Ottawa Senators defenceman Nikolas Matinpalo will suit up for Team Finland at the world hockey championship in Switzerland. Matinpalo was named to Finland's roster this week ahead of the tournament, which runs from May 15 to 31 in Zurich and Fribourg.
Matinpalo's International Career
The 27-year-old joins fellow NHL defencemen Olli Määttä (Calgary Flames), Henri Jokiharju (Boston Bruins), Ville Heinola (Winnipeg Jets) and Urho Vaakanainen (New York Rangers) on the blue line. This will be Matinpalo's fifth time representing his country on the world stage in just three years. He previously played in two world championships (2023, 2025), the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 and the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
Now a fixture on Finland's blue line in international competition, Matinpalo is expected to play top-four minutes to begin the tournament, a significant role compared to his Olympic stint where he fought for every minute of ice time on a deep Finnish defensive corps.
Rise from Underdog
Team Finland general manager Jere Lehtinen spoke with the Ottawa Citizen ahead of the Olympics about Matinpalo's unique journey. "His story is a little different than most players because he didn't play on the junior national teams," Lehtinen said. "He played a lot of youth hockey, junior hockey, not on a top team like a challenger team. That year when we picked him for world championships in 2023, I think nobody really expected him to be with the team. But when we got him in the pre-camps in the spring, those games kind of showed how good he is. He came from behind a lot of players and grabbed a spot."
Senators Season and Playoff Performance
Matinpalo struggled to crack the Senators lineup in the middle third of the 2025-26 regular season, but numerous injuries on the backend gave him an opportunity and he seized it. With Artem Zub out early in Round 1 against the Carolina Hurricanes, Matinpalo played shutdown minutes on the top pairing for the rest of the series, seeing just two offensive zone faceoffs in four games. It was the second straight season the 6-foot-3 defenceman elevated his game in the playoffs, having also performed well against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2025.
Other Senators at the Tournament
Also playing overseas at the world hockey championship will be Ottawa centre Dylan Cozens, who has been named to Team Canada's roster. Matinpalo and Cozens will not meet in round-robin play, as Team Finland is in Group A and Team Canada is in Group B. Each will begin his tournament at 10:20 a.m. ET on Friday. Finland plays Germany in Zurich, while Canada meets Sweden in Fribourg. TSN is the tournament rights holder.
Notably, no American Senators will join Team USA in Switzerland. Centre Shane Pinto, who was contemplating committing when he met with the media on locker clean-out day, has decided to stay home. Captain Brady Tkachuk is busy being a father, as he and his wife Emma welcomed a baby girl, Lyla, in late April. Jake Sanderson is still recovering from a concussion sustained from a Taylor Hall head shot in Game 3 of the playoffs.
