Minnesota Wild forward Mikko Koivu will once again have the opportunity to serve as the captain of Team Finland for an international hockey competition.
The Finnish ice hockey association announced on Monday that Koivu, 33, will captain the team during the World Cup of Hockey that will be held in Toronto next month.
Koivu has been the captain of the Wild since the 2009-10 season, and has served as captain for Team Finland in three different World Championship tournaments in recent years.
Along with his 161 career goals at the NHL level, Koivu has scored 13 goals in 64 games for the Finland at various tournaments over the years. He is coming off of a 17-goal, 39-assist season for the Wild in 2015-16.
Koivu will be joined on Team Finland by two of his Minnesota teammates, forwards Mikael Granlund and Erik Haula.
Other notable NHLers on the team include Florida’s Aleksander Barkov, Boston’s Tuukka Rask, Tampa Bay’s Valtteri Fippula, Pittsburgh’s Olli Maatta, and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft, Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine.