he’s a big, big body,” Lehtinen, who is Finland’s general manager, said in a telephone interview from Milan. “He moves quick, a physical guy, and in the defensive zone it’s tough to play against him.
“But at the same time, he gets up to play and has a good shot. … So, the main thing is he brings us size and speed and physicality. And if you want to succeed as a team, you need those types of players in your defensive zone, [who] may play against the top players.”
The 6-foot-4, 208-pound blueliner credits his physicality to his days growing up in Turku. Joking that he’s old enough that he didn’t have iPads growing up, he spent his days playing street hockey. As he recalls, he “was always the youngest one, so I had to kind of fight my way through and earn the spot to play with the big boys.”
Ristolainen, 31, is one of six players from that successful World Juniors squad, which includes goalie Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators, Stars defenseman Esa Lindell, forward Teuvo Teräväinen of the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen, and ex-NHLer Mikko Lehtonen. And Lindell, Teräväinen, Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Mikael Granlund of the Anaheim Ducks played with the Flyers defenseman at the World Cup.
Lehtonen believes the players’ connections and experience, whether having success like in 2014 or disappointment in 2016, are important. But, while Ristolainen says watching Finland win silver at the 2006 Torino Olympics as a 12-year-old is his favorite Olympic moment, he’s looking to do one better.
So, any pressure, especially since Finland is the defending Olympic gold medalist?
“The more pressure, the better,” Ristolainen said. “Everyone wants to play the pressure games; obviously, they are all must-wins. So I’m very excited.”
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