The 2018 Olympics offered hints of future NHL legends
Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid were unable to play together for Canada. Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews were not given the opportunity to play alongside Patrick Kane for the United States. Henrik Lundqvist was never given the opportunity to help Sweden win another gold medal, this time with Victor Hedman in front of him.
As the finest players in the world have not yet competed against one another on the international stage, the NHL's decision to boycott the 2018 Olympics appears to have been a big error in judgment. It turns out that for a select few players, the South Korean event was a preview of things to come.
Kirill Kaprizov, who starred for Russia five years ago when they won the gold, is currently Minnesota's most important player. He teams up with Jordan Greenway, a forward for Seattle who interrupted his collegiate career to compete for the United States in Pyeongchang. Eeli Tolvanen shared a room with Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who, along with then-17-year-old Swedish Rasmus Dahlin, is among the greatest at the position, before moving in with the Kraken and scoring at will this season.
Pavel Francouz, a Czech goalie who helped Colorado win that tournament by defeating the United States in an elimination shootout, was little-known before that performance.
The Olympic success stories from 2018 are now being seen in the NHL, from Kaprizov to Francouz.
It's a testament to how well the hockey was played there, said Donato, who shared the tournament lead with Kaprizov and Ilya Kovalchuk with five goals. There were a number of individuals that spent a lot of time playing in the NHL. You could almost tell that those players' careers would benefit if they could spend a lot of time with NHL veterans.
It was for Kaprizov, then an inexperienced NHL prospect who for those two weeks was the greatest player on the ice. Just one player had more points than Kaprizov and Tolvanen, who were familiar with one another from their KHL matchups.
Tolvanen, who had three goals and six assists in five games in the Olympics before turning 19, said of the player, "Since the first game we played against them, I knew that he was going to be a really good player." At that time, there wasn't a lot of chatter about him in North America, but everyone who played in the KHL or competed against the Russians at the national level knew he was the real deal."
At the time, Tolvanen and Heiskanen both appeared to be the real deal. Tolvanen was selected later in the first round, Heiskanen was the third to be drafted, and while playing for Finland, they shared a room.
In the NHL, Heiskanen is now a star for Dallas. Before being placed on waivers this season, Tolvanen sat around with Nashville. He was claimed by the Kraken, and in the 20 games since, he has scored nine goals.
Heiskanen remarked, "It seems like it’s really helped him to get to the new place and get some more minutes there. It’s great to see the success."
Francouz is the sole player from the 2018 Olympics to have subsequently won the Stanley Cup, despite all of their individual achievements. When two goalies won at least five games apiece during the Avalanche's run, they became the first team since 1972 to lift the Cup, and they can, in part, thank Francouz's five-year-old experience for placing him on the map.
The scouts may have recognized him from the KHL and had a general idea of how he played, according to Francouz. Nonetheless, he believes that the fact that they saw him in person at the competition and were aware of his abilities undoubtedly benefited him.
Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders and Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers were the Nos. 1 and 3 goalies, respectively, for the Russians and Sweden. Dahlin, who is currently with Buffalo, appeared in just two games for Sweden.
According to Sorokin, Koshechkin taught him how he works and performs in extremely big-pressure games, critical games. Dahlin had the same emotions while training with senior Swedes. He was having a great time, Dahlin added. Despite not playing much, he had fun.
Dahlin is now the Sabres' best defender and sees a lot of action. Just two players this season had more ice time than Dahlin: gold medalist from the 2010 Olympics Drew Doughty, and 2022 Norris Trophy winner and playoff MVP Cale Makar, who declined Canada's invitation to the Olympics five years ago.
Tolvanen is prospering with Seattle and is finally getting meaningful ice time in the NHL.
That somewhat reminds Tolvanen of the year he participated in the world juniors, the Olympics, and the KHL. "That was a fun year, and I kind of feel the same way right now."
Professionals now, Donato, Greenway, and Co. recall their friendships from competing in what Donato called a "perfect storm" Olympics without NHL players with nostalgia.
As Greenway commented, "The guys who you did that with and experienced that with, you’ll always have that connection. We talk about it. We always will."
The NHL is expected to participate in the 2026 Olympics in Milan after schedule disruptions caused by the pandemic prevented the NHL from attending the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Those that took part in 2018 received a good enough taste to want to return.
"You see all the other athletes, you see all the buses going around the Olympic village, and you go see other athletes compete," Tolvanen added. "It’s a dream come true to play there as an 18-year-old, but it’s something that for sure I want to be a part of again."
