WJC: 2017 Finland Roster Talk

[BB88]

A few games here and there as I said. I also wouldn't describe his four WJC games as brutal (the defence was brutal), rather he was just subpar.

I had zero trust in Vehvi last year and have zero trust in him after the Canada game.

 

[Statsy]

Who's centering for Tolvanen in tournament games?.
In pre-tournament games his centers were Väyrynen and was that another Nättinen.

Those combos didn't work and Tolvanen couldn't score.
So why the hell Räsänen and Tolvanen are separated they have played together in U18 WJC's and they play together in Sioux City.
Rautakorpi is total idiot if he don't realize put those two together.

Tolvanen needs a center who can feed him and best option is Räsänen.
Hopefully Tolvanen is this years Laine but without excellent center that won't happen.

They still might end up together. Keep in mind Räsänen was scratched for one of those games, so it's really only one game that saw them playing on separate lines. I hope we do see them paired up, my pool kinda depends on it!

 

[teravaineSAROS]

I had zero trust in Vehvi last year and have zero trust in him after the Canada game.

I think Swedish TV analysed Vehvi's play last year, displaying how his stance is wrong and how it affects his movement

 

[93LEAFS]

Any idea when final cuts are made?

 

[JJTT]

Any idea when final cuts are made?

Already did. Salo, Leskinen, Parikka, Juhola and Vidgren were cut.

Final team:

http://leijonat.fi/maajoukkueet/u20...t-leijonat-mm-kisoihin-talla-joukkueella.html

 

[Loffer]

What's your take on this Otto Koivula kid? Big frame; anything else worth mentioning? Can he dish the puck and score goals or is he just another dud with some baby fat and muscle mass combined with mean streak?

 

[Hockeyisl1fe]

What's your take on this Otto Koivula kid? Big frame; anything else worth mentioning? Can he dish the puck and score goals or is he just another dud with some baby fat and muscle mass combined with mean streak?

He's got a good shot and obviosly lots of strength. Don't know why he has been playing in the 4th line thus far tho...

 

[Hagged]

I had zero trust in Vehvi last year and have zero trust in him after the Canada game.

It's not just Vehviläinen, the whole team is a disgrace in front of him.

 

[Snagari]

It's not just Vehviläinen, the whole team is a disgrace in front of him.

What? Did you see the preliminary game vs Canada?

Veini was a train wreck last year and I think he's gonna be awful this year too. I just hope Kaarlehto or Ruusu can step up when we make the change.

 

[Hagged]

What? Did you see the preliminary game vs Canada?

Veini was a train wreck last year and I think he's gonna be awful this year too. I just hope Kaarlehto or Ruusu can step up when we make the change.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was about the only real option as the #1 goalie. And still Vehvilainen would have been in the team as the back up.

The truth is, even if there was a Rask level goalie prospect (which Ukko-Pekka just might be) it wouldn't be enough for team Finland to medal. Not with this offense, not with this defense, and definitely not now without the star goalie.

The point is the whole team is a disgrace to all of hockey. Veini, or any other single prospect cannot make that huge of a difference. Even having the whole Laine-Aho-Puljujarvi back on ice might have been inadequate for Finland to medal. It's crazy to single out Veini as the sole reason. If, however, PuLa-Aho line was back, there was a Rask in goal, there were high impact D-men such as Ristolainen on defense, yes, I could see a medal being reasonable expectations.

 

[Hockeyisl1fe]

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was about the only real option as the #1 goalie. And still Vehvilainen would have been in the team as the back up.

The truth is, even if there was a Rask level goalie prospect (which Ukko-Pekka just might be) it wouldn't be enough for team Finland to medal. Not with this offense, not with this defense, and definitely not now without the star goalie.

The point is the whole team is a disgrace to all of hockey. Veini, or any other single prospect cannot make that huge of a difference. Even having the whole Laine-Aho-Puljujarvi back on ice might have been inadequate for Finland to medal. It's crazy to single out Veini as the sole reason. If, however, PuLa-Aho line was back, there was a Rask in goal, there were high impact D-men such as Ristolainen on defense, yes, I could see a medal being reasonable expectations.

Ahh, good ol' finnish pessimism. You're exaggerating the situation by a large margin... our defense is good, although a bit young. No top end talent in the forward group, but still decent depth.

 

[rduck1]

Ahh, good ol' finnish pessimism. You're exaggerating the situation by a large margin... our defense is good, although a bit young. No top end talent in the forward group, but still decent depth.

Honestly, the defense worries me a bit too. It's definitely our strongest point in terms of individuals, but it seems a little one-dimensional. We have quite a selection of dynamic, smooth-skating puck-movers, but the lack of shutdown-specialists and muscle makes me a bit uneasy(though to be fair, many of the players are quite well-rounded).

---

On the whole I think the team is quite good. Perhaps not good enough to win it on raw ability alone, but all the players are decently talented. They can put on a good show, and if things go right mentally and tactically, who knows what can happen. We've seen momentum carry teams past seemingly insurmountable odds before in this tournaments after all -- that's why it's such a magical event .

 

[BB88]

It's not just Vehviläinen, the whole team is a disgrace in front of him.

Weren't last year but Vehvi was.

It's pretty difficult to expect anything from the players when the goalie gives up 2 goals in the 1st 2 shifts.
This is a young team and young defense, we need a calm goaltender.

 

[Hagged]

Weren't last year but Vehvi was.

It's pretty difficult to expect anything from the players when the goalie gives up 2 goals in the 1st 2 shifts.
This is a young team and young defense, we need a calm goaltender.

Vehviläinen isn't the worst Finnish goalie prospect ever. He has a fine track record, although shown some inconsistency in the past. There are similar level problems for the Finnish team as Vehvilainen through out the line-up. You could hope for a true #1 center, a true #1 D-man (which Juolevi could be depending on whether he is on top of his game), a true goal scorer (some hope Tolvanen could reach that level, some are thinking even Vesalainen could take the goal scorers role) just as you might hope for that elite tier goalie prospect (Saros, Rask etc.).

It's not Vehvilainen that is giving up the goals, it's the team as a whole with Vehvilainen being a part of the problem.

This team just isn't made for gold. And in my view not silver or bronze either. It's okay, Team Finland isn't going to win every tournament from this day on until the end of time, no need to panick either. Just need to wait for a better year with more high end prospects eligible for the tournament (without being tied up in the NHL).

 

[illone84]

I remember watching the u18 gold medal game in 2015, and I thought to myself "wow, this goalie is pretty good!," however, last year's U20 made me think otherwise.
Also, had Jalonen not pulled him out, Finland would have more than likely lost that qf against Canada, because Vehviläinen was nervous as hell, and about to let in another goal or 2 in no time which would have crushed the team's confidence just like it did on Monday against Canada.

Anyways, I bet he starts against the CZEs on boxing day. I think he will play pretty good, but I feel the real test won't come until the Finns play Sweden. As much as many like to throw this team under the bus, I still feel they will finish 2nd place in their group, and still confident they can beat Sweden and grab the top spot.

 

[Hagged]

I remember watching the u18 gold medal game in 2015, and I thought to myself "wow, this goalie is pretty good!," however, last year's U20 made me think otherwise.
Also, had Jalonen not pulled him out, Finland would have more than likely lost that qf against Canada, because Vehviläinen was nervous as hell, and about to let in another goal or 2 in no time which would have crushed the team's confidence just like it did on Monday against Canada.

Anyways, I bet he starts against the CZEs on boxing day. I think he will play pretty good, but I feel the real test won't come until the Finns play Sweden. As much as many like to throw this team under the bus, I still feel they will finish 2nd place in their group, and still confident they can beat Sweden and grab the top spot.

In my view having an inconsistent goalie isn't the worst thing that can happen in a tournament like this. It's a consistently bad goalie. Vehvilainen can go on such hot streaks momentarily that he seems like one of the best goalies. And not just against his age group but at Liiga level. The problem is he has his cold streaks where nothing is going his way. Some of it is nerves, but the main thing is confidence level for Vehvilainen. He gets some good games under his belt, he could be a difference maker. But my problem is that I doubt the difference a hot Vehviläinen could do is enough for this Team Finland to medal. There are other problems as well which other people seem to refuse to see.

In a sense I agree that Vehvilainen on a cold streak will likely be the end of the tournament (I don't see better options for #1 goalie). But at the moment Vehvilainen isn't the biggest problem, hell he just might be the biggest chance.

 

[ChicagoBullsFan]

I remember watching the u18 gold medal game in 2015, and I thought to myself "wow, this goalie is pretty good!," however, last year's U20 made me think otherwise.
Also, had Jalonen not pulled him out, Finland would have more than likely lost that qf against Canada, because Vehviläinen was nervous as hell, and about to let in another goal or 2 in no time which would have crushed the team's confidence just like it did on Monday against Canada.

Anyways, I bet he starts against the CZEs on boxing day. I think he will play pretty good, but I feel the real test won't come until the Finns play Sweden. As much as many like to throw this team under the bus, I still feel they will finish 2nd place in their group, and still confident they can beat Sweden and grab the top spot.

Vehviläinen was phenomenal in that gold medal game but it was one game.
Winning group A would be very important for Finland than we don't face Canada,USA or Russia in first elimination game.

But somehow i have feeling Sweden wins group A.

 

[DoubleGold]

What's going on with Vesalainen - has the guy tanked? His recent stats don't seem good.

 

[Dod93Cityt]

I'm assuming Saarela is injured?

 

[Statsy]

I'm assuming Saarela is injured?

Declined the invitation.

 

[Dod93Cityt]

Declined the invitation.

Thats odd, any reason why?

 

[Statsy]

Thats odd, any reason why?

There was a great article about it, but it was in Finnish so....

 

[BB88]

Vehviläinen isn't the worst Finnish goalie prospect ever. He has a fine track record, although shown some inconsistency in the past. There are similar level problems for the Finnish team as Vehvilainen through out the line-up. You could hope for a true #1 center, a true #1 D-man (which Juolevi could be depending on whether he is on top of his game), a true goal scorer (some hope Tolvanen could reach that level, some are thinking even Vesalainen could take the goal scorers role) just as you might hope for that elite tier goalie prospect (Saros, Rask etc.).

It's not Vehvilainen that is giving up the goals, it's the team as a whole with Vehvilainen being a part of the problem.

This team just isn't made for gold. And in my view not silver or bronze either. It's okay, Team Finland isn't going to win every tournament from this day on until the end of time, no need to panick either. Just need to wait for a better year with more high end prospects eligible for the tournament (without being tied up in the NHL).

With a great goaltender we could have a shot at medal.
We lost our 6 best forwards from last year, from a team that won gold, for a country like us that's impossible to 100% replace.

We can't be Dallas Stars anymore. Last years team could barely outscore Vehvi.
Defense has lot of potential, but it's a young group so they are a mystery. With this roster we need to be elite defensive team and win games 2-1 and we need a goalie who can steal games.
Vehvi isn't the only problem but he has to be better, he must be better.

I'm assuming Saarela is injured?

He's been fighting with injuries, had surgery in pre season.
I don't blame him for thinking about his development.

 

[Vimpelin Voima]

What's going on with Vesalainen - has the guy tanked? His recent stats don't seem good.

Yes, really horrible of him to only do a hattrick against Slovakia, I mean, whats up with that

Nah but seriously, obviously he hasn't produced like pulju or laine, but he appears to be able to hold his own in a mans League.

 

[JabbaJabba]

Thats odd, any reason why?

If I remember correctly, even when Saarela returned from injury, he wasn't 100 percent healed and it took him like a month or so to get it going, although his team Lukko has been crap most the season. He declined the invitation because he wanted to heal and because he wanted to help out his team.