Aho, Andersen Named To Preliminary Olympic Rosters

RALEIGH, N.C. - NHL players will return to the Olympic stage for the first time since 2014 next February, and on Monday, a pair of Carolina Hurricanes were named among the first confirmed participants.

Sebastian Aho (Finland) and Frederik Andersen (Denmark) were announced as part of their respective countries' preliminary rosters for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, as each nation participating in men's hockey at the Olympics selected its first six players for the upcoming Games.

Finland and Denmark will battle Canada, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States in Milan.

The men’s tournament will start with preliminary games on Feb. 11 before culminating in the gold medal game on Feb. 22. The remaining members of each nation's roster will be revealed later this year.

Aho, 27, boasts a lengthy international resume, most recently serving as an alternate captain for his country at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, where he logged two assists in three games.

Before that, his last international action came at the 2018 IIHF Men's World Championship, when he was named the tournament's best forward with 18 points in 8 games.

Aho has won three medals in his international career, taking home both World Junior gold and World Championships silver in 2016, and a World Junior silver in 2015.

He joins Aleksander Barkov (FLA), Miro Heiskanen (DAL), Esa Lindell (DAL), Mikko Rantanen (DAL) and Juuse Saros (NSH) as the first six members of Finland's preliminary roster.

Andersen, 35, played a key role in Denmark's qualification for the upcoming tournament. Playing in and winning all three games in the Group F qualifying tournament last summer, Andersen stopped 60 out of 64 shots faced in victories over Great Britain, Japan, and Norway.

Entrenched as the Danish starter when available to play for his home country, Andersen's international resume includes a Best Goaltender award at the 2018 IIHF Mens' World Championship, which was hosted in Denmark.

Andersen joins Oliver Bjorkstrand (TBL), Nikolaj Ehlers (WPG), Lars Eller (WSH), Jesper Jensen Abo and Jonas Rondbjerg (VGK) as the first six members of Denmark's preliminary roster.

To learn more about the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, click here.