Griffins Alumni Take Gold, Bronze in Beijing

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, which saw a record 15 former Grand Rapids Griffins represent eight different countries, marked the fifth consecutive Olympics in which at least one Griffins alum stood on the medal podium.

Goaltenders Harri Sateri of Finland and Patrik Rybar of Slovakia, teammates on Grand Rapids’ 2018-19 squad, led their countries to historic results at the Winter Games. Sateri made 16 saves in a 2-1 win over ROC earlier today, backstopping Finland to its first-ever Olympic men’s hockey gold medal. He finished the tournament with a 1.00 goals against average, a 0.962 save percentage and one shutout, allowing just two even-strength goals in his five appearances. Finnish captain Valtteri Filppula joined Niklas Kronwall as the only former Griffins to earn two Olympic medals, adding to the bronze medal he claimed in 2010 in Vancouver.

Rybar, meanwhile, was named to the tournament’s all-star team following Saturday’s 28-save, 4-0 shutout of Sweden in the bronze medal game that secured Slovakia’s first Olympic medal in men’s hockey. Over six appearances, he paced all Olympic netminders with a 0.86 GAA, a 0.966 save percentage and two shutouts (tied). Teammate Tomas Jurco joined the celebration while playing in his second Olympics (2014 Sochi), becoming the first player to medal after winning a Calder Cup with the Griffins (2013).

Not since the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City has a Griffins alum failed to take home a medal of some color. In the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy, Kronwall became the first Griffins alumnus to earn an Olympic medal, winning gold thanks to Sweden’s victory over Finland in the championship game. Filppula became the second to medal in 2010 in Vancouver, earning a bronze with Finland. Kronwall then became the first former Griffin to win two Olympic medals by taking silver in 2014 in Sochi, Russia, alongside fellow Grand Rapids alumni Jonathan Ericsson, Jonas Gustavsson and Gustav Nyquist, completing the Olympic medal spectrum for former Griffins. The 2018 Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, featured two medal winners, as Alexey Marchenko won gold with the Olympic Athletes from Russia while Chris Kelly scored the game-winning goal for Canada in the bronze medal game.

Click here for a history of the Griffins at the Winter Olympics. Results and stats from 2022 Games can be found here.

Griffins Alumni in Beijing

Gold – Finland – Valtteri Filppula (2005-07), Harri Sateri (2018-19)

Bronze – Slovakia – Tomas Jurco (2012-14; 15-17), Patrick Rybar (2018-19)

4th – Sweden – Mathias Brome (2020-21)

5th – United States – Justin Abdelkader (2008-10; 21-22), Andy Miele (2014-16), Pat Nagle (2014-15; 18-21)

6th – Canada – Landon Ferraro (2009-10; 11-15), Eddie Pasquale (2016-17), Ben Street (2016-18)

7th – Denmark (asst. coach) – Andreas Lilja (2009-10)

9th – Czech Republic – Libor Sulak (2017-19)

12th – China – Jake Chelios (2018-19), Ryan Sproul (2012-16; 17-18)

Photos by Getty Images