Back home and back to business.
It has been an eventful past couple of weeks for eight members of the Colorado Avalanche that participated in the Milano Cortina Olympic Games. Six of the eight Avalanche players brought home some hardware. Brock Nelson (Gold), Nathan MacKinnon (Silver), Cale Makar (Silver), Devon Towes (Silver), Arturri Lehkonen (Bronze), Joel Kirirvanta (Bronze).
GP – Games Played | G – Goals | A – Assists
Martin Necas – 5GP/3G/5A
Nathan MacKinnon – 6GP/4G/3A
Artturi Lehkonen – 6GP/2G/4A
Cale Makar – 6GP/2G/4A
Gabe Landeskog – 5GP/2G/2A
Brock Nelson – 6GP/2G/1A
Devon Toews – 6GP/1G/2A
Joel Kiviranta – 4GP/2G/0A
Marty Party was vibrant for Team Czechia that had the worst roster by far. Who would’ve thought Necas would be the one carrying his team and become the leading scorer for Czechia, having played one less game than Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar on Team Canada. Marty Necas also set the record for scoring the most points by a Czech player in Olympic Game history.
Nathan MacKinnon was one of the main reasons why Team Canada made a run as deep as they did, and he wasn’t even on his usual elite level of play. MacKinnon finished with 6 goals and would’ve had 8 goals if two of those brutal shots that went wide had gone in.
Cale Makar was “The General” setting up the forwards to score and creating space to dissect the defense when Crosby was out with an injury for the gold game against Team USA. Devon Toews was paired with Makar the entire time and logged 1 goal and 2 assists, doing what they usually do on defense. Makar played great, sniping two beauties and dishing out 4 assists on the tournament, but wasn’t enough to help get the gold for Canada.
Gabe Landeskog showed the world why he has been the captain of one of the most prominent NHL teams in the league for over a decade. Landeskog put up 2 goals and 2 assists but didn’t have the strongest supporting cast to get Team Sweden over the hump. They had a decent run but eventually lost to Brock Nelson and the Americans in the semifinals.
- Colorado Avalanche Captain/Forward, Gabe Landeskog on his experience in the 2026 Olympic Games:
“We never know if we’re going to get another opportunity at the Olympics. So yeah, it was special to be there. Special to be honored to be selected to go to represent your country. I mean, that’s what it comes down to. And competing against the best in the world. That’s you know, all that you can ever ask for as a competitor and as an athlete. So yeah, great experience.”
- – Colorado Avalanche Captain/Forward, Gabe Landeskog
Joel Kiviranta (2 goals), and Artturi Lehkonen (2 goals, 4 assists) were great role players for Finland, both making a difference when it counted. Lehkonen at times put the team on his back, orchestrating very good looks setting up his linemates to score. He also had a heroic moment with a game winning goal in overtime against Switzerland that pushed the Fins further past the semifinals.
All eight players held their own and put up exceptional points for their respective countries, and each of the Av’s players bullied the board with a total of 18 goals, 21 assists, totaling 39 points.
The Olympics was an eye-opener that displayed the unhinged amount of talent the Colorado Avalanche possess on their roster, which is no secret to the NHL world. But with MacKinnon, Toews, Makar, Kirivanta, Lehkonen, and Landeskog losing to Brock Nelson and the Americans who eventually took the gold, one can only hope that they all use that as motivation to hoist the Stanley Cup come June.
Dante Robinson | Senior NHL & PWHL Analyst for The NSR Network
