Stars Defenseman Discusses Excitement Around Olympics

Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen missed three and a half months due to a knee injury last season, and his absence on the blue line was very noticeable.

However, the Stars weren't the only ones to miss Heiskanen while he was injured.

The 26-year-old was also supposed to represent Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, but he suffered the injury only about two weeks before the tournament. Finland went 1-2-0-0 at the tournament, as it defeated Sweden 2-1 in overtime but lost to the U.S. 6-1 and Canada 5-3.

Heiskanen may not have been able to take part in that tournament, but now that he's fully healthy, he's all in on the 2026 Winter Olympics, as he attended the Finland's Olympic Orientation on Monday.

"It's always nice to see Finnish players," Heiskanen said, per NHL.com. "We all know each other pretty well. We got some info about what will happen in Italy. Good to know things, don't need to worry about what will happen."

While next year's Olympics — to be held in Milan, Italy — will be the first since 2014 with NHL players participating, but Heiskanen still has some past experience at the event. He represented Finland at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, just months before he joined the Stars full-time. Finland lost to Canada in the quarterfinals and finished sixth at the event.

"It was a great event," Heiskanen said. "No players from NHL that year, but it was still a great experience. Great memories. I suspect those Olympic experiences will help me now. I know what to expect, how everything works."

Heiskanen is one of six players already named to Team Finland, and one of three Stars alongside Mikko Rantanen and Esa Lindell. Finland is looking to defend its gold medal from the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, but with NHL players in the mix, next year's tournament will be an entirely different beast.

"No pressure from defending the gold medal," Heiskanen said. "Of course we want to win again, but we don't think about it too much. We take one game at a time."