Olympics: Team Finland 2022

[FiLe]

is pillu still active?

You should ask your missus, methinks. If she says "no", try giving flowers, backrubs and spontaneous compliments.

 

[Lartsaman]

is pillu still active?

He plays in HPK and his contract lasts to 22/23 season. Haven´t played in a national team for a long time.

 

[illone84]

So when is the final roster going to be announced?

 

[Lartsaman]

So when is the final roster going to be announced?

January 20th.

 

[jfc64]

What would Team Finland (fourth line) have looked like in the olympic given NHL players: (say Hintz-Barkov-Rantanen - TT-Aho-X - Laine-Granlund-Kapanen - see below

Kotkaniemi - Lundell - Kakko - ish

OR

Donskoi - Haula - Armia - ish

That is you skip Puljujärvi and Lundell in favor of players with a little more experience. At least in the starting crew.

 

[FiLe]

Kotkaniemi - Lundell - Kakko - ish

OR

Donskoi - Haula - Armia - ish

Definitely not the first suggestion. Lundell was considered a strong candidate for the center, but it could have as well been Haula, Luostarinen, or even Lammikko. For wings, two out of Armia, Lehkonen, Kapanen, Donskoi, Kiviranta.

 

[IceHockeyDude]

What would Team Finland (fourth line) have looked like in the olympic given NHL players: (say Hintz-Barkov-Rantanen - TT-Aho-X - Laine-Granlund-Kapanen - see below

Kotkaniemi - Lundell - Kakko - ish

OR

Donskoi - Haula - Armia - ish

That is you skip Puljujärvi and Lundell in favor of players with a little more experience. At least in the starting crew.

Bittersweet as it is now that we won't see NHL taking part my fourth line would've looked like Donskoi/Lehkonen-Lundell-Armia

Lundell would've been lock, but there are also many more candidates Haula, Kiviranta, Lammikko etc as you mentioned..

 

[Elias40]

I don't know where I should write this report, so I'll try it here. Brad Lambert terminated the contract with JYP on his own initiative, they mutually agreed at the end of the contract and is thus a free agent. Is there a chance he will stay in Finland and agree on a contract by another Liiga team by the end of the season or go to Canada? And how big a role can his father play in this? Thanks for any answers.

 

[king89]

I don't know where I should write this report, so I'll try it here. Brad Lambert terminated the contract with JYP on his own initiative, they mutually agreed at the end of the contract and is thus a free agent. Is there a chance he will stay in Finland and agree on a contract by another Liiga team by the end of the season or go to Canada? And how big a role can his father play in this? Thanks for any answers.

Maybe the prospect page?

 

[Elias40]

Maybe the prospect page?

At the time I asked the question, it was not yet clear that he had agreed with the Pelicans.

 

[FiLe]

The team will be officially released on Thursday, but we know the goalies already, handily spoiled by their club teams' Twitter accounts:

Olkinuora, Säteri and Tuohimaa.

Nothing overly surprising. Well, maybe Tuohimaa is a little, as he hasn't featured in the NT since the 2019-20 season. The apparent explanation is that since Liiga doesn't break for the olympics, Jalonen decided to not hamper a club (likely Tappara) by taking their starter as his benchwarmer.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Tuohimaa is an odd choice but for the 3rd spot they probably just asked around whoever wants to go.

 

[FiLe]

Heh, if they'd called and asked me, I probably would have said yes. As it's a semi-decent chance of getting your name in history as an olympic gold medalist while having to do virtually nothing.

 

[ES]

Tuohimaa is an odd choice but for the 3rd spot they probably just asked around whoever wants to go.

As Finnish league is not taking a break during the Olympics it would't make sense to have a team to lose a goalie who is just sitting in the stands for two weeks.

 

[SoundAndFury]

As Finnish league is not taking a break during the Olympics it would't make sense to have a team to lose a goalie who is just sitting in the stands for two weeks.

Yeah but there is also Metsola, Ortio, Juvonen, Kaskisuo, etc.

 

[FiLe]

Yeah but there is also Metsola, Ortio, Juvonen, Kaskisuo, etc.

Apart from Metsola - whose status has been exhaustively covered in this thread - none of those can be considered an upgrade over Tuohimaa. (I'm not calling them notable downgrades either, though.)

I heard a rumor that Noora Räty might be available, though.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Apart from Metsola - whose status has been exhaustively covered in this thread - none of those can be considered an upgrade over Tuohimaa. (I'm not calling them notable downgrades either, though.)

Well, I for one would definitely be more confident with Ortio in goal than Tuohimaa but for a 3rd goalie it largely doesn't matter, like I said I think it's far more important to select the guy who is happy to be there.

 

[GORDIEHOWE]

hope that bum ristolainen is not there to lose games for finland

 

[SantosHalper]

My roster prediction. Team is going to be revealed on thursday, and they gonna show it in on tv. TV5 is the channel, 19:00 is the time.

Granlund - Manninen - Hartikainen
Pesonen - Aaltonen - Ojamäki
Rajala - Filppula(A) - Pakarinen
Komarov - Björninen - Anttila(C)
Innala, Savinainen

Lehtonen - Kaski
Lindbohm - Vatanen(A)
Ohtamaa - Hietanen
Koivisto - Pokka

Olkinuora
Säteri
Tuohimaa

I wouldn't take Anttila but i guess Jalonen has pencilled him in, i would take Mäenalanen instead. I also wouldn't take Hietanen, but it seems to me Jalonen want's to build 4 L+R-pairs. In Karjala cup Jalonen picked 8 LHD and 2 RHD, and in Channel One cup Jukka picked 6 RHD and 2 LHD. It was almost like Jalonen wanted to see the best LHDs and then the best RHDs, then Jalonen just combines them. I think Jalonen wants experiece, therefore he picks Hietanen over Kemiläinen. I would move Ohtamaa to the right side to play with Lehtonen and pair up Kaski and Sund.

Pesonen, Vatanen and Pokka has expressed conserns over the possible quarantine time in China. If they decline then im sure that Kemiläinen and Sund are in, Ohtamaa moves to right side. Mäenalanen or Ruohomaa replaces Pesonen, or if Jalonen wants to replace Pesonen with similar player then he picks Tyrväinen. Tyrväinen was selected to play in Channel One cup, but he got flu.

Russians told who the goalies going to be, Tuohimaa is a surprise but he is good enough. I was going to predict Vehviläinen as a 3rd goalie, he seems to be a good luck charm for Jalonen. 2 tournament, 2 gold medals.

 

[FiLe]

Granlund - Manninen - Hartikainen
Pesonen - Aaltonen - Ojamäki
Rajala - Filppula(A) - Pakarinen
Komarov - Björninen - Anttila(C)
Innala, Savinainen.

It's a quite sound prediction otherwise, but I'd say it's quite likely that Jalonen won't give up his habit of picking a fifth natural center into the team - so one of the two extra spots will go to Kemppainen/Tyrväinen/Ruohomaa.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Komarov and Anttila definitely don't merit being there over Kemppainen but I guess intangibles and whatnot.

 

[FiLe]

Komarov and Anttila definitely don't merit being there over Kemppainen but I guess intangibles and whatnot.

For what it's worth, I think Kemppainen will make it. He has no business entering the lineup over the four centers SantosHalper penciled in, but he's an ideal extra piece. He doesn't dazzle anybody, but he's a solid utility guy you can insert into any line if there comes a need to plug a hole.

As for Komarov - judging by his peformance in Channel One Cup, he's, well... Komarov. Same old run-of-the-mill fourth line grinder archetype, a leader type and a pretty fun guy in the locker room, I hear. And that's all the coach will ask of him.

Anttila I'm more ambivalent on. I have him as a 50-50 choice in my book. I think we have better names to do the same things he does, but he's the coach's familiar and thus wouldn't be surprised to see him make it. However, if he does make it, the only reason is that he's the coach's familiar. Even his leadership qualities aren't required with Filppula and Komarov in the lineup.

 

[SoundAndFury]

For what it's worth, I think Kemppainen will make it. He has no business entering the lineup over the four centers SantosHalper penciled in, but he's an ideal extra piece. He doesn't dazzle anybody, but he's a solid utility guy you can insert into any line if there comes a need to plug a hole.

Isn't it a matter of perception though? When he left Ufa most people saw Manninen as a downgrade. Aaltonen couldn't carve himself a role in SKA while Kemppainen has been [successfully] playing there for years. He just doesn't get the hype because he is not the first-line player per se.

Honestly, I would pick him over half the guys on that listed team without even thinking about it. KHL failure Pesonen? Perennial grinders in Savinainen and Pakarinen? While Kemppainen gets ditched? Komarov and Anttila, we already covered. Just doesn't make sense.

 

[FiLe]

Just doesn't make sense.

The primary criteria for selection for the players in Europe is not their KHL (or any other league) record - it's their national team record. Most players in this lineup have proven their mettle in the EHT, WCs, and other NT events over the last few years. And as long as they keep doing good in the NT, the coach keeps picking them over guys with more impressive club team records - unless their overall records start indicating that they've completely fallen off the cliff.

And you might say it's a method that works, considering that Finland is arguably one of the biggest overachievers in hockey, constantly competing for medals with rosters that should have no business competing.

 

[SantosHalper]

It's a quite sound prediction otherwise, but I'd say it's quite likely that Jalonen won't give up his habit of picking a fifth natural center into the team - so one of the two extra spots will go to Kemppainen/Tyrväinen/Ruohomaa.

Very likely. My prediction was that because Granlund, Savinainen have some center background and Pakarinen, Anttila has taken faceoffs almost regularly. Jalonen would not pick a extra center.

Isn't it a matter of perception though? When he left Ufa most people saw Manninen as a downgrade. Aaltonen couldn't carve himself a role in SKA while Kemppainen has been [successfully] playing there for years. He just doesn't get the hype because he is not the first-line player per se.

Honestly, I would pick him over half the guys on that listed team without even thinking about it. KHL failure Pesonen? Perennial grinders in Savinainen and Pakarinen? While Kemppainen gets ditched? Komarov and Anttila, we already covered. Just doesn't make sense.

Has Manninen been a downgrade? 3 highest scoring players for Ufa last year and Granlund&Manninen are highest scoring players for Ufa right now. I don't watch KHL but it seems to me, it's a top-3 line in KHL. No point to break that line, especially how they dominated in Channel one cup.

Aaltonen - Ojamäki are basically responsible for every goal Vityaz scores. Im guessing Audette is the third link in that line, since the highest scoring russian is Malykhin, 41 games and 16 points..... Again no point to break that duo either. As for "KHL failure" Pesonen is scoring point per game in NLA. Pesonen has played total 45 national team game and has scored 28 points, 4+3 in 10 games in 2019 WHC tournament. 1+2 in Karjala cup this year, and his style of game fits perfectly next to Aaltonen - Ojamäki. No room for Kemppainen either.

And im sure you not suggesting that Kemppainen should be selected over Filppula? Filppula mopped the floor with Kemppainen in Karjala cup. And not to mention Filppula played in NHL last year, over 1000 games in NHL and 3 times in Stanley Cup finals. Filppula's experience, leardeship and all-around game is just too good to pass.

Björninen is a best shut down line center line in Europe, if i were GM in the NHL i would offer him a deal. Perennial grinders Savinainen and Pakarinen are players whom Jalonen trust, and they know what Jalonen wants to see from them.

Kemppainen has a chance to get in as a extra center, unless one of the top-4 centers decline. But i would still give the edge to Ruohomaa, he played in Riga and he has played more games under Jalonen than Kemppainen. Channel one cup was the first time since 2012 when Kemppainen played under Jalonen. Jalonen loves EHT games, it has significant effect in his book.