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WJC: 2016 — Finland Roster Talk

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Modo said:
I can only hope that Dallas can follow the example that the Finns have set!

Hopefully down the road, gold medallist Roope Hintz can help his club do exactly that. Not like that bum, Jack Campbell. :sarcasm:

Anyways, congrats on a well-deserved win, Finland! Enjoy that view atop the mountain! ;) :handclap:
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I guess I was right with that Dallas Stars point :laugh: :laugh:

And yes, after seeing us win gold with this defense gives me some confidence that Dallas can win it too :laugh:
 
Altogether what an absolute blast this tournament was for a Finn! So many ups and downs with this not-so-typical Finnish team and I enjoyed it all the way! This has to be my favourite hockey tournament so far, even topping the great Olympic tournaments we've recently had. I don't think I have the writing proficiency explain how fantastic this has been.

Finnish hockey people have began to speak about these tournaments as individual storylines for each selected team, and the story of these kids couldn't have been more exciting. Thank you ice hockey.
 
Congratulations, Finland, it was a beautiful game and a great tournament. Hopefully the home team wins next year again :)
 
Make said:
You have to wonder what this team could be like if guys like Rantanen and Kapanen were at their best too. Now it kind of feels like there's a black hole in offensive production with these two guys. There's no way to turn our defensemen into first round talents but a guy like Rantanen has shown that he can carry a national team but we're just getting no production from him this year. So frustrating.
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Well, both guys stepped up huge when it mattered. Add to that the two goals by the Kids line and we have a :hockey:
 
I would Love to see Laine, Aho and pulju get a shot at playing in some pree wc games.. cuz imo, they would do great even in the wc!
 
Anyone else got a feeling about Laine getting the #1 draft pick? All he needs now is impressive rest of the season in Liiga. Tappara players, just pass the damn puck to Laine always.
 
Mestaruus said:
Anyone else got a feeling about Laine getting the #1 draft pick? All he needs now is impressive rest of the season in Liiga. Tappara players, just pass the damn puck to Laine always.
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No, but he just might go at #2. Right now I'd pick him over Pulju.
 
Gaps said:
No, but he just might go at #2. Right now I'd pick him over Pulju.
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Imo he is pretty clear #2 atm. It would take a really bad injury for Matthews for him to take 1 st place. Pulju is pretty clear #3 with a change to be #2. But that is just my two cents and i'm no gm.
 
I'd say the draft position kind of depends on a number of things. If the club picking 1st just wants a "ready" player they can add to their lineup from the get-go, it's Matthews AINEC.

However, I think Laine may actually have the rarest qualities of the players available, even if you may have to wait another year to see them break into the league at its fullest. I don't mean to slight Matthews, but almost every team seems to have at least one "franchise" centre, whereas pure snipers with a shot like Laine's are something all of them don't have.

Another thing could be a particular team's needs, I guess. Organizations like Columbus and Toronto ought to focus on being better down the middle, whereas Buffalo and Edmonton have plenty of talent for that lane, so for them boosting firepower on the wings could just be on the agenda.

Then there's of course how steady a ground the drafting GM stands on. If he feels he's on a wobbly chair, he might just go for the consensus BPA despite his team's actual needs, so that nobody gets use (at least) that against him.
 
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FiLe said:
I'd say the draft position kind of depends on a number of things. If the club picking 1st just wants a "ready" player they can add to their lineup from the get-go, it's Matthews AINEC.

However, I think Laine may actually have the rarest qualities of the players available, even if you may have to wait another year to see them break into the league at its fullest. I don't mean to slight Matthews, but almost every team seems to have at least one "franchise" centre, whereas pure snipers like with a shot like Laine's are something all of them don't have.
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Yep. It may come down to luck if he's #1 or #3 based on which team gets what pick #. I wanna underline the rarest qualities part you said. I think teams value this more than people in general think and I got a good feeling about Laine being #1 this year. Just hoping he plays well for the rest of the season and no injuries and will be in either men's or U18 WC team.

No injuries for Matthews, Pulju or Laine I hope. We need a legit battle here. It's going to be interesting.

Interesting poll here: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?p=111723731#post111723731
 
FinPanda said:
Yeah he is going #2.
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I've been on the Laine train for a while (one of 3 who voted for him over Pulju in this poll over the summer http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=1937221) but I'm not so sure this is that clear cut yet.

This is like Malkin vs Kovalchuk for me. I think Laine will be a great power/skill forward with hands in tight and a great outside shot. He seems to be a bit more physical, cerebral, and gifted with hands. Pulju will be an excellent goal scorer and dynamic offensive player ala Kovy. He's the better skater and shooter for my money, but he's not quite as good at creating shots for himself.

In the end, this tournament has not changed my position. I'd take a Malkin type over a Kovy type, but its very close and far from a closed book.

I'll be curious if any NHL team attempts to convert Laine to center as he matures. If he can improve his foot speed he'd have the makings of a prototypical franchise center.
 
Once again - congratulations, Finland, it was good game and deserved win. You have very promising young players and future is bright for your team.
 
Almost didn't want Kapanen to be in the team and he scored the golden goal. Never believed in this 1996 group, I was totally wrong.
 
FinPanda said:
Almost didn't want Kapanen to be in the team and he scored the golden goal. Never believed in this 1996 group, I was totally wrong.
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Taking players like Kapanen requires kind of "gold or bust" approach. If you fill your roster with humble workers, it's easier to build team cohesion, and therefore somewhat easier to reach the medal round. But it also means the game is going to stay pretty even throughout, which usually does not bode good when you start facing the high-end talent of other top teams. That one final gear is simply missing. It's pretty much the reason we have so much silver and bronze, but too little gold for our tastes.

However, if you take players who are skilled, but controversial, the team may never gel and the odds of reaching the medal round diminish a bit. But IF you get there with them, you have a greater chance to see the breakout play that decides the game. Q.E.D.
 
I'm dying to see the next EHT and hoping they take the entire Pulju-Aho-Laine line there as a whole. Would be golden when the opponents would have to run their shut down lines against that line in men's :).

These seem to be the next dates for EHT/EHC. 2 matches against Sweden inside Sweden:
11.2.2016 - SWE-FIN
13.2.2016 - SWE-FIN

source: https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_Hockey_Tour_2015–2016
 
Mestaruus said:
I'm dying to see the next EHT and hoping they take the entire Pulju-Aho-Laine line there as a whole. Would be golden when the opponents would have to run their shut down lines against that line in men's :).

These seem to be the next dates for EHT/EHC. 2 matches against Sweden inside Sweden:
11.2.2016 - SWE-FIN
13.2.2016 - SWE-FIN

source: https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_Hockey_Tour_2015–2016
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No EHT tournaments this season anymore, only three sets of double header exhibition games.
 
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Now it's fun to look back in this thread and read how we (and some Canadians) said our offence is stacked. It brought us gold, and they who were suspicious about goaltending (although Kähkönen was good) and defense, maybe they were right at the beginning but that never stopped us.
 
FinPanda said:
Now it's fun to look back in this thread and read how we (and some Canadians) said our offence is stacked. It brought us gold, and they who were suspicious about goaltending (although Kähkönen was good) and defense, maybe they were right at the beginning but that never stopped us.
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I called pretty much every round that unless the defense and PK are fixed we'll be done. Those things worked properly twice in the tournament -- against BLR and SWE -- and they brought home the gold anyways. Shows how much I know :laugh: .
 
rduck1 said:
I called pretty much every round that unless the defense and PK are fixed we'll be done. Those things worked properly twice in the tournament -- against BLR and SWE -- and they brought home the gold anyways. Shows how much I know :laugh: .
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PK never worked. :laugh:

It makes this feel so great. 7th best goaltending and PK..
 
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