World Cup: 2016 World Cup — Team Finland

[teddy83]

Good to see Laine and Aho in the team, but i not sold on Laine in small ice against best players in the world in 5v5 play, maybe use him only on PP? And please Marjamaki, no Jokinen-Barkov combo anymore, it hasn't worked ever and probably doesn't work in WC.

 

[Fables]

Predicted offensive lines:

1.
Granlund - Koivu - Haula
2.
Laine - Barkov - Donskoi
3.
Jokinen - Filppula - Aho
4.
Korpikoski - Lehterä - Komarov


Anything looking off?

Looking quite good but take Korpikoski out and put Teravainen in. And I would consider this:

Grandlund - Koivu - Aho
Laine - Barkov - Donskoi
Komarov - Filppula - Jokinen
Haula - Lehtera - Teravainen

And in defence

Maatta - Ristolainen
Jokipakka - Vatanen
Lindell/Lepistö - Pokka

Too bad changes to the originally chosen players are not possible anymore. I would like to take out Korpikoski and replace him with Rantanen or Puljujarvi.

And after all the brutal giveaways Lindell had in the world championships I would take him out and replace him with Honka or Ohtamaa.

 

[Lennu32]

Donskoi - Barkov - Granlund
Filppula - Koivu - Teräväinen
Aho - Lehterä - Jokinen
Korpikoski - Haula - Komarov
Laine

Määttä - Ristolainen
Jokipakka - Vatanen
Lepistö - Pokka
Lindell

#1 PP

Laine - Barkov - Granlund
Lepistö - Vatanen

#2 PP

Donskoi - Koivu - Teräväinen/Aho
Lehterä -Ristolainen

 

[ijuka]

Looking quite good but take Korpikoski out and put Teravainen in. And I would consider this:

Grandlund - Koivu - Aho
Laine - Barkov - Donskoi
Komarov - Filppula - Jokinen
Haula - Lehtera - Teravainen

And in defence

Maatta - Ristolainen
Jokipakka - Vatanen
Lindell/Lepistö - Pokka

Too bad changes to the originally chosen players are not possible anymore. I would like to take out Korpikoski and replace him with Rantanen or Puljujarvi.

And after all the brutal giveaways Lindell had in the world championships I would take him out and replace him with Honka or Ohtamaa.

Korpikoski can defend pretty well and he was successful at Sochi. It makes far more sense to have him in the defensive 4th than Teräväinen.

Apart from that, Jokinen can't play right wing or he'd have been RW for this year's WCs. Makes little sense to have Aho as the first liner when he was a third liner in WCs and breaks up the Minnesota trio for no reason in my opinion.

 

[traffic cone]

RINNE-RASK (KOSKINEN)

MAATTA-RISTOLAINEN
JOKIPAKKA-VATANEN
LEPISTO-POKKA
LINDELL

LAINE-BARKOV-DONSKOI
FILPPULA-KOIVU-GRANLUND
JOKINEN-LEHTERA-TERAVAINEN
KORPIKOSKI-HAULA-KOMAROV
AHO

Notes:

- Rinne and Rask are interchangeable, Koskinen is the clear 3rd guy
- I think the top 3 defenseman are clear: Vatanen, Ristolainen and Maatta. You could switch Vatanen and Ristolainen but Maatta (as a LHD) will probably be on the top pairing.
- Jokipakka would work well as a stay-at-home guy for Sami.
- One of Lindell, Pokka and Lepisto (maybe also Jokipakka) will be the odd man out. I left out Lindell because he won't be on the PP and Lepisto/Pokka are both better PKers.
- Forwards are more complicated. Depends if you want 3 or 4 lines capable of scoring. I went with 3.
- Laine or Aho probably will be the odd man out here. Korpikoski/Haula also a possibility if they roll with 4 offensive lines. But of course injuries can and will happen too.
- Every guy in the top 9 have the skill to be an offensive contributor. Donskoi, Filppula and Jokinen are good support guys that can play with anyone. Laine-Barkov, Koivu-Granlund, Lehtera-Teravainen are good pairings.
- Korpikoski-Haula-Komarov will provide the energy.
- PP guys: Laine, Barkov, Donskoi, Koivu, Teravainen, Granlund, Vatanen, Ristolainen, Lehtera, Filppula
- PK guys: Ristolainen, Maatta, Pokka, Jokipakka, Vatanen, Lepisto, Komarov, Korpikoski, Haula, Jokinen, Barkov, Koivu
- In an ideal situation you'd have only four guys play both the PP and PK (Barkov, Koivu, Vatanen, Ristolainen)

 

[Periwinkle]

Predicted offensive lines:

1.
Granlund - Koivu - Haula
2.
Laine - Barkov - Donskoi
3.
Jokinen - Filppula - Aho
4.
Korpikoski - Lehterä - Komarov


Anything looking off?

I certainly hope Haula won't play 1st line for us.

I still think Laine starts as the 13th forward, unless he breaks out in the practice games.

 

[illone84]

Here is my final WC roster.


Maalivahdit

Pekka Rinne, Nashville (NHL)
Tuukka Rask, Boston (NHL)
Mikko Koskinen SKA (KHL) or Joonas Korpisalo Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)

Puolustajat

Rasmus Ristolainen, Buffalo (NHL)
Sami Vatanen, Anaheim (NHL)
Olli Määttä, Pittsburgh (NHL)
Esa Lindell, Dallas (NHL)
Sami Lepistö Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (KHL/NHL contract?)
Jyrki Jokipakka Calgary Flames (NHL)
Ville Pokka Chicago Blackhawks (NHL/AHL)


Hyökkääjät

Aleksander Barkov, Florida (NHL)
Jussi Jokinen, Florida (NHL)
Teuvo Teräväinen, Chicago (NHL)
Mikko Koivu, Minnesota (NHL)
Leo Komarov, Toronto (NHL)
Mikael Granlund, Minnesota, NHL
Valtteri Filppula, Tampa Bay (NHL)
Jori Lehterä, St. Louis (NHL)
Joonas Donskoi, San Jose (NHL)
Lauri Korpikoski, Edmonton (NHL)
Patrik Laine Winnipeg? Tappara (Liiga/NHL)
Mikko Rantanen Colorado Avalanche (AHL/NHL)
Erik Haula Minnesota (NHL)

Nice, I was one guy off!!!!

Looks pretty good. I wonder what kind of role Laine will get.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Honest question, just wondering why Laine and Aho were trusted for big roles in the world championships and made World Cup but Rantanen wasn't? I'm not complaining because honestly Rantanen needs to focus on this big upcoming training camp for him because we expect him in the NHL all year but I'm just wondering what made the difference.

 

[Periwinkle]

Honest question, just wondering why Laine and Aho were trusted for big roles in the world championships and made World Cup but Rantanen wasn't? I'm not complaining because honestly Rantanen needs to focus on this big upcoming training camp for him because we expect him in the NHL all year but I'm just wondering what made the difference.

I think the simplest answer is point prodution, which Laine and Aho had at the WC but Rantanen didn't (much), even after he got playing minutes and looked great. If you take younglings and all their weaknesses I guess you then need proven production at least to balance it out.

Rantanen and Pulkkinen seemed to battle for the same spot and since Pulkkinen had a great pre-tournament showing he got the spot initially.

For the record, Rantanen was on my roster.

 

[tigervixxxen]

That makes sense, thanks!

 

[illone84]

I think the simplest answer is point prodution, which Laine and Aho had at the WC but Rantanen didn't (much), even after he got playing minutes and looked great. If you take younglings and all their weaknesses I guess you then need proven production at least to balance it out.

Rantanen and Pulkkinen seemed to battle for the same spot and since Pulkkinen had a great pre-tournament showing he got the spot initially.

For the record, Rantanen was on my roster.

I was ready to take Rantanen over Aho, and definitely over Korpedo, but I guess it was too late.

Anyways, I like the fact that Rantanen is a big guy and has proven that he can be effective on the small ice.

I'm sure Aho will be good though, and in retrospect, the team needs a grinder type such as Korpikoski in order to focus on defense and killing penalties. It's one thing to have a team full of grinders, but you can't have a team full of finesse players neither.

 

[ijuka]

I certainly hope Haula won't play 1st line for us.

I still think Laine starts as the 13th forward, unless he breaks out in the practice games.

You think so? That makes absolutely no sense to me. He's Finland's best sniper already. If he's not in a top 6 role, he's not in the team IMO.

 

[traffic cone]

You think so? That makes absolutely no sense to me. He's Finland's best sniper already. If he's not in a top 6 role, he's not in the team IMO.

How many goals or chances does he get 5on5 against the top countries though?

I could easily see Laine playing 4th line and 1st PP.

 

[Ippenator]

You think so? That makes absolutely no sense to me. He's Finland's best sniper already. If he's not in a top 6 role, he's not in the team IMO.

This exactly. It would be totally insane to keep that kind of offensive skills on the bench and only on the power play. Seriously, Laine is not really even a liability to his team defensively on even strength. No more than Donskoi or Teräväinen would be. I think it's a lock that Laine will be in the top 6. Marjamäki can't really be such a moron that he would not use his best offensive weapon to it's full potential.

 

[Ippenator]

Honest question, just wondering why Laine and Aho were trusted for big roles in the world championships and made World Cup but Rantanen wasn't? I'm not complaining because honestly Rantanen needs to focus on this big upcoming training camp for him because we expect him in the NHL all year but I'm just wondering what made the difference.

Well, to me the answer to this question is very simple. Laine and Aho are clearly better players than Rantanen. Rantanen has only size and strength over Aho. Aho is really better in every other area in hockey. Laine has such special skills that Rantanen definitely can't compete with him for an offensive forward spot.

Rantanen is a very good prospect by the Finnish standards. But Laine and Aho are generational prospects in Finnish hockey and clearly better than him, although they are a year and two years younger than Rantanen. Laine and Aho are a tier, or maybe even two tiers higher as prospects than Rantanen is.

But with his good size, strength and pretty good defensive play, I could have liked Rantanen maybe over Korpikoski. But the system is idiotic, so Korpikoski was picked too early in my opinion. Well, Korpikoski will be fine in the 4th line really. No real problem with that.

 

[Periwinkle]

You think so? That makes absolutely no sense to me. He's Finland's best sniper already. If he's not in a top 6 role, he's not in the team IMO.

By watching his 5v5 play at the Worlds? He had a lot of turnovers, despite his size is not strong on the boards/puck battles, prone to forcing "fancy" plays that get easily intercepted, we have no data if he will have time&space for his shot on small ice...

I'm not trying to be overly critical of the guy, he just turned 18 but there are a lot of question marks whether he can play at this level - EDIT: YET. It's not given he will be effective in a regular NHL season game (at the beginning of the season), let alone be worthy of ice time when facing several "cream-of-the-crop NHL teams".

Of course, if his development continues he could come out guns blazing and cement his spot in the regular lineup- great! The more conservative projection would be that he starts out as the extra man taking some shifts to see how he handles it + PP time.

 

[JTD]

By watching his 5v5 play at the Worlds? He had a lot of turnovers, despite his size is not strong on the boards/puck battles, prone to forcing "fancy" plays that get easily intercepted, we have no data if he will have time&space for his shot on small ice...

I'm not trying to be overly critical of the guy, he just turned 18 but there are a lot of question marks whether he can play at this level - EDIT: YET. It's not given he will be effective in a regular NHL season game (at the beginning of the season), let alone be worthy of ice time when facing several "cream-of-the-crop NHL teams".

Of course, if his development continues he could come out guns blazing and cement his spot in the regular lineup- great! The more conservative projection would be that he starts out as the extra man taking some shifts to see how he handles it + PP time.

Laine at the Worlds had very average possession numbers on his team despite playing with 2 very good possession players in Jokinen and Barkov and he'll be facing tougher competition at WCOH. He'll obviously be a very good player for a long time but a top 6 role at this tournament will likely overwhelm him. He'll be terrific on the PP though. Bottom 6 role and playing on the PP would be ideal for him

 

[kunekune]

Why are you guessing these things, and guessing wrong, when the thing is already published.

Marjamäki already said he doesn't want to break working duos of Koivu-MG and Barkov-Laine.

So it's already said that Laine will play 1st line + 1st pp in World Cup.

 

[jukkaeemeli]

Terävainen - Barkov -Donskoi
Granlund - Koivu - Jokinen
Laine - Filppula - Aho
Korpikoski - Lehterä - Komarov
Komarov and Teräväinen can replace on my eye

 

[FiLe]

Marjamäki already said he doesn't want to break working duos of Koivu-MG and Barkov-Laine.

Can you post a link to this statement? I'm curious to hear what he said exactly concerning lineups. Quick scanning of the usual outlets came up empty.

 

[Sanf]

I'm not so sure about Pokka but I love the young team -angle. Practice for the 2018 Olympics. (I'm going to give this tournament a benefit of a doubt but if we won't get NHL players in 2018 I'm not going to watch the World Cup one after this one)

I understand that Marjamäki selects his "own players", but still I´m not fan of Pokka´s selection. He was one of our weakest defense players in WHC. I understand that he is young and he was given too big role, but still... we have few excellent players for the third pairing role in Europe.

...
Though I don´t know what to think of this tournament. It´s not real international tournament, but maybe this kind of all-star tournament could be entertaining. Canada Cup as such pretty much died after Iron Curtain fell and all the best players moved to one league. I guess I could be fine with this if the goal wouldn´t be replacing Olympics as best vs best.

 

[ijuka]

By watching his 5v5 play at the Worlds? He had a lot of turnovers, despite his size is not strong on the boards/puck battles, prone to forcing "fancy" plays that get easily intercepted, we have no data if he will have time&space for his shot on small ice...

I'm not trying to be overly critical of the guy, he just turned 18 but there are a lot of question marks whether he can play at this level - EDIT: YET. It's not given he will be effective in a regular NHL season game (at the beginning of the season), let alone be worthy of ice time when facing several "cream-of-the-crop NHL teams".

Of course, if his development continues he could come out guns blazing and cement his spot in the regular lineup- great! The more conservative projection would be that he starts out as the extra man taking some shifts to see how he handles it + PP time.

5v5 on the wing he doesn't play? Certainly, if they put him as the right wing they're digging their own grave.

I've watched quite a few of the games shift-by-shift and his play was much better during the moments where he was on the left wing. He even got the vast, vast majority of his points from there even though he only spent a tiny portion of his 5v5 time on the left side. 5v5 in worlds is a terrible indicator of his play.

 

[FiLe]

Though I don´t know what to think of this tournament. It´s not real international tournament, but maybe this kind of all-star tournament could be entertaining. Canada Cup as such pretty much died after Iron Curtain fell and all the best players moved to one league. I guess I could be fine with this if the goal wouldn´t be replacing Olympics as best vs best.

Let's hope we'll yet to see NHLers in the Olympics or that the next World Cup will be properly organized. For that occasion, having these kids play here will be nothing but beneficial. Of course, the experience may also grow them to be better WHC performers. So we can call it the perfect situation to have all these young, still slightly immature players in. It's good for their own development, yet there is no pressure to perform yet.

 

[Jussi]

If Marjamäki wants to see Barkov spending most if his time in the defensive end, he'll keep him with Laine and Jokinen.

 

[Ippenator]

If Marjamäki wants to see Barkov spending most if his time in the defensive end, he'll keep him with Laine and Jokinen.

If he puts Aho instead of Jokinen, there might be the best possible line. One of the best in the tournament, in fact. Laine is not completely without participating in the defending also. Some people never learn. And never seem to really watch the games...