He’s impressed his teammates, some of whom will be his Olympic foes starting Thursday, when Canada faces Czechia (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA, CBC Gem, CBC).
“The thing about Sanny was, I didn’t know, honestly, that he was that good, until I joined the [Flyers],” said goalie Dan Vladar, who could start for Czechia in the Olympic opener. “So once I joined the team, I can actually see how good of a player he is, how many minutes he can play every single night, and how this team can rely on him. … Just the way he holds on to the puck and he calms the plays down, it’s unreal.”
Sanheim, Vladar and Tocchet will be joined in Italy by defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who will play for Team Finland.
It will be Ristolainen’s first time playing internationally for Finland since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He made the team for the 4 Nations Face-Off but missed the tournament because of an upper-body injury.
There have been injury questions surrounding Ristolainen this season as well, as his season debut didn’t come until Dec. 16 after he had surgery March 26 to repair a ruptured right triceps tendon. He missed six games because of an upper-body injury sustained Jan. 14 and then left a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 28 because of a lower-body injury after playing two shifts.
But he scored his first goal of the season in a 4-2 win against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday and has played at least 20 minutes three straight games.
“Very excited,” Ristolainen said. “Having some injuries in the past, so it feels extra special being healthy and able to go.”
It’s special for all four of the Flyers’ Olympic representatives, who will fly to Italy together Saturday. It will be the last time they enjoy things together for a few weeks.
“Once we land, horse blinders for me,” Vladar said. “No friends.”