Finland Roster

[psycho_dad*]

Okay I didn't notice the chemistry Selänne/Koivu/Lehtinen have so I'll give you that one too.

So now we only disgree on Salo. And I think I have made it clear to you; 7th defenceman at best IMO.

As for Lehtinen being better than Z, I'd say that if I wanted a goal scorer I'd take Z, but if I wanted a player who is trying to prevent as much goals as possible I'd take Lehtinen. So IMO Lehtinen is the better 3rd liner than Z.

Yeah we agree on everything else but Lehtinen and Z. I would take Lehtinen over Zetterberg for any other role than playmaking. Lehtinen is the better goal scorer, and he is the best defensive forward on this planet. Z is the better playmaker.

Also I think Salo would be 5th-6th d-man. Pitkänen, Lidström, Öhlund, Timonen, Nordström/Salo

 

[Joe MacMillan]

Yeah we agree on everything else but Lehtinen and Z. I would take Lehtinen over Zetterberg for any other role than playmaking. Lehtinen is the better goal scorer, and he is the best defensive forward on this planet. Z is the better playmaker.

Also I think Salo would be 5th-6th d-man. Pitkänen, Lidström, Öhlund, Timonen, Nordström/Salo

If we ignore this season, I can see Zetterberg being the better goal scorer. Actually I think he will end up scoring more goals than Lehtinen this season. But don't get me wrong, I think Lehtinen is a great palyer. He's the best defensive forward in the world and every team needs a player like him.

I can't really say who's better.

 

[psycho_dad*]

If we ignore this season, I can see Zetterberg being the better goal scorer. Actually I think he will end up scoring more goals than Lehtinen this season. But don't get me wrong, I think Lehtinen is a great palyer. He's the best defensive forward in the world and every team needs a player like him.

I can't really say who's better.

Last 3 season (including this one):

Lehtinen 170 games, 63 goals

Zetterberg 175 games, 53 goals


Before this season (last 2 seasons):

Lehtinen 138 games 44 goals

Zetterberg 140 games 37 goals

Other guy is the best defensive forward in the world, the other is not. Should not be a hard choise?

 

[VanIslander]

I am NOT surprised that there's a bit of controversy over the goalie selection: there are several excellent Finns at that position, their deepest.

I am also not surprised that Jussi Jokinen isn't on the team, but I'd hoped he make the taxi squad, which he still could if his rookie year continues as well, couldn't he?

Who will be on the taxi squad?

 

[edd1e]

I am NOT surprised that there's a bit of controversy over the goalie selection: there are several excellent Finns at that position, their deepest.

I am also not surprised that Jussi Jokinen isn't on the team, but I'd hoped he make the taxi squad, which he still could if his rookie year continues as well, couldn't he?

Who will be on the taxi squad?

Jussi Jokinen is in Taxi squad, there is also Hagman and some others. Who's going to take Kiprusoffs spot is prolly Niittymäki or Lehtonen.

 

[C-J...*]

Timonen, Pitkänen, Salo, Selänne, Lehtinen, Koivu, Jokinen, T. Ruutu, Kiprusoff, Lehtonen...those for SURE, others as well (like S. Kapanen). Yeah I know it's fun to say 4-5, but the truth is half the team.

Oh yeah and that team would rule the universe.

Kiprusoff isnt in the team, we have better defenders than Timonen and better forwards than Jokinen, Selänne is a maybe - too soft on the defence, floats too much. Lehtonen might get a spot as third backup goalie, but seriously - what does that matter.


Pitkänen, Salo, Lehtinen (4:th-line), Koivu and perhaps Kapanen, but doubtful.

And Koivu... who would he beat out from the toplines, Forsberg, Sundin, Alfredsson, Näslund, Modin, Zetterberg... we already have a surplus of centers, and since he isnt a defensive gritty player, he wouldnt fit in, in any of the checkinglines either.

Its like Nylander, didnt get picked since he wouldnt be amongst the top-6 offensive forwards, and since hes useless defensively.

So... I´d say that four guys would get a spot in our team, and thats with Koivu included.

 

[C-J...*]

T. Ruutu would NOT make the team instead of Sedins or PÃ¥hlsson or whatever?

Wait a minute, are you seriously comparing Ruutu to the Sedins?

He shouldnt even be alowed to be mentioned in the same sentence as those guys, and PÃ¥hlsson is twice the player Ruutu will ever be.

Get real.

Lehtinen should make ANY team in this world. In an instant. He is probably one of the best overall players in the world after Forsberg.

I´m sorry but that really cracked me up, almost better than comedy central, haha...

Lehtinen one of the best over all players in the world? Only our nationalteam have like 5-6 forwards I´d rate over him.

And by a fairly substancial margin too.

 

[Tume]

Wait a minute, are you seriously comparing Ruutu to the Sedins?

He shouldnt even be alowed to be mentioned in the same sentence as those guys, and PÃ¥hlsson is twice the player Ruutu will ever be.

Get real.

I honestly hope that you are mixing Jarkko and Tuomo now...otherwise you are a

PÃ¥h-who?

 

[C-J...*]

I honestly hope that you are mixing Jarkko and Tuomo now...otherwise you are a

PÃ¥h-who?

I was actually assuming that you were comparing the Sedins with Jarkko, haha..

I´d actually rate the Sedins over Tuomo, especially when put together, and Påhlsson is a roleplaying defensive center, and better at what he does than most other players, it+s a shame that he isnt given any recognition.

 

[edd1e]

Both nations favor their own players ofcourse, so there's no point arguing about that

C-J laughs at Lehtinen, but i guess he's merits speaks for it self.

 

[edd1e]

I was actually assuming that you were comparing the Sedins with Jarkko, haha..

I´d actually rate the Sedins over Tuomo, especially when put together, and Påhlsson is a roleplaying defensive center, and better at what he does than most other players, it+s a shame that he isnt given any recognition.

No, Not Jarkko, were talking about Tuomo..

 

[C-J...*]

Both nations favor their own players ofcourse, so there's no point arguing about that

C-J laughs at Lehtinen, but i guess he's merits speaks for it self.

Most people would laugh at someone that claims Lehtinen to be the second best over all hockeyplayer in the world.

Top-50 maybe, but more likey around 60-70.

 

[Joe MacMillan]

Other guy is the best defensive forward in the world, the other is not. Should not be a hard choise?

Last three seasons:

Zetterberg: 175gp/122pts; 0.697ppg (including Zetterberg's rookie season )

Lehtinen: 170gp/102pts; 0.6ppg.

Yes, it is pretty hard choise.

 

[Joe MacMillan]

"Kapanen, like Kiprusoff, is considering pulling out as well to rest some injuries.

“Right now I'm leaning toward staying home,'' Kapanen said. “There are just so many games at the Olympics. We play the first six games in eight nights. It's a tough schedule and it takes a lot out of your body.''

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/101-12232005-588387.html

If that's true...

 

[P-M Bouchard]

nevermind.

 

[Lindros_for_rizzle_]

Jokes are on C-J....biased up to his nose. First of all, at least two of the three goalies would be from Finland. Salo, Timonen, Pitkanen are locks on the defence. Koivu, Jokinen, Lehtinen, Selanne, Kapanen on the offence. It makes it ten at least plus prob a few more. Plus not to forget that Finland in terms of team play is a notch above Sweden.

 

[psycho_dad*]

Wait a minute, are you seriously comparing Ruutu to the Sedins?

He shouldnt even be alowed to be mentioned in the same sentence as those guys, and PÃ¥hlsson is twice the player Ruutu will ever be.

Yes you are right, Tuomo Ruutu should never be even mentioned with these 2 marginal talents that have never really made it. And Tuomo has more talent in his fingernails than PÃ¥hlsson in his body.

You, sir, are funny

 

[psycho_dad*]

Most people would laugh at someone that claims Lehtinen to be the second best over all hockeyplayer in the world.

Top-50 maybe, but more likey around 60-70.

Most people are fools. That does not mean though, that Lehtinen is as badly underrated as you make him out to be. He is the best defensive forward in the world, and can score well. Hockey fans who actually watch the sport more than just the tre kronor games know how good of a player Lehtinen is, and if there was a poll about who are the most complete forwards in the game, you would see Lehtinen's name up there in top 20 easily, and even that would be badly underrating him...but defensive forwards are often underrated. Still, he would finish much higher in that poll than you think. Forsberg would win the poll by the way.

 

[psycho_dad*]

Kiprusoff isnt in the team

We were talking about a dream team here. And yeah Kiprusoff is still named to finnish roster but thats beside the point. Kipper would be the #1 goalie of that dream team without question.

we have better defenders than Timonen

Yes you do. 2 or 3 of them. And Finland has 1 or 2 better d-man than Timonen. Teams have 7-8 defensemen, so Timonen would get in. Easily.

and better forwards than Jokinen

Yes, you have at least one considerably better center, but as it is today, Jokinen would challenge Sundin for the 3rd center spot. I would still pick Sundin, he does great in international games (better than Forsberg even).

Selänne is a maybe - too soft on the defence, floats too much.

Selänne would be the #1 right winger in the team. He has always outproduced and outplayed any other right wingers that would be in this team. On international tournaments that is. Yeah I would pick Alfredsson and Näslund over him to my NHL team, but on international tournaments Selänne has always been far superior.

Lehtonen might get a spot as third backup goalie, but seriously - what does that matter.

Yeah he would be the 2nd or 3rd, depending on how his game picks up now. After Kipper and Lundqvist, there are about 5-6 finnish goalies that would be picked before the next swede, but naturally only 3 guys count. Lehtonen or Niittymäki would be that guy. Right now Niittymäki, since he has played more this year.

Pitkänen, Salo, Lehtinen (4:th-line), Koivu and perhaps Kapanen, but doubtful.

If the coach of that team had any brains, he would play the Lehtinen-Koivu-Selänne line as the #1 line because it has much better chemistry than any other lines. It has been the best line out of all these combinations in international tournaments. Kapanen could possibly play in the 4th line. Questionable.

And Koivu... who would he beat out from the toplines, Forsberg, Sundin, Alfredsson, Näslund, Modin, Zetterberg... we already have a surplus of centers, and since he isnt a defensive gritty player, he wouldnt fit in, in any of the checkinglines either.

Koivu has outplayed all of these guys in international tournaments. Sundin has outplayed Forsberg. But because Sundin is not getting any younger, I think I would play Forsberg ahead of him in lines. And because Forsberg is more talented. Zetterberg would probably not make the team, as a center anyway, the 4 centers would be Koivu, Forsberg, Sundin, Jokinen (and this is just a dream team, no real defensive lines here).


Chew on that for a while. You are welcome to question the selections of course, but if you do, back it up with something other than the fact that you just prefer swedes. You are seriously underestimating some finnish players, and especially the team play aspect.

 

[Panopticon]

No reason to not only not take Niittymaki, but to not have Toskala or Markkanen either, especially since we don't even know if Lehtonen will be completely healthy he hasn't even returned from injury.

Actually, I'd rather see Boston's Hannu Toivonen on the team than Markkanen or Toskala, or even Niittymäki. Sure, he's young, but he's almost as promising as Lehtonen and that's saying a lot. I would've left Norrena out and now that Kiprusoff is out as well, we could have Toivonen, Niittymäki and Lehtonen on the team.

I actually think that Niittymäki and Toivonen have even been better at times than Kiprusoff...

 

[Joe MacMillan]

Yes you are right, Tuomo Ruutu should never be even mentioned with these 2 marginal talents that have never really made it. And Tuomo has more talent in his fingernails than PÃ¥hlsson in his body.

You, sir, are funny

Ruutu is the better player and has more talent than PÃ¥hlsson for sure, but that doesn't mean Ruutu is the better 4th liner than PÃ¥hlsson. Just go to the Ducks board and read the opinions of the fans about PÃ¥hlsson and you'll find you're highly underrating him. He works his *** off every shift he's on the ice.

But we don't need to start another debate about Ruutu and PÃ¥hlsson because I prefer Ruutu, but I think you should give PÃ¥hlsson some credit. No team has enough players like him.

 

[psycho_dad*]

Ruutu is the better player and has more talent than PÃ¥hlsson for sure, but that doesn't mean Ruutu is the better 4th liner than PÃ¥hlsson. Just go to the Ducks board and read the opinions of the fans about PÃ¥hlsson and you'll find you're highly underrating him. He works his *** off every shift he's on the ice.

But we don't need to start another debate about Ruutu and PÃ¥hlsson because I prefer Ruutu, but I think you should give PÃ¥hlsson some credit. No team has enough players like him.

PÃ¥hlsson is a good defensive forward and if I was making a team with real checking lines I would probably select him as the 4th line center, but I was making more of an all-stars dream team with 4 best possible lines and he would not fit in. Defensively I am sure PÃ¥hlsson is even better than Tuomo Ruutu, but the difference comes in everything else and Tuomo is miles ahead.

 

[Joe MacMillan]

PÃ¥hlsson is a good defensive forward and if I was making a team with real checking lines I would probably select him as the 4th line center, but I was making more of an all-stars dream team with 4 best possible lines and he would not fit in. Defensively I am sure PÃ¥hlsson is even better than Tuomo Ruutu, but the difference comes in everything else and Tuomo is miles ahead.

I agree that PÃ¥hlsson would have no place on a team with full of all-star players, but a dream team should have a good defensive line as the 4th or 3rd line. Well, at least my dream team.

 

[psycho_dad*]

I agree that PÃ¥hlsson would have no place on a team with full of all-star players, but a dream team should have a good defensive line as the 4th or 3rd line. Well, at least my dream team.

Yes I agree, one that would actually play, not one that is more like a depth chart. We were just thinking different sorts of teams here. If I was to go into olympics with a mixed fin-swe team it would have at least one pure shutdown line.

 

[C-J...*]

I terms of talent and general skill¨.

Forsberg
Alfredsson
Sundin
Näslund
Koivu
Zetterberg
Lehtinen
Selänne
Modin
Nylander (not even in the squad)

Defence:

Lidström
Öhlund
Pitkänen
Norstrom
Salo
Timonen
Jönsson
K.Johnsson
Kronwall (If/when 100% after his injury, top-3)
Numminen


Kipper isnt playing, so he isnt included. If he was he´d be picked above Lunkan.

Lundqvist
? (doesnt matter, only one keeper plays anyway)
? (doesnt matter, only one keeper plays anyway)