This upcoming week, multiple Los Angeles Kings players who represented their home country and the franchise in the 2026 Olympics will return to Southern California, including a handful who brought medals to their countries this past week in Italy in Milan.
Joel Armia with Team Finland highlights top Los Angeles Kings performers in the 2026 Winter Olympics this past couple of weeks
Three out of the five Kings' players who represented their home country and the LA franchise in the Winter Olympics won medals, including a silver medal for defenseman Drew Doughty and goalie Darcy Kuemper (Team Canada), and a bronze medal for forward Joel Armia (Team Finland) this past week.
There were multiple ups and downs in the headlines and storylines nationally for head coach Jim Hiller and the Kings' fans and coaching staff this past couple of weeks in the three week break for the Olympics for the league for the NHL. The Olympics saw Kings fans witness some of the team's top players receive medals while also losing one of their stars in the active roster lineup to a season-ending leg injury.
The Kings had a few players on two Olympic teams win medals after Team Canada fell to Team USA in the gold medal game this past weekend on Sunday. Here's a ranking of the three best Kings' players who represented their home country and the franchise in the Winter Olympics.
1. Joel Armia, W (Team Finland)
Armia was one of the pleasant surprises in the tournament for Team Finland in the active roster lineup, scoring the puck offensively and on both ends of the ice this past couple of weeks. He was instrumental in helping Team Finland dominate Slovakia on the scoreboard and on the ice, by a convincing score of 6-1, to take home the bronze medal this past weekend.
In the bronze medal game this past weekend, Armia became the first player for Team Finland in the country's history to register three total points in a medal game.
Armia was a consistent and valuable contributor on both ends of the ice on special teams on the power play for Team Finland. He registered at least one total point on special teams on the power play on the 5-on-4 man advantage and the penalty kill for Team Finland this past couple of weeks.
2. Drew Doughty, D (Team Canada)
I personally thought Doughty had an underrated tournament for Team Canada defensively on the blue line this past couple of weeks on the ice. Doughty helped Team Canada limit the forward lines core group of multiple high-powered offensively charged teams in the Olympics, including Team USA and Team Finland this past week on the ice.
While Doughty wasn't able to get his third gold medal with Team Canada, he was still a valuable player on the blue line on defense in the Olympics. He can use this as a springboard to help the Kings get a late-regular season momentum push in the West in the Pacific Division in the next couple of months. on the schedule.
Doughty was a +3 in the plus/minus rating and he registered one assist and one total point.
3. Adrian Kempe, W (Team Sweden)
A disappointing result for Team Sweden this past couple of weeks did not necessarily mean that forward Adrian Kempe fell short of expectations on the ice for his home country last week. Kempe returned early this week on Monday to practice for the Kings after his tournament ended sooner than Team Sweden expected this past week.
Kempe registered multiple goals and a couple of assists for four total points for Team Sweden, while registering a +3 plus/minus rating.