An unfortunate start to the season was a bitter pill to swallow for Boston Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. The lack of starts in the 2024-25 season led to a loss of confidence, which carried over into the 2025-26 season, with a slow first half. It was the worst time for it to happen, as Korpisalo had waited his whole life to represent Team Finland at the Olympics and had struggled in the year when NHLers were finally able to play.
Korpisalo's play since the roster announcements gave some reason to believe that the weight of the decision was one of his issues. The Finnish goaltender allowed just 23 goals over his last 10 appearances, owning a .912 save percentage. It was a form worthy of an Olympic goaltender. Through an unfortunate injury to the projected starter, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Korpisalo will now get his chance to represent his country.
Joonas Korpisalo has been added to Finland's Olympic team as an injury replacement for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) February 3, 2026
Korpisalo becomes the ninth Bruin named to an Olympic team, and joins Henri Jokiharju on Team Finland.
Korpisalo now joins Bruins teammate Henri Jokiharju on an injury-riddled roster for Finland. With the absence of starter Luukkonen and first-line center and likely captain Aleksander Barkov, the underdog Finns will be punching even farther up with trying to match the United States, Canada, and Sweden's loaded rosters.
Korpisalo last wore his country's sweater in the 2017 Men's World Championships. He appeared in six games at that tournament, owning a 3.82 goals-against average and an .858 save percentage. He also had a tough time during his World Junior career, as Finland went to the relegation round in his one year as the starter.
The Bruins' backup will split most of his time in the same role with Kevin Lankinen in Milan. He'll likely get a chance to dress for at least one game, but Finland will be riding with Juuse Saros for the majority of the tournament if he can play up to his standard. However, over the last month, Korpisalo has been the best goalie out of the three, and it'd be nice to see him get an opportunity if Saros and Lankinen falter.
With Korpisalo getting the call, it brings the total number of Bruins in Milan to nine. For a team that's going to be in an intense battle when the NHL season resumes, it's not the most fantastic news for fans dreaming of a playoff berth.