Top KHL international players at the 2022 Beijing Olympics

35 KHL players skated in the Gold Medal game between Finland and Russia, with league’s representatives receiving 47 out of 75 medals at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team Finland won its first-ever Gold Medal at this level.

However, the Olympic games weren’t remarkable only for those who won — Team Slovakia, for example, had a good showing throughout the tournament and had two players included in the media All-Star team and won the bronze medal over Team Sweden. KHL.ru presents its best international players from the tournament.

Harri Sateri

Sibir, Team Finland

G, 5 GP, 96.1%, 1.00 GAA, 1 SO

The veteran netminder had a fantastic showing at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and was one of the main reasons why the Leijonat captured its first-ever gold medal. Sateri’s top performance was probably his 28-save shutout in the semifinals against Team Slovakia, although he was instrumental for the Finns in all other games, including the gold medal showdown against Team Russia. Sateri, 32, started in all games for Team Finland but the round-robin win over Team Sweden, when Metallurg’s Juho Olkinuora achieved victory for the Leijonat. Sateri looked in top form in Beijing — it won’t be easy for Salavat Yulaev to surpass them when the KHL resumes with the first-round playoff series, even if some of Ufa’s most dangerous weapons were in his same team at the Olympics.

Patrik Rybar

Dinamo Minsk, Team Slovakia

G, 6 GP, 96.6%, 0.70 GAA, 2 SO

Differently from Sateri, Rybar started the tournament on the bench. The Slovak goalie had his Olympics debut in the second game, against Sweden. With Matej Tomek allowing three goals in the first period, head coach Craig Ramsay opted to switch goalies and iced Rybar in the middle stanza. The Dinamo Minsk netminder then went on and posted two shutouts in the tournament — the most among all goalies — and helped the Slovaks winning a historical bronze medal. Moreover, to cap it all, Rybar had his finest performance in the Bronze Medal game, posting 28 saves as Team Slovakia blanked Team Sweden. For his efforts, Rybar was awarded a spot in the tournament’s All-Star team, along with his teammate Juraj Slafkovsky. They succeed the late Pavol Demitra, who was awarded in 2010 in Vancouver.

Lucas Wallmark

CSKA, Team Sweden

6 GP, 5 (5+0) points, −1

The CSKA forward had a strong tournament, regularly getting on the scoresheet with five goals in six games. Wallmark started the Olympics potting a double to Team Latvia, then went on in the round-robin with goals to Slovakia and Finland. The 26-years-old also had a strong showing in the quarterfinals against Canada, when he tallied the game-winner in the third period as the Tre Kronor shut the opposition out for a 2:0 win. Wallmark was left out of the scoresheet in the final two games of the tournament, yet his production guaranteed him a spot in the All-Star team, with only Slafkovsky getting more goals than him overall in the tournament.

Mikko Lehtonen

SKA, Team Finland

6 GP, 4 (1+3) points, +7

Another player from the gold-medal winning team to make the All-Star team is Mikko Lehtonen. The defenseman was nothing short of excellent throughout the tournament, posting impressive performance at both ends of the ice and ending with a plus-7 differential — trailing only his teammate Teemu Hartikainen in the plus-minus department. The SKA blueliner had a four-game scoring streak in the start of the tournament, focusing on defense in the later stages. Lehtonen, 28, has also helped Team Finland winning gold at the IIHF World Championship in 2019, with several teammates who also won in Beijing, including Jokerit’s Marko Anttila, who once again was instrumental when things mattered more — in the gold medal game. Among other Team Finland members, also Salavat Yulaev’s Sakari Manninen made the All-star team.

Eric O’Dell

Dynamo Moscow, Team Canada

5 GP, 5 (2+3) points, +2

Team Canada didn’t medal this time after winning bronze in South Korea in 2018, but Eric O’Dell was a crucial member of the team. At his second consecutive Olympic Games appearance, the Canadian forward had two multi-point games in the earlier stages of the tournament, recording two helpers when Canada downed Germany 5:1 in the inaugural game, then posting a goal and an assist in Sunday’s shutout win over Team China. Then, O’Dell scored again when Canada defeated China again in the qualification game. The veteran of six KHL seasons is now primed for a strong performance when the KHL play resume on Mar 1, with the first playoff series underway.