Team Finland announced!

[RoyIsALegend*]

Since I am assuming that Koivu will wear the C, who do you guys think will be wearing the A's?

Teemu Selanne and Teppo Numminen.

 

[Slime]

Peltonen is the only playmaking the team has aside from Koivu, and that makes him their second most important forward.

Com'on... you can't be serious. No way Peltonen is the 2nd most important forward! Finlands main problem isn't playmaking, it's scoring. So (besides Koivu) Ruutu, Jokinen and Selänne are all more important than the slow and physically weak Peltonen.

 

[Fincan]

This post makes no sense. You admit to not watching him much this past year but tell everyone how much you know about him. I don't care if he was Bobby Orr two years ago, he was no better than Sven Butenshon on the Islanders this year. He's lost it. He doesn't deserve to be on the team.

Think about it. He used to be considered one of the best Finnish defenders in the NHL. Think about how horrible you have to play to find your way off the national team. That's exactly what he has done.

I do know about him, from watching him countless times in Edmonton over the years. And yes I admitted to not seeing him much this year but I have still seen him more than most and know what he is capable of. My point was that even after a bad year he still has more natural talent (even if he had trouble finding it this year) and is capable of much more than pretty much anyone on the Finnish team (Ok excluding Pitkanen fron natural abilities). Given how much he has proven at the NHL level (and this is NHL quality and on NHL size rinks) what would it hurt to take him on the team and then have him sit as the 7th or 8th guy if he does not play well. Sorry I will never see how Berg and Karalahti are better picks. By the time the World Cup is here there also would have been a summer for him to clear his head and to rest any nagging injuries that he has had, it would be a fresh start and for a guy who is as capable of as much as him it is well worth the risk IMO.

 

[Pekka Lampinen]

Com'on... you can't be serious. No way Peltonen is the 2nd most important forward! Finlands main problem isn't playmaking, it's scoring. So (besides Koivu) Ruutu, Jokinen and Selänne are all more important than the slow and physically weak Peltonen.

Second most important may be misleading, it can be interpreted as too big a praise. Still, unlike in World Championships, Finland's scoring opportunities were few and far between in Salt Lake City. Ruutu, Jokinen and Kapanen will suffer from mediocrity more or less on this level. Scoring opportunities have avoided Selänne and Jehtinen this season in the NHL. Peltonen probably won't be one of the best three forwards but still irreplaceable.

 

[ShippinItDaily]

Then it's been too long since you last checked. Peltonen is more talented than Kapanen. He generates offense whereas Sami only makes use of it. Ruutu and Jokinen suffer from the same problem and they need Peltonen to feed them. Peltonen is the only playmaking the team has aside from Koivu, and that makes him their second most important forward. The hockey world isn't that NHL-centric.

I realize that there are good hockey leagues outside of the NHL and I embrace that. However my point is that Kapanen has proven he can score in the NHL where Peltonen never could. And because this is a tournament where all the best teams are composed of NHL'ers, I think it is relevant how each has faired during there time in the show.

 

[paxtang]

I realize that there are good hockey leagues outside of the NHL and I embrace that. However my point is that Kapanen has proven he can score in the NHL where Peltonen never could. And because this is a tournament where all the best teams are composed of NHL'ers, I think it is relevant how each has faired during there time in the show.

Kapanen has spent the last year and a half as a shutdown/energy guy on a third line, and has done a fantastic job. He is better served playing there right now.

 

[kjri]

I realize that there are good hockey leagues outside of the NHL and I embrace that. However my point is that Kapanen has proven he can score in the NHL where Peltonen never could. And because this is a tournament where all the best teams are composed of NHL'ers, I think it is relevant how each has faired during there time in the show.

Peltonen is not there because of his scoring. He is there to make plays. Both Jokinen and Kapanen are poor playmakers, so they don't "combine" well. Jokinen&Peltonen is a much better mix.

 

[Owen]

I am surprised that Toskala is in over Nurminen.

You obviously haven't seen Toskala play then.

============

Karalahti never fulfilled his suspension and thus he cannot play.

Did Raimo Helminen retire finally? Is that why he's missing?

 

[ShippinItDaily]

Peltonen is not there because of his scoring. He is there to make plays. Both Jokinen and Kapanen are poor playmakers, so they don't "combine" well. Jokinen&Peltonen is a much better mix.

Point taken, however i still think that they should take a chance on him playing on the second line and hope he regains the form of 2001-02 when he was playing in Carolina because this team just doesnt have the horses to put together a balanced attack.
But if Peltonen really is the playmaker you all say he is than maybe Kapanen doesnt fit on this team. I'm interested to see what happens in the fall.

 

[kjri]

Point taken, however i still think that they should take a chance on him playing on the second line and hope he regains the form of 2001-02 when he was playing in Carolina because this team just doesnt have the horses to put together a balanced attack.
But if Peltonen really is the playmaker you all say he is than maybe Kapanen doesnt fit on this team. I'm interested to see what happens in the fall.

Of course Kapanen is an important player of this team. But the second line, centering Jokinen, needs a playmaking winger and Peltonen is the man. It is a question of the other winger. Kapanen or T.Ruutu? It may well be that Summanen chooses Kapanen there over Ruutu.

 

[pihinalle]

Did Raimo Helminen retire finally? Is that why he's missing?

No. He's just waiting Koivu to retire so he can take the spot in the first line.