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WJC: 2017 Finland Roster Talk

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Finland jumped out to a 2-0 lead with two nice goals by Nattinen and then Tolvanen. But then the wheels came off. It's a young team, still dealing with some jet lag.

I thought Vesalainen looked good, Valimaki as well. Vehvilainen's lateral movement looks like he's been working on it was well, still needs to be focused on rebounds.
 
FinPanda said:
It's clear we have as good team or even better team at home than that.
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Well... I'd say we could form about an equally good team from the players back home. Only thing that would make it better than this one is the hypothetical inclusion of the PuLa-Aho line, but we can already say pretty safely that they won't all be there. About half of these players will still likely feature in the final squad, so it's a bit straightforward to just imply we can replace 'em all and stop having blowouts. But of course replacing even half of them with better players is going to mean it's a whole different team from this one.

And even if this current squad was to spend the next four months together, they'd look a lot different come December.
 
Some thoughts from the Canada game 2-1 win after OT, goals by Tolvanen(Ruotsalainen), Ruotsalainen(Björkqvist)

Goalies and defense

- Vehviläinen was good. One sofie from the right circle went in but made some really good saves. His stick work and rebound control and stick work leave a lot to be desired though.

- Heiskanen looked solid. Really calm under pressure and can battle vs bigger players dispite his size.

- Jokiharju made some good passes and opened the game well. Active on the offensive zone. Turned the puck over a couple of times, defensive game is still not the best.

- Parikka and Välimäki didn't stand out much, simple and solid game with no mistakes.

- Saarijärvi played with tons of confidence and carried the puck well. Really eager to shoot, though most of his shots got blocked. Turned the puck over couple of times and made some bad plays in the defensive zone.

- Mattila and Leskinen were both bad and should be nowhere near the final team.

- Kotkansalo did not play

Forwards:

- Ruotsalainen was by far the best player on the team. Made some really nice passes with the puck and had a couple of good scoring opportunies. Played LW instead of his usual center spot.

- Nättinen was invisible. Did absolutely nothing even though he played on the top line with Ruotsalainen and Tolvanen. Decent on the defensive end though.

- Tolvanen couple of flashes in the offensive zone but nothing special aside from the goal. Made some bad plays especially on the powerplay.

- Mattila, decent faceoff man and good on the defensive end but did nothing with the puck.

- Vesalainen was really impressive. Kid can really skate and is pretty physical for his age. Made some nice rushes with the puck and had a couple of opportunies to score. Solid on the defensive end and even got some time on the penalty kill.

- Björkqvist had couple of flashes but his offensive game still isn't the best. Good grinder but should not play on the top6 like he does. Made a nice pass on Ruotsalainen's goal.

- Kuokkanen made some good plays on the offensive end but didn't really stand out much.

- Räsänen, Piipponen and Väyrynen were pretty solid. Nothing special but some good plays here and there.

- Mäkinen, Embrich and Tavernier didn't really do anything.

- Somppi did not play

Tolvanen goal https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4/3wn2_1.mp4
Ruotsalainen goal https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4/fec2_2.mp4

Highlights
 
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What has happened to Veeti Vainio? I mean this is the last year he could be used in the u20 team and he doesn't even get a look. I'm probably missing something here?
 
edd1e said:
What has happened to Veeti Vainio? I mean this is the last year he could be used in the u20 team and he doesn't even get a look. I'm probably missing something here?
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Vainio should definitely get a look. Weird situation since neither Jalonen or Rautakorpi have invited him to any of the tournaments, despite being short on RHD's.
 
edd1e said:
What has happened to Veeti Vainio? I mean this is the last year he could be used in the u20 team and he doesn't even get a look. I'm probably missing something here?
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He wasn't really doing much last season. And these late summer tournaments are still played on last season's merits. It's far too early to consider it "weird" or think he's been snubbed.

There are still plenty of practice events to go between here and there. If he becomes a regular in KooKoo's Liiga lineup, before long we'll see him in the NT as well, make no mistake.
 
New roster prediction based on this tournament:

Arttu Ruotsalainen - Julius Nättinen - Eeli Tolvanen
Aleksi Saarela - Aapeli Räsänen - Janne Kuokkanen
Kasper Björkqvist(C) - Henrik Borgström - Kristian Vesalainen
Jonne Tammela - Julius Mattila - Sami Tavernier/Teemu Väyrynen

Olli Juolevi(A) - Vili Saarijärvi
Miro Heiskanen - Henri Jokiharju
Juuso Välimäki - Jesper Mattila / Urho Vaakanainen / Jarkko Parikka

Veini Vehviläinen
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Lack of right handed shooters for the powerplay is a bit of problem. Though having Juolevi will free up Saarijärvi for the left point.
 
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JJTT said:
New roster prediction based on this tournament:

Arttu Ruotsalainen - Julius Nättinen - Eeli Tolvanen
Aleksi Saarela - Aapeli Räsänen - Janne Kuokkanen
Kasper Björkqvist(C) - Henrik Borgström - Kristian Vesalainen
Jonne Tammela - Julius Mattila - Sami Tavernier/Teemu Väyrynen

Olli Juolevi(A) - Vili Saarijärvi
Miro Heiskanen - Henri Jokiharju
Juuso Välimäki - Jesper Mattila / Urho Vaakanainen / Jarkko Parikka

Veini Vehviläinen
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Lack of right handed shooters for the powerplay is a bit of problem. Though having Juolevi will free up Saarijärvi for the left point.
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I don't think there's a problem with the lack of PP shooters. There is no reason why the primary shooters should shoot from the right and the team will have two elite shooters in Saarela and Tolvanen. I think one righty per PP line is enough for other purposes, they don't have to be the shooters. Although I think that if the choice is between a lesser player who happens to be a righty and a better player who is a lefty, I'd prefer the better player over handedness.

From the players you mentioned I'd form the following PP lines:

Björkqvist (net) - Nättinen - Ruotsalainen
Saarijärvi - Tolvanen

Vesalainen (net) - Borgström - Kuokkanen
Juolevi - Saarela
 
JJTT said:
New roster prediction based on this tournament:

Arttu Ruotsalainen - Julius Nättinen - Eeli Tolvanen
Aleksi Saarela - Aapeli Räsänen - Janne Kuokkanen
Kasper Björkqvist(C) - Henrik Borgström - Kristian Vesalainen
Jonne Tammela - Julius Mattila - Sami Tavernier/Teemu Väyrynen

Olli Juolevi(A) - Vili Saarijärvi
Miro Heiskanen - Henri Jokiharju
Juuso Välimäki - Jesper Mattila / Urho Vaakanainen / Jarkko Parikka

Veini Vehviläinen
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Lack of right handed shooters for the powerplay is a bit of problem. Though having Juolevi will free up Saarijärvi for the left point.
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I'm thinking Niemelainen will be on the roster, and Vaakanainen definitely.
Would also like to see them balance the D-group and have talent on all 3 pairings.

Vaakanainen-Juolevi
Niemelainen- Saarijarvi
Top4, if Vaakanainen develops well on the 1st half, I'm trusting on you Jyp.

Unlike last year defense could be our strenght.
 
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Here are the players I think will feature in the final team between 95-100% certainty, if available:

Vehviläinen

Juolevi (I'm going to assume he won't make the Nucks cut from get-go)
Saarijärvi
Välimäki
Niemeläinen
Salo

Saarela
Nättinen
Björkqvist
Tammela
Ruotsalainen
Tolvanen
Vesalainen
Borgström
Kuokkanen
(Then of course any of Laine/Aho/Puljujärvi, if available)

Goalies behind VV still wide open. Ruusu didn't make himself much favors here.
Couple of defense spots remaining. And the depth battling for these spots is... quite something.
3-4 forwards still up in the air, with some in the bubble having to hope that not too many of the PuLa-Aho trio is going to make it. But I'd say it's shaping up nicely even without any of them.
 
FiLe said:
Here are the players I think will feature in the final team between 95-100% certainty, if available:

Vehviläinen

Juolevi (I'm going to assume he won't make the Nucks cut from get-go)
Saarijärvi
Välimäki
Niemeläinen
Salo

Saarela
Nättinen
Björkqvist
Tammela
Ruotsalainen
Tolvanen
Vesalainen
Borgström
Kuokkanen
(Then of course any of Laine/Aho/Puljujärvi, if available)

Goalies behind VV still wide open. Ruusu didn't make himself much favors here.
Couple of defense spots remaining. And the depth battling for these spots is... quite something.
3-4 forwards still up in the air, with some in the bubble having to hope that not too many of the PuLa-Aho trio is going to make it. But I'd say it's shaping up nicely even without any of them.
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This is how I see things as well, although I'd add Vaakanainen to the list of certain picks. After him there are no certain players in my mind, but off the top of my head Vainio probably has a good chance along with Mattila in the D department.
My picks for the remaining forward spots would include at least Palmu and Räsänen, perhaps Nurmi or Koppanen.
 
JJTT said:
New roster prediction based on this tournament:

Arttu Ruotsalainen - Julius Nättinen - Eeli Tolvanen
Aleksi Saarela - Aapeli Räsänen - Janne Kuokkanen
Kasper Björkqvist(C) - Henrik Borgström - Kristian Vesalainen
Jonne Tammela - Julius Mattila - Sami Tavernier/Teemu Väyrynen

Olli Juolevi(A) - Vili Saarijärvi
Miro Heiskanen - Henri Jokiharju
Juuso Välimäki - Jesper Mattila / Urho Vaakanainen / Jarkko Parikka

Veini Vehviläinen
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Lack of right handed shooters for the powerplay is a bit of problem. Though having Juolevi will free up Saarijärvi for the left point.
Click to expand...


No no no, and once again no.
Team Finland can not be 4 undersized midgets ( Heiskanen,Jokiharju,Mattila and Saarijärvi) in defense same time.
Yes Heiskanen and Jokiharju are promising dman's but their time to play in world juniors is 2018 not 2017.

And what comes those offensive lines Vesalainen Räsänen Tolvanen is clear 1st line if either of Laine,Aho and Puljujärvi aren't available.
Here's my team Finland world junior roster now.

1st line Vesalainen Räsänen Tolvanen
Saarijärvi Juolevi

2nd Kuokkanen Nättinen Saarela
Salo Välimäki

3rd Line Tammela Borgström Tuulola
Vaakanainen Niemeläinen

4th Line Björkqvist Somppi Tavernier.
7th dman Oliver Felixson / Kasper Kotkansalo
13th Forward Juha Jääskä / Emil Oksanen ( depending injuries etc etc)

Goalies
Vehviläinen
Luukkonen
Heljanko
 
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Time to focus on U-20. Atleast we arent punching bags there -.-

1st line: Laine - Aho - Puljujärvi

2nd line: Saarela - Nättinen - Tolvanen

3rd line: Björkqvist - Borgström - Vesalainen

Pretty decent three lines :)
 
I doubt the P-A-L line will all be there, Laine in particular seems interested in moving on. Unless of course their teams send them there for a confidence boost or whatever, if they are struggling.
 
I hope defenseman Tarmo Reunanen stays healthy and plays a full season of Mestis or Liiga. He's flying under the radar now because he missed a lot of games last year, but he was a regular in junior national teams with some good stats too. Rangers' 4th round pick this year so scouts have faith in him.
 
I think it's likely that only one of the Pulju-Aho-Laine -line will make it there. They all look like they could play the whole season in the NHL. I don't think we will have the same offensive firepower, but our defense is probably better.
 
Make said:
I hope defenseman Tarmo Reunanen stays healthy and plays a full season of Mestis or Liiga. He's flying under the radar now because he missed a lot of games last year, but he was a regular in junior national teams with some good stats too. Rangers' 4th round pick this year so scouts have faith in him.
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Defense is going to be stacked. Some really good defensemen aren't gonna make the team.
 
Of the top my head, didn't include too much past chemistry:

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

That's a very solid group of guys. I'd say the 'star players' of the team are Saarela, Tolvanen, Vesalainen at least as of now. Lots of guys to help secondary scoring. Guy like Tuulola could do some real damage.
 
Gsus said:
Of the top my head, didn't include too much past chemistry:

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

That's a very solid group of guys. I'd say the 'star players' of the team are Saarela, Tolvanen, Vesalainen at least as of now. Lots of guys to help secondary scoring. Guy like Tuulola could do some real damage.
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Surely now Koivula would figure into the lineup?
 
I said in August that I consider the following forwards 95% likely:

Saarela
Nättinen
Björkqvist
Tammela
Ruotsalainen
Vesalainen
Tolvanen
Borgström
Kuokkanen

Now I'd add Koivula to the list. Also, I think we have a decent shot of having Puljujärvi. Looks like he's gonna end up in the AHL soon, at least for a spell.

With those, we have 11 of 13 forward spots given for. Also, defense will be miles better than anything lately. Goalies... well. VV will be there for sure, and looks like Ruusu could be as well. He didn't do any favors for himself in Plymouth, but he's actually getting Liiga minutes now.


Slotting these guys into lines, right now I'm getting something like this:

Koivula - Saarela - Puljujärvi
Vesalainen - Nättinen - Tolvanen
Kuokkanen - Borgström - Tammela
Björkqvist - Ruotsalainen - Tuulola/someone else
 
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Palmu has 10 goals in 10 games and Turkulainen has been a huge surprise. Both are small, but the talent is there. This could go many ways, but I think the following guys have a shot if Laine and Aho are unavailable:

Jonne Tammela (-97) - Aleksi Saarela (-97) - Jesse Puljujärvi (-98)
Kasper Björkqvist (-97) - Julius Nättinen (-97) - Eeli Tolvanen (-99)
Kristian Vesalainen (-99) - Arttu Ruotsalainen (-97) - Otto Koivula (-98)
Petrus Palmu (-97) - Joona Koppanen (-98) - Jerry Turkulainen (-98)
Henrik Borgström (-97) - Julius Mattila (-97) - Janne Kuokkanen (-98)
Teemu Väyrynen (-97) - Aapeli Räsänen (-98) - Juha Jääskä (-98)
 
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