WC: Finland 2024 roster talk

[Sanf]

There was also the stat that of the 13 Finnish forwards who recorded over 40 points in Sweden or Switzerland, non are here. Declined or injured mostly.

I assume thats typo and you mean 30 points. Yeah that is true. Though many of those were veterans and the younger was like Sampo Ranta and Janne Kuokkanen did not impress in camp and were cut. Pajuniemi had injury during camp?

 

[Jussi]

I assume thats typo and you mean 30 points. Yeah that is true. Though many of those were veterans and the younger was like Sampo Ranta and Janne Kuokkanen did not impress in camp and were cut. Pajuniemi had injury during camp?

No it was 40 points.

 

[king89]

While I was thinking about how big of a upset it would be if we won tomorrow I started to think about the team from 2019. That team consisting of mostly Liiga players won against a Russian team with names like, Vasilevsky, Sergachyov, Orlov, Ovechkin, Kucherov, Malkin, Kuznetsov, Dadonov, Kovalchuck, Kaprizov etc. How did we do that. It truly was a miracle on ice.

 

[Sanf]

While I was thinking about how big of a upset it would be if we won tomorrow I started to think about the team from 2019. That team consisting of mostly Liiga players won against a Russian team with names like, Vasilevsky, Sergachyov, Orlov, Ovechkin, Kucherov, Malkin, Kuznetsov, Dadonov, Kovalchuck, Kaprizov etc. How did we do that. It truly was a miracle on ice.

Good defensive play. Defence core did include almost half of our now NHL regulars with Hakanpää, Mikkola, Jokiharju. And ofcourse on top of that we had Lehtonen and Ohtamaa/Lindbohm at their best. Lankinen had a hotstreak at the righ moment.

 

[FinPanda]

Good defensive play. Defence core did include almost half of our now NHL regulars with Hakanpää, Mikkola, Jokiharju. And ofcourse on top of that we had Lehtonen and Ohtamaa/Lindbohm at their best. Lankinen had a hotstreak at the righ moment.

And on offense we had Kakko, Luostarinen and Kiviranta who play in the NHL noiw.

This current team doesn't have the little of scoring potential like the 2019 team did.

 

[king89]

Good defensive play. Defence core did include almost half of our now NHL regulars with Hakanpää, Mikkola, Jokiharju. And ofcourse on top of that we had Lehtonen and Ohtamaa/Lindbohm at their best. Lankinen had a hotstreak at the righ moment.

And on offense we had Kakko, Luostarinen and Kiviranta who play in the NHL noiw.

This current team doesn't have the little of scoring potential like the 2019 team did.

Yeah back then that team didn't look like much but now we can see that many players from that team have developed into fine players. Still it was a crazy win Lankinen had like 40+ saves and Mörkö with the goal lol. I remember standing in front of the TV acting all crazy. It was surreal.

 

[David OSullivan]

Pessimism at an all time high
Fans disalusioned
Players questioned
Jalonen questioned
Barely qualified for QF
Facing a formidable Sweden in QF
And no doubt other stacked NHL rostered teams if by some miracle they make it through.

Ah yes.

Just the way I like it.
Conditions are absolutely perfect for a gold medal this year.

 

[FinPanda]

If Sweden doesn't score at least 4 goals against us I'm very surprised. We shouldn't even have a chance.

 

[moropanov]

Yeah back then that team didn't look like much but now we can see that many players from that team have developed into fine players. Still it was a crazy win Lankinen had like 40+ saves and Mörkö with the goal lol. I remember standing in front of the TV acting all crazy. It was surreal..

Finland was controlling that game againts Russia for first 50 minutes had more shots and puck controll>Russia just dominated after Anttila scored and Finland went to turtle mode.

 

[FiLe]

Young drafted players usually takes first chance on contract (for many in all honesty it may be the only chance). Or if youngish player shows promise in this level he is taken to NA (Matinpalo etc.). We have had record number of players in minors these past few years.

Of course, not all of them become NHL regulars - they will be bubble players and minor league journeymen for a few seasons, until they decide it's time to go back to Europe. At that stage they also enter the NT pool and start forming the core of our WHC squads. But they'll also be in their late 20s by then, meaning we'll get 4-5 good tournaments out of them until they start to think they've had enough. And that's when the cycle begins anew, and we get a squad full of these unknowns, who might either surprise everyone (as they did in 2019) or crash and burn spectacularly. Although, while everything's possible between heaven and hell, the most probable outcome still is them making it out of the group and then exiting after the QF.

This current team doesn't have the little of scoring potential like the 2019 team did.

This team has exactly one major weakness, that being the top-six wingers. The centers are okay, bottom-six wingers are no worse than ever, defense is balanced, the goalies are decent. But since the guys who should bear the main responsibility of burying the puck are subpar, it means less prime scoring chances 5-on-5 and a PP that leaves a lot to be desired. And as the frustration around the scoring mounts, it does spread throughout the entire squad, leading to more mistakes even on those departments that should be fine otherwise.

 

[mattihp]

Our hope is that both Kapanen and Helenius (if he even gets to play..) light it up and all the other forwards push the Swedish defense deep.

 

[ijuka]

While I was thinking about how big of a upset it would be if we won tomorrow I started to think about the team from 2019. That team consisting of mostly Liiga players won against a Russian team with names like, Vasilevsky, Sergachyov, Orlov, Ovechkin, Kucherov, Malkin, Kuznetsov, Dadonov, Kovalchuck, Kaprizov etc. How did we do that. It truly was a miracle on ice.

If you want to know, it's because Team Russia has always been less than the sum of their parts. The team is usually very ego-driven and there's next to no structure.

"Meidän peli" is deafeningly easy to defeat with solid teamwork, because all you need to do is put on the pressure and forecheck hard with two and the system crumbles. But these star players generally don't come to the WHC to play hard.

That's why I call it "underdog hockey" as it can work if you're able to take advantage of the opposing team's lack of game plan or teamwork. It would be absolutely hopeless in a real professional environment, though.

 

[Sanf]

This team has exactly one major weakness, that being the top-six wingers. The centers are okay, bottom-six wingers are no worse than ever, defense is balanced, the goalies are decent. But since the guys who should bear the main responsibility of burying the puck are subpar, it means less prime scoring chances 5-on-5 and a PP that leaves a lot to be desired. And as the frustration around the scoring mounts, it does spread throughout the entire squad, leading to more mistakes even on those departments that should be fine otherwise.

I agree that wingers are the main thing where we are short. We are lacking first line talent. None from the team has shown ability to elevate their games (like Savinainen and Anttila could) in this level. Well maybe Puljujärvi at moments. He show those flashes where shows that he have the talent to be factor on this level. But then you see those other situation where he just don´t seem to be able to read the game the slightest.

Goaltending is not the main problem, but Säteri hasn´t been great either. We have enjoyed peak years from our euro goalies in past (Vehanen, Olkinuora and yes Säteri), but maybe Säteri is starting to be past that.

Defence. Well... There has been so much mistakes, bad first passes, trouble on getting the puck out of own zone and even troubles of keeping it in offensive zone on PP and when we have pressed. On paper there is balance yes. But lot of these guys have often been the cuts when these teams have been selected. Ugly to say it is sort of B-squad and not sure if they are enough to this level. As much I have hoped for example Vittasmäki to make it few years earlier.

 

[ES]

I want Kukkonen to be hired as Pennanen's team leader having some peptalks or motivational talks to the team when needed. He's very good in the MTV3 studio, but he would be even more useful serving the NT.

You mean the role currently held by Mika Kortelainen?

 

[OKR]

If you want to know, it's because Team Russia has always been less than the sum of their parts. The team is usually very ego-driven and there's next to no structure.

"Meidän peli" is deafeningly easy to defeat with solid teamwork, because all you need to do is put on the pressure and forecheck hard with two and the system crumbles. But these star players generally don't come to the WHC to play hard.

That's why I call it "underdog hockey" as it can work if you're able to take advantage of the opposing team's lack of game plan or teamwork. It would be absolutely hopeless in a real professional environment, though.

If ”meidän peli” was easy to defeat, how come we’ve won so much with it? You’d think proffesional coaches and players would be able to crack it if you can.

This year we just don’t have the players to execute it properly.

 

[FiLe]

Defence. Well... There has been so much mistakes, bad first passes, trouble on getting the puck out of own zone and even troubles of keeping it in offensive zone on PP and when we have pressed. On paper there is balance yes. But lot of these guys have often been the cuts when these teams have been selected. Ugly to say it is sort of B-squad and not sure if they are enough to this level. As much I have hoped for example Vittasmäki to make it few years earlier.

The defense really features no worse individuals than usual. Of course, none out of this D corps save Määttä (and perhaps Lehtonen) would make our best-on-best roster, but they should be more than adequate for a WHC. But since the team is not in balance due to the serious lack of firepower up front, it has an effect that frustrates the entire team, meaning that even the guys who would not look out of place in a more balanced squad will make dumb mistakes.

And it doesn't just happen to those "decent enough" guys, but also affects our leading players. Just look at Lehtonen, who has looked like a shadow of his former self. Or Mikael-motherflippin'-Granlund, who managed to get himself suspended for the game of death. Stuff like this just doesn't happen when the collective is on balance.

 

[swissdude]

I see some really decent scorers on a weekly basis (Suomela, Manninen, Rajala etc.) it's not that there are no capable forwards from Finland it's a pitty they haven't been available

 

[FiLe]

Here we go:

Larmi (Säteri)

Määttä - Mattila
Vittasmäki - Lehtonen
Rissanen - Kaski
Riikola - Saarijärvi

Innala - Kapanen - Puljujärvi
Puistola - Helenius - Jormakka
Jääskä - Hyry - Puustinen
Mäenalanen - Björninen - Pakarinen

The Jukurit line is together. Larmi in net. Jalonen playing double or nothing.

 

[Jukurit]

Why tf Jalonen didn't put Jukurit players together earlier?

 

[Raimo Sillanpää]

Why tf Jalonen didn't put Jukurit players together earlier?

Jalonen is like this at times, it was the same many times before and also with the goalies. Like how with Säteri - same thought process in the 2016 WJC when he continuous giving an out of form Vehviläinen chances until he admitted that he would probably be beheaded if he didn’t play Kaapo Kähkönen.

He comes up with his thought then gives it a chance, gives it another, thinks if he tweaks something else then this original thought will prove itself right in the right circumstances, then he thinks he is so far into this thought that while it doesn’t work it’s better than a net new thought which may or may not work and…

then when all other options are exhausted he realises he was stuck on a thought that just doesn’t work.

 

[mattihp]

Jalonen is like this at times, it was the same many times before and also with the goalies. Like how with Säteri - same thought process in the 2016 WJC when he continuous giving an out of form Vehviläinen chances until he admitted that he would probably be beheaded if he didn’t play Kaapo Kähkönen.

He comes up with his thought then gives it a chance, gives it another, thinks if he tweaks something else then this original thought will prove itself right in the right circumstances, then he thinks he is so far into this thought that while it doesn’t work it’s better than a net new thought which may or may not work and…

then when all other options are exhausted he realises he was stuck on a thought that just doesn’t work.

But these championships he hasn't been tweaking, he has thrown out all new lines almost every game..

 

[FiLe]

Jalonen is like this at times, it was the same many times before and also with the goalies. Like how with Säteri - same thought process in the 2016 WJC when he continuous giving an out of form Vehviläinen chances until he admitted that he would probably be beheaded if he didn’t play Kaapo Kähkönen.

Jalonen hooked Vehviläinen after Veini allowed three softies in the first period in the QF against Canada. Then Kähkönen shut the gates in the SF against Sweden, and when Jalonen was asked after that game who's in net in the final, he famously quipped, "Someone will shoot me if I don't put Kaapo in net." But, yeah, he kept giving Vehviläinen excessive rope because the firepower up front kept bailing out the goalie game after game.

As for putting the Jukurit line together - to be fair, none of them have been individually all that good. (Well, Jormakka has been steadily improving.) Helenius probably would have been back in the pressbox tonight if Granlund hadn't gotten himself suspended. But since Jalonen had to put Helenius back into the lineup, the logical conclusion was that he is in the best position to succeed with his familiar linemates.

 

[SantosHalper]

I want Kukkonen to be hired as Pennanen's team leader having some peptalks or motivational talks to the team when needed. He's very good

Speaking of which


Not the worst idea

 

[Mestaruus]

You mean the role currently held by Mika Kortelainen?

Is he still on that role? I assumed that he isn't. I like Kortelainen, so I don't mind keeping him, but Kukkonen would be fantastic in that role as well. I'm sure.

 

[Mestaruus]

Speaking of which


Not the worst idea

Fail with your pic upload .

Hopefully the game stays 0-0 as long as possible or we get the first goal and slow SWE down some how. Only chance.