The Philadelphia Flyers are officially on their Olympic break. They lost a lifeless game to the Ottawa Senators to end the condensed stretch before the games begin in Milan. And while that’s left a sour taste in the mouths of many fans, there is a consolation prize: men’s Olympic hockey for the first time since 2014. And four Philadelphia Flyers players (plus a bonus fifth member of the organization!) will be representing their countries in the games.
We do have to address one of the players named to their country’s Olympic team: Rodrigo Abols. Abols was injured several weeks ago and, unfortunately, won’t be able to represent Team Latvia on the ice this year. However, Latvia isn’t the deepest of teams at the Olympics, and perhaps the 30-year old Abols will be able to live out the Olympic dream in another four years.
The “big name” for the Flyers making the Olympic team is Travis Sanheim, who will be representing a stacked Team Canada in a, presumably, sixth- or seventh-defenseman role, given the depth on the blue line for the Canadians. Sanheim was named to the Four Nations team last year and, given that Rick Tocchet was an assistant coach then and remains one now, Tocchet likely put in a good word with GM Doug Armstrong to get Sanheim back on the roster (though unfortunately, Travis Konecny didn’t hold on to his spot). Sanheim remains a pivotal part of the Flyers’ defense, with 24 points and averaging just over 24 minutes a night, and it’ll be fun to see him without that sort of workload. Canada’s first game is on February 12 at 10:40 a.m. Eastern, against Czechia.
Speaking of Czechia, the Flyers have a representative there, too: Dan Vladar, who has been arguably the Flyers’ best player this year. He’s likely to get a couple of starts in Milan, though the presumptive starter for Czechia is the Anaheim Ducks’ Lukas Dostal. Vladar, however, has played so well for the Flyers since returning from injury that he may have put himself in the conversation to get the crease in game one. As mentioned, the Czechs’ first game will be against Canada on the 12th.
The final player representing the Flyers in Milan is Rasmus Ristolainen, playing for Team Finland. It’s been tough sledding for the large, right-shot defenseman since he returned from injury earlier this season. Perhaps some time with his national team will get him back on track when he returns to the NHL at the end of February. Finland kicks off the men’s hockey in Milan on February 11 at 10:40 a.m. against Team Slovakia.
As a bonus, the Flyers have a fifth representative in Milan: Brian Boucher, who will be doing commentary. The retired goaltender joined the Flyers’ broadcasts full-time after Keith Jones was elevated to President of Hockey Operations in the wake of Chuck Fletcher’s firing, but Boucher’s been on national television for several years. Even if the Flyers aren’t playing for a few weeks (and let’s be honest, we could all use a break), we’ll still be hearing Boucher on the call.