Despite missing most of the 2013-14 NHL regular season with a hip infection, Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne will play for Finland at the upcoming 2014 IIHF World Championships, to be held in Minsk, Belarus from May 9-25. Notably, Rinne played in 22 KHL games for Dynamo Minsk during the 2012-13 NHL lockout.
Word on this comes from the Finnish Ice Hockey Association’s Twitter account:
Hyvät naiset ja herrat: PEKKA RINNE! http://t.co/Icu8XXhGl2 #leijonat #mmkisat pic.twitter.com/rlQQbtP5Nx
— Leijonat (@leijonat) April 22, 2014
This would make Rinne’s third appearance at the Worlds, following 2009 & 2010, during which he played a combined 10 games with a .927 save percentage, per Hockey-Reference.com. The just-completed NHL season was a frustrating one for both Rinne and the Predators, and perhaps a strong showing at the World Championships will put him on track to a more successful 2014-15 campaign.
UPDATE: Per the Predators, Mattias Ekholm has been added to Sweden’s team, too. Seth Jones & Craig Smith will play for Team USA, Ryan Ellis for Canada, and Roman Josi for Switzerland.