{"id":3497,"date":"2026-01-03T22:11:03","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T22:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3497"},"modified":"2026-01-03T22:11:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T22:11:03","slug":"blackhawks-teuvo-teravainen-excited-to-fulfill-olympic-dreams-with-finland-once-the-rink-is-finished","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3497","title":{"rendered":"Blackhawks&#8217; Teuvo Teravainen excited to fulfill Olympic dreams with Finland \u2014 once the rink is finished"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 It\u2019s not like anyone has been badgering him to find out, but <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/blackhawks\" target=\"_blank\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">Blackhawks<\/a> forward Teuvo Teravainen did successfully keep a secret for weeks that he had been selected for Finland\u2019s Olympics roster.<\/p>\n<p>Finnish coach Antti Pennanen let him know back in December that he would see his name on the roster that was officially announced Friday.<\/p>\n<p>For now, Teravainen is slated to be the Hawks\u2019 lone Olympian \u2014 tying them with the Islanders for the fewest representatives \u2014 as NHL players head to the tournament for the first time since 2014.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a dream come true,\u201d Teravainen said Saturday. \u201cMy age group hasn\u2019t had the chance to play in the Olympics, so it\u2019s kind of weird. &#8230; I\u2019m sure everybody is going to be so excited and the hockey is going to be great. Hopefully they get the rink done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, NHL players have closely followed news out of Milan, Italy, about the state of the Olympic hockey arena under construction. The CBC reported Saturday that the question is whether it will be \u201cfinished enough\u201d in time to host games in February, because it isn\u2019t going to be completely finished. <\/p>\n<p>The ice surface itself will reportedly be more than three feet shorter than NHL regulations, too. And the neighborhood in which it\u2019s located isn\u2019t exactly well-developed or convenient to the Milan city center.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere better be good pasta or pizza,\u201d Teravainen quipped with a smile.<\/p>\n<p>Team Finland\u2019s medal hopes suffered a blow when Aleksander Barkov tore his ACL during Panthers training camp, but they still have some big stars in Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho, Miro Heiskanen and Juuse Saros.<\/p>\n<p>Teravainen didn\u2019t <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/blackhawks\/2025\/02\/23\/blackhawks-teuvo-teravainen-finland-playing-time-4-nations-olympics\" target=\"_blank\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">receive<\/a> much playing time during the 4 Nations Face-off last February, so he\u2019s understandably hoping for more this time around. He entered Saturday with 19 points in 39 NHL games for the Hawks this season, although his defensive skills are his primary calling card.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m super happy for Teuvo,\u201d Hawks coach Jeff Blashill said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity. They don\u2019t come around much. [As] we\u2019ve seen, even when you think it might happen, sometimes it doesn\u2019t happen. So you cherish these moments to represent your country.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><b>Connor\u2019s progress<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Hawks star Connor Bedard skated individually again Friday and graduated to shooting pucks \u2014 something he wasn\u2019t allowed to do Monday, the first time he was <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/blackhawks\/2025\/12\/29\/blackhawks-connor-bedard-skating-jeff-blashill-speech-jason-dickinson-learning\" target=\"_blank\" data-cms-ai=\"0\">seen<\/a> on the ice.<\/p>\n<p>It seems conceivable Bedard could return to action within a week or so, although Blashill said he doesn\u2019t have a definitive timeline to share yet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s definitely progressing,\u201d Blashill said. \u201cHe feels good. He\u2019s certainly excited to be out there shooting, and it looked like he was ripping it pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><b>Teuvo the mentor<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>The Hawks have created an effective line by slotting Teravainen alongside rookie forwards Nick Lardis and Oliver Moore, the latter of whom is playing center for the first time in the NHL.<\/p>\n<p>Teravainen\u2019s calm personality, veteran experience and defensive acumen help stabilize the two wide-eyed, hot-footed youngsters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes they\u2019re in&#8230;the wrong spots, but they\u2019re learning,\u201d Teravainen said. \u201cIt\u2019s been fun to play with them, for sure. [They bring] a lot of speed and excitement. I\u2019m just trying to be in the right spots for them and give them the puck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He described Moore\u2019s speed as \u201ccrazy\u201d and attested that his playing style \u201cfits well at center,\u201d which matches what everyone watching from above has seen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been doing a pretty good job of getting the puck and starting moving right away,\u201d Teravainen added. \u201cWe\u2019re not just flipping pucks. We\u2019re trying to hold it and skate it together to the other end. That\u2019s how we create some [offensive] zone time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/blackhawks\/2026\/01\/03\/blackhawks-teuvo-teravainen-olympics-finland-milan-hockey-arena-connor-bedard\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 It\u2019s not like anyone has been badgering him to find out, but Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen did successfully keep a secret for weeks that he had been selected for Finland\u2019s Olympics roster. Finnish coach Antti Pennanen let him know back in December that he would see his name on the roster that was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3497","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-usa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}