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WJC: 2017 Finland Roster Talk

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This team is likely going to be the opposite to last years team, lot of questions marks around the forward group but defense should look a lot better.
Juolevi is going to be a fine leader on the blueline.

I'm especially hoping Vesalainen has a huge year and start to the season, feel like he's an important player for the teams success.
 
Next year's WJC seems interesting. The team is abound to lose the whole line of Laine - Aho - Puljujärvi, yet hope remains in defending the gold medal in the U20's. Tolvanen and Vesalainen at first look both seem like they could be ready to take the next step. I think recently drafted Borgström could be a real wild card here. If he adapts into North American game and has good enough off-season, there's a potential first or second line center. Nättinen and Saarela are some of the guys from last WJC who could both have real impact. Especially Saarela.

Of course nothing can replace the PuLAho line but there should be enough scoring power shred around the line up. On the other side of the coin is defence which for one looks to be very enticing. Unless Juolevi makes to NHL straight out of the camp (highly unlikely), he will be the perfect guy to lead the defence. Saarijärvi looks like a lock to return. I'd be surprised not seeing Välimäki making the roster, followed by Vaakanainen (who may not have yet convinced the management yet I have a lot of faith he can make it) - both still undrafted. Niemeläinen seems like a lock in the third pairing. Overall, the defence line already looks a lot better than last year.

Goalkeeping will be the biggest question mark. Didn't feel like either Kähkönen or Vehviläinen were even close to being solid replacements for Saros. Hopefully the latter will be able to raise his game play, unless Luukkonen is able to jump ahead of him.

Here's what I'd like to see:

Palmu - Nättinen - Saarela
Vesalainen - Borgström - Tolvanen
Kuokkanen - Räsänen - Tuulola
Ruotsalainen - Somppi - Björkqvist

(you could replace Palmu with Tammela depending who's having a better start of a season)

Juolevi - Saarijärvi
Välimäki - Vaakanainen
Niemeläinen - Heiskanen
Jokiharju/Salo

Luukkonen
Vehviläinen

Some scoring strength throughout the top 9 and talented defence with plenty of players who can move the puck (with age being the biggest worry). I'm expecting, or hoping that Vesalainen and Tolvanen are able to atleast partly fill in the void left by Laine and Puljujärvi and the team to be able to rely on these two when being behind in a game. Borgström is the eldest of the three and also the biggest question mark, yet he has tons of offensive skill, while perhaps not being the best two-way center available. Almost purely offensive line. Here's for hoping. Not the best team we've had but not the worst either. Still pretty excited while there's almost half a year left until the actual event.
 
kelsier said:
Goalkeeping will be the biggest question mark. Didn't feel like either Kähkönen or Vehviläinen were even close to being solid replacements for Saros. Hopefully the latter will be able to raise his game play, unless Luukkonen is able to jump ahead of him.
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Luukkonen just won a U18 gold, yes, but like I said once already, don't let that achievement - in a rather typical HFBoards fashion - cloud your judgment. As of right now he isn't even a prime candidate to make this team. He's two years underage and his season will likely be spent in A-jrs, which makes a spot in the U20 squad a long shot as long as there are older goalies either in Liiga or Mestis. And there will be.

As of right now, the most likely challengers for Vehviläinen are Heljanko and Ruusu.
 
FiLe said:
Luukkonen just won a U18 gold, yes, but like I said once already, don't let that achievement - in a rather typical HFBoards fashion - cloud your judgment. As of right now he isn't even a prime candidate to make this team. He's two years underage and his season will likely be spent in A-jrs, which makes a spot in the U20 squad a long shot as long as there are older goalies either in Liiga or Mestis. And there will be.

As of right now, the most likely challengers for Vehviläinen are Heljanko and Ruusu.
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Frankly, couldn't care less if there was a 14 year old net minder in the team if he was able to keep the net clean. If we take a look at f.ex. Saros, he also won the gold medal in U18 (2013), then on the following year another gold from U20 (2014). So it's not unprecedented. Luukkonen already has the frame (192 cm / 6'3 and 89 kg / 196 lbs) so this will not be the issue. He will be competing with Emil Larmi and Nathan Lawson in the HPK for the #1 spot. Neither one of these two has anything off-worldish in their resume so there is a chance Luukkonen will see ice time in FEL. Nothing is granted, but if he does, he could very well make the team. Meanwhile no one could tell the exact reason why Vehviläinen hadn't got picked by a NHL team prior to the last WJC. Now we do.

You may be right but it's too early to tell. It's highly unlikely Luukkonen will be anything like Saros, but if we have another year of Vehviläinen in the WJC it's not going to look pretty. Lets pray this guy kicks in hard next season.
 
kelsier said:
Frankly, couldn't care less if there was a 14 year old net minder in the team if he was able to keep the net clean. If we take a look at f.ex. Saros, he also won the gold medal in U18 (2013), then on the following year another gold from U20 (2014). So it's not unprecedented.
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Saros was one year underage, born in '95 while the main class in 2014 were 94-borns - and that's actually not rare at all. Luukkonen, however, would be two years underage, a 99-born goalie in a tournament where the oldest players are born in '97.

So yes, it IS unprecedented, to have a goalie that young in a starter role. As would be being a Liiga starter, having just turned 17. Even Lehtonen and Rask weren't able to pull that off in the same age. And I don't hear Luukkonen being compared to those two, well, anywhere. At least right now. But maybe we hear it next year, when Luukkonen is as old as they were when they broke into the general consciousness.

But as of right now, it's a pretty tall order to hope that Luukkonen would be Vehviläinen's main challenger. That being said, I do hope someone rises to the occasion, because I'm not any more giddy about Vehviläinen than the rest of us in here.


And that 2013 U18 team didn't win gold. It won bronze.
 
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FiLe said:
Saros was one year underage, born in '95 while the main class in 2014 were 94-borns - and that's actually not rare at all. Luukkonen, however, would be two years underage, a 99-born goalie in a tournament where the oldest players are born in '97.

So yes, it IS unprecedented, to have a goalie that young in a starter role. As would be being a Liiga starter, having just turned 17. Even Lehtonen and Rask weren't able to pull that off in the same age. And I don't hear Luukkonen being compared to those two, well, anywhere. At least right now. But maybe we hear it next year, when Luukkonen is as old as they were when they broke into the general consciousness.

But as of right now, it's a pretty tall order to hope that Luukkonen would be Vehviläinen's main challenger. That being said, I do hope someone rises to the occasion, because I'm not any more giddy about Vehviläinen than the rest of us in here.
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I'm on the same page with you and really don't understand the hate for Vehviläinen.

I mean yeah he couldn't stand the pressure in this years WHC but next year he is going to be main age class and Liiga starter. If anyone really wants to challenge Vehviläinen for #1 goalie they HAVE to be Liiga starter and I don't see anyone born -98/-99 able to do that.
 
kunekune said:
If anyone really wants to challenge Vehviläinen for #1 goalie they HAVE to be Liiga starter and I don't see anyone born -98/-99 able to do that.
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At minimum they'd have to be a Mestis starter and post a better record than Vehviläinen during NT events.

But Luukkonen won't be doing that either. He'll be stopping pucks in HPK's A-jrs. Like I said, the goalies in the best position to challenge Vehviläinen are Heljanko and Ruusu, because they'll be getting minutes in Mestis (with perhaps an odd Liiga game here and there) and are the most likely to be given most NT nods after VV.
 
FiLe said:
Saros was one year underage, born in '95 while the main class in 2014 were 94-borns - and that's actually not rare at all. Luukkonen, however, would be two years underage, a 99-born goalie in a tournament where the oldest players are born in '97.

So yes, it IS unprecedented, to have a goalie that young in a starter role. As would be being a Liiga starter, having just turned 17. Even Lehtonen and Rask weren't able to pull that off in the same age. And I don't hear Luukkonen being compared to those two, well, anywhere. At least right now. But maybe we hear it next year, when Luukkonen is as old as they were when they broke into the general consciousness.

But as of right now, it's a pretty tall order to hope that Luukkonen would be Vehviläinen's main challenger. That being said, I do hope someone rises to the occasion, because I'm not any more giddy about Vehviläinen than the rest of us in here.


And that 2013 U18 team didn't win gold. It won bronze.
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Don't think I ever mentioned a thing about who would be a starter. Luukkonen might make the cut and we could see a scenario of Vehviläinen soaking pucks and being replaced. Like in the last WJC.

Lehtonen had a few games in Jokerit (FEL) team in 2000-01 and even had a game in the WJC, followed by 23 games in FEL and 6 games in WJC 01-02, while he was drafted 2002. Well sure, he wasn't a starter in the 2000-01 season, but the age difference between Lehtonen's second WJC and Luukkonen at the next WJC would be somewhere around two months (in case he made it). Yes in the big picture it would be an oddity to take a 17 year old net minder into WJC, but at this moment the level of capable and available Finnish net minders at the age class are worse than in ages. Odder things have happened. Heljanko is 19 but is even smaller than Saros. Ruusu has played 20 games in Mestis with mediocore success. Luukkonen has size advantages over everyone mentioned and disadvantage in age.

In the end it really comes down to which of the guys get showings in the league and which ones do not. I wouldn't make a bet for Luukkonen but wouldn't count him out either. Speculation is rather pointless at this point of time. If he or someone else explodes from out of the scenes and overtakes Vehviläinen I'd be more than happy. In the end the most likely scenario is we will have another year of Mehviläinen in the net and hope the defence plays out better than in the recent years.

Yeah you were correct about U18 bronze medal.
 
I think (well, I hope) that Tolvanen will compete for the best goal scorer of the tournament once again. Of course, it's a big step up, but he did do it in the WHC-17 and U18. If he has a good summer and his line clicks nicely together, I think it's possible. He has such an elite shot.
 
HockeyHistorian said:
I think (well, I hope) that Tolvanen will compete for the best goal scorer of the tournament once again. Of course, it's a big step up, but he did do it in the WHC-17 and U18. If he has a good summer and his line clicks nicely together, I think it's possible. He has such an elite shot.
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This. I have high hopes for the kid as well. It's going to be a big step from U18 to U20 however. I don't necessarily expect him to be the best goal scorer of entire tournament but atleast be amongst the best the Finns have to offer, if not the best. Anything can happen though. He's no Patrik Laine but the shooting skills are world class at his age.
 
kelsier said:
In the end it really comes down to which of the guys get showings in the league and which ones do not. I wouldn't make a bet for Luukkonen but wouldn't count him out either. Speculation is rather pointless at this point of time. If he or someone else explodes from out of the scenes and overtakes Vehviläinen I'd be more than happy. In the end the most likely scenario is we will have another year of Mehviläinen in the net and hope the defence plays out better than in the recent years.
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With this paragraph I agree 100%. And if Luukkonen suddenly skyrockets to the occasion, that's fine too.

But my point was how awfully whimsical it was of so many to suddenly name Luukkonen as THE goalie to challenge Vehviläinen for the U20 starter spot, given how this is all based on the U18 hype - and nothing else. Between Vehviläinen and Luukkonen, there are four or five goalies born in '97 and '98 who are far more likely to get U20 nods than Luukkonen at this stage. Luukkonen, obviously, just happens to be the flavor of the day.
 
illone84 said:
Can we already start using the excuse like Canadians do that if we don't win gold it's because Laine, Aho, and Puljujärvi are in the NHL :)?

Honestly, I don't think either one will make it.

Hopefully at least Juolevi does though!
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If Finland wins we can say Finland won despite not having Laine, Aho and Puljujärvi.
 
Karjala takaisin said:
If Finland wins we can say Finland won despite not having Laine, Aho and Puljujärvi.
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Yes like 2014. No Määttä, Barkov, Kapanen.

It's just sarcasm because we hear it every year from team Canada. Despite already having the deepest line ups, in a case they lose they will say our best players are in the NHL :yo:

I hope to see a Canada Finland final in Canada early 2017, but I believe Canada will take it again on home ice. Which would be interesting having back to back to back home ice winners.
 
Just for some reason started thinking defense last night and ended up with something like,

Vaakanainen-Juolevi
Niemelainen- Saarijarvi
Valimaki-Vainio/x
type of defense.
Going for balance and 3 pairings you can play and trust, the opposite vs this years defense.
 
Was someone watching game today (well, yesterday because it's over midnight here in Finland...)? Was Puljujärvi in the line-up? He already can skate, but can he already play is totally different question.

I also read from Jatkoaika, that apparently Saarela is training with Lukko and skips the camp. I don't know is he even going to partisipate in the tournee. Normally Leijonat tells line-ups and final results in their web page / facebook, but now nothing. So, if anyone was there, or is going today, please report!

//Edit. Apparently we won first match 7-0. Eeli Tolvanen did two goals. No much more information than that.
 
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Kyyrii said:
Was someone watching game today (well, yesterday because it's over midnight here in Finland...)? Was Puljujärvi in the line-up? He already can skate, but can he already play is totally different question.

I also read from Jatkoaika, that apparently Saarela is training with Lukko and skips the camp. I don't know is he even going to partisipate in the tournee. Normally Leijonat tells line-ups and final results in their web page / facebook, but now nothing. So, if anyone was there, or is going today, please report!
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Haven't seen anything anywhere other than Finland won 7-0 and Tolvanen scored twice.
 
Boxscore of yesterday's game, source Ilta-Sanomat the paper version:
1-0 Arttu Ruotsalainen
2-0 Eeli Tolvanen ( Nättinen, Björkvist )
3-0 Juuso Välimäki ( Mattila, Juolevi )
4-0 Eeli Tolvanen ( Borgström, Tavernier )
5-0 Julius Mattila
6-0 Sami Tavernier ( Kotkansalo )
7-0 Arttu Ruotsalainen ( Borgström, Kotkansalo )

Vehviläinen 26 saves.
 
Does Tarmo Reunanen have a chance to make this team? He was injured almost all of last season, and I don't think he was invited to the recent camp.

He has said in interviews that there's a chance he starts with TPS Men's Team in Liiga this season. If he's doing that, could he make this team?
 
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