World Cup: 4 Nations Tournament - Team Finland (2025)

[behemolari]

Finns cant beat this fast and skilled opponents with Pennanens system, we just dont have enough talent for that. No one surprised.

 

[king89]

When individuals like Hintz and Aho underperform like that, we gotta dive a bit deeper. The difference between Jalonen hockey and this one was massive.

We all know that Jalonen had his structure and everyone had to play it, or you are not playing at all. Westerlund was tactical genious and everyone listened to him. Now it seems like Pennanen just told the guys to play and that's it.

Sure, it's enough to beat Sweden with these guys. And we did surprisingly well against the US for the first 2 periods, but when there is no real structure and guys are not sure what to do in every situation, we see horrible mistakes that lose games.

This wasn't typical well structured team, it was bunch of friends playing for each other. They gave everything they had, but this is not pond hockey. Is Erkka retired for good? Maybe he could take over for the Olympics.

We need to remember that they only had a couple of practices together. Not much time to go into tactics and find chemistry. There will be more prep time with the Olympics.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Hintz you blew it!

 

[behemolari]

still dont get it why Aho-Teräväinen was kept separated, makes zero sense

 

[SanDogBrewin]

Loved the fight from the Finns at the end of today's game.

 

[JoeSakic13]

Lost in the mix because they didn’t pull off the comeback, but Lehky’s assist on the first goal was amazing. That guy never gives up on any play.

 

[teugen]

Barkov seems to be the only player who is naturally capable to play on this level from this group.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

Barkov seems to be the only player who is naturally capable to play on this level from this group.

...y'all had a decimated Dcore before the tourny even started...Finland should be proud of their team, imo...y'all made every game a tough matchup...

 

[teugen]

...y'all had a decimated Dcore before the tourny even started...Finland should be proud of their team, imo...y'all made every game a tough matchup...

Yeah, we got hosed with the injuries and I'm sure the forwards will be better at olympics once they have some time to train and gel up with their linemates, but Barkov is the only player who can be thrown against the best of the best and he will compete.

I remember seeing some tears from the finnish media when Barkov won the Finnish Athlete of the year award, that it was wrong to award Barkov instead of Rantanen, since Rants scores more points than him. There is not a single question whos the best player out of this group and with a quite big margin.

 

[JabbaJabba]

4th place was to be expected but I'm not happy with the way the team played.

I put a lot of blame on Pennanen. In a short tournament you need to fix things fast if they are not working. Why did he continue to play Hintz and Aho together when it clearly wasn't working? Aho played poorly and was probably the biggest disappointment overall. It's the coach's job to help his players to succeed. Why not try Aho with Teräväinen who he is very familiar with? Why was Teräväinen even selected at all when he was put in a role where he couldn't succeed? Why keep playing Haula who was the worst forward and didn't bring anything at all? They had plenty of centers to replace him. Were defenders allowed to do anything with the puck? They were very predictable. Just so many questions.

I don't know who to blame for the terrible passing throughout the tournament. Were the players just not used to the system? They can't be just that poor passers. There were so many passes to no one or to the opposing team, which resulted in goals against. It was horrible to watch.

What annoys the most is that Finland had for once a very respectable forward group and they didn't get almost anything out of them. The goalies didn't shine either. I would have pulled Lankinen yesterday after the 2nd goal already. He looked shaky from the beginning. The defense did a good job defending overall. It could have been much worse. If it was the Olympics, they would have brought couple of fine European players to help out with the injuries. Can't really blame too much on Vaakanainen and Matinpalo who did what they could.

Oh well, overall I am not that angry about this tournament. I would welcome this type of event instead of the all stars thingy. I am just disappointed because this team had more potential.

I hope that in the future we can see what Tuomo Ruutu and Olli Jokinen can do behind the bench.

 

[behemolari]

4th place was to be expected but I'm not happy with the way the team played.

I put a lot of blame on Pennanen. In a short tournament you need to fix things fast if they are not working. Why did he continue to play Hintz and Aho together when it clearly wasn't working? Aho played poorly and was probably the biggest disappointment overall. It's the coach's job to help his players to succeed. Why not try Aho with Teräväinen who he is very familiar with? Why was Teräväinen even selected at all when he was put in a role where he couldn't succeed? Why keep playing Haula who was the worst forward and didn't bring anything at all? They had plenty of centers to replace him. Were defenders allowed to do anything with the puck? They were very predictable. Just so many questions.

I don't know who to blame for the terrible passing throughout the tournament. Were the players just not used to the system? They can't be just that poor passers. There were so many passes to no one or to the opposing team, which resulted in goals against. It was horrible to watch.

What annoys the most is that Finland had for once a very respectable forward group and they didn't get almost anything out of them. The goalies didn't shine either. I would have pulled Lankinen yesterday after the 2nd goal already. He looked shaky from the beginning. The defense did a good job defending overall. It could have been much worse. If it was the Olympics, they would have brought couple of fine European players to help out with the injuries. Can't really blame too much on Vaakanainen and Matinpalo who did what they could.

Oh well, overall I am not that angry about this tournament. I would welcome this type of event instead of the all stars thingy. I am just disappointed because this team had more potential.

I hope that in the future we can see what Tuomo Ruutu and Olli Jokinen can do behind the bench.

Im starting to think Pennanen never watched a Hurricanes game

 

[Noldo]

I think that overall the Finnish defensemen played surprisingly well, although some of that grade can be attributed to low expectations.

The quality of passing was horrendous. Several (3? 4?) passes directly to the opponent’s blade resulting in goal against - the lovely serving to McDavid to set the tone of the final game being a prime example. But number of passes to the skates or behind the own player when entering the zone. Unfamiliarity with the system?

The typical Finnish problems were there: very little traffic in front of the goal. Both North American teams put out a clinic showing how to take the play towards the goal whenever possible.

 

[king89]

It would be good for us if Jokiharju got out from Buffalo and found more of his offensive game again. I think he could be a good top 4 D in another environment.

 

[Tuoppi]

If NHL made four allstar teams how many finns would there be?

 

[steierwrass]

If NHL made four allstar teams how many finns would there be?

From one to four. Before this season Barkov, Rantanen, Heiskanen and maybe Saros. Looking this tournament, only Barkov.

 

[BusQuets]

If NHL made four allstar teams how many finns would there be?

It would be mostly Canadian still. Some americans and some Finns. Zero swedes though. Hedman has really fallen off.

 

[BullLund]

Im starting to think Pennanen never watched a Hurricanes game

I kind of figured that Teräväinen was brought in to put Aho and Teräväinen back together. It's a bit odd they never even tried it once.

 

[mattihp]

It would be mostly Canadian still. Some americans and some Finns. Zero swedes though. Hedman has really fallen off.

Hedman is still really good offensively, but every time he isn't wearing a Lightning jersey he becomes a pylon. Weak defensively.

I kind of figured that Teräväinen was brought in to put Aho and Teräväinen back together. It's a bit odd they never even tried it once.

Maybe the rest of the guys picked the team and thought it was obvious?

 

[SantosHalper]

Well it wasn't that bad, most of the goals against happened due to own mistakes and few easy shots went in. Cut down those and there is a good chance for history making in Milan. There were underachievers in this tournament and when Aho, Hintz, Teräväinen and Saros bounce on the level where they should be and we get Heiskanen back, every country is winnable. Good practice for the Olympics and what it takes to win there.