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Team Finland (Official roster)

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Jussi said:
Yeah, 2 years ago! He's done jacks*** in international games.
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Just give him a chance and he'll do good :) he's like always the best player when we play against sweden... and we need those kind of players to not get humiliated ;)
 
mattihp said:
They've worked well together in the past, and at first I thought of making that pairing too, but it seems Juntti-Jere's endurance has taken a shot down lately... Not at all as many +20 minute games for him this season. So I'd think it'd be nice to keep his shot fresh for the PP ^^
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While I might agree with you to some degree on Karalahti's endurance coming down from his best years (which usually does happen to players at some point of their career) and that he might have suffered from having to play too much the whole season, I must say I don't know where you are getting those numbers from. He had total of six full SM-liiga games where he didn't play over 20 minutes. Three of when where in the last three games of the regular season, when he was coming from an injury and the team had a good depth on D. Also, you aren't going to get name to stick with him ; -)
 
mattihp said:
Just give him a chance and he'll do good :) he's like always the best player when we play against sweden... and we need those kind of players to not get humiliated ;)
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Yes, I still remeber all those goals he scored against them and the times he shut down their big forwards...Wait, that never happened.
 
There are three givens in this world: death, taxes, and Finnish competitivenes in the rink. I am a bit surprised by the exclusion of several of Finland's biggest stars, but the amazing thing about Suomi is they always play competitively. They will be in every game, of that I am certain.

They still have several important players on the roster. Hagman seems to raise his game in these tournaments, so he needs to be clutch. In my personal opinion, Olli Jokinen is the best forward on this team, but Hagman is arguably the most important player.

Kimmo Timonen is one the world's most underrated players, at any position. He's going to have to be a workhorse on the blueline and log tons of icetime for this team to be successful. And that projected fourth line with Ruutu and Hahl is going to be a real pain in the A@# to play against.
 
cheechoo14whitney said:
Hey dudes, does anyone know what happened with Juha Ylönen? Did he retire? I once heard about injury concerns... anyway, he used to be a great guy
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I'm not sure if he officially retired yet, but he has been injured for a long time. Looks like his hockey career is over. I'm remembering he came back to Finland in the first place because he suffered from some kinda rheumatism and then I think there was some groin injury as well. He played two seasons in Espoo Blues and didn't do very well because of his injuries. He was also in the roster this season, but didn't play a single game. If it wasn't for his injuries, he'd be fighting for a spot in the national team and he would have had a better NHL-career as well. It's a pity, but sometimes life is hard. :(
 
CDeeps said:
I am a bit surprised by the exclusion of several of Finland's biggest stars, but the amazing thing about Suomi is they always play competitively. They will be in every game, of that I am certain.
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Stars were not actually excluded by the team, if that's even what you meant. I think they all announced that they cannot play because of injuries (or in some cases family obligations) and I think that was a wise thing to do. We don't need a team full of half-crippled or unmotivated stars. Let's take Selänne for example. He's been more or less injured for the past few years, which pretty much explains his bad season in Colorado. He's said he wants to play at the top level once more, and I think it would be stupid to risk it all for World Championships. If rehabilitation goes well, we could still see Teemu in his top form in the Olympics. Same goes for Koivu and Lehtinen. It's wise for all of them to let their injuries heal properly and maybe then make their comeback.

As you said, even without the star players this team can be very competitive. If coach Westerlund gets his system working with these guys, they can be a real pain in the arse to play against and if they can raise a good team spirit everything is possible.

I'm still a bit worried who's going to score the goals for us though. Guys like Hagman and Kallio have shown they can score if they get their game on track, but just as often they can just buzz around ineffectively. That's why I don't understand why they already kicked Hannes Hyvönen out of the team. He has a thundering shot, which is also pretty accurate, and he shoots from the right. He could have been used on PP in so many ways. He's also used to playing as D-man on PP. How many righties do we have right now btw? Karalahti, anyone else? How can we build working powerplay units without them?
 
Lehtonen or M. Koivu?

Lehtonen's Chicago Wolves and Mikko Koivu's Houston Aeros play against each other in the AHL play-affs, so one of them will be free for natiol team. Which one do you prefer? Any thoughts?

And what about Salmelainen? Did his performance in EHT convince Westerlund about his talents? And is there space for him in the team?
 
Hassan said:
Lehtonen's Chicago Wolves and Mikko Koivu's Houston Aeros play against each other in the AHL play-affs, so one of them will be free for natiol team. Which one do you prefer? Any thoughts?

And what about Salmelainen? Did his performance in EHT convince Westerlund about his talents? And is there space for him in the team?
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I dont care, we could use both.
But preferably Lehtonen, its time he starts for the national team against men. His day is here, he's probably the best goalie we already have and just needs his moment in time to seize it. This would be the perfect place, not too much pressure or expectations and a coach he knows.

One who I want though, is Miettinen. How's his AHL season?
 
Hassan said:
Lehtonen's Chicago Wolves and Mikko Koivu's Houston Aeros play against each other in the AHL play-affs, so one of them will be free for natiol team. Which one do you prefer? Any thoughts?
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Lehtonen in a heart beat. Wow. That was easy. Lehtonen imo is already a great goaltender and we need him in the future, then why not give him the opporturnity to show what he is really made of? Since Kipper isn't going the be in Team Finland anyway. Mikko Koivu is big and pretty good also but imo we would need Lehtonen more.
 
Hassan said:
And what about Salmelainen? Did his performance in EHT convince Westerlund about his talents? And is there space for him in the team?
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In my opinion we don't need him. He doesn't bring anything new to this team. We already have tons of players from almost the same mold as Salmelainen, and he isn't any better than ones we already have. I've understood that his defensive play isn't that good, so he would have to take a spot in the first two lines and that's just not going to happen. I'd much rather see J. Jokinen as backup forward than Salmo.

I'd gladly take both Lehtonen and M. Koivu though. I want more promising youngsters on this team! The more youngsters, the merrier! Koivu could handle both offensive and defensive line center duties, but on the other hand we already have capable centers for each role. Still, I'd prefer Koivu over Pakaslahti and Pirjetä. I trust our current goalies, but it would be great to see Lehtonen in action on national team.
 
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Hassan said:
Lehtonen's Chicago Wolves and Mikko Koivu's Houston Aeros play against each other in the AHL play-affs, so one of them will be free for natiol team. Which one do you prefer? Any thoughts?

And what about Salmelainen? Did his performance in EHT convince Westerlund about his talents? And is there space for him in the team?
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I would definitely want Lehtonen to play. With him in net, we could possibly steal a medal at this tournament. :teach:
 
finska said:
What about Niittymaki? I haven't even checked, are the Phantoms in the playoffs?
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Nevermind, I am answering my own question. Niittymaki is in the playoffs of course alongside Joni Pitkanen.. Too bad, we could have used both in a big way. :cry:
 
What bothers me the most about this team is....hardly anyone can shoot worth a damn. What are they thinking? Nummelin will score two on PP each game and Kallio or Hagman will chop one in from a rebound?

Saarela and Hyvönen are pretty much the only guys who can be dangerous after crossing the blue line, rest of our forwards are quite useless from any distance. Kuhta has a decent shot but he will be dropped...Jokinen of course can shoot a bit but thats about it. Hagman, Kallio and Peltonen are pretty weak shots, honestly. Peltonen sure has good hands though, and usually hits the net when he needs to. These other two have always been useless when facing the best goalies. :shakehead
 
Raimo Sillanpää said:
I dont care, we could use both.
But preferably Lehtonen, its time he starts for the national team against men. His day is here, he's probably the best goalie we already have and just needs his moment in time to seize it. This would be the perfect place, not too much pressure or expectations and a coach he knows.

One who I want though, is Miettinen. How's his AHL season?
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Do I smell Lehtonen-fan or something like that ;)
Ok he's definitely a great world-class goelie and I'd take him in the WCH-team, But I'd still prefer Markkanen as a number one goalie. The situation with Markkanen is a bit iffy, though.

Miettinen's season in AHL has, at least as far I know, been a bit lame, so there will be better players to be chosen in the team.
 
Ipa said:
In my opinion we don't need him (Salmelainen). He doesn't bring anything new to this team. We already have tons of players from almost the same mold as Salmelainen, and he isn't any better than ones we already have. I've understood that his defensive play isn't that good, so he would have to take a spot in the first two lines and that's just not going to happen. I'd much rather see J. Jokinen as backup forward than Salmo.
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You made an excellent point. Don't know much about Salmelainen's style, but the couple of times I've seen him play and what I've heard of him haven't given me the idea that he would be something we want in our WCH-team. And I'd like to see J.Jokinen become one of those guys who will be absolutely in in the national team, no questions asked. He's got the talent.
 
Hassan said:
You made an excellent point. Don't know much about Salmelainen's style, but the couple of times I've seen him play and what I've heard of him haven't given me the idea that he would be something we want in our WCH-team. And I'd like to see J.Jokinen become one of those guys who will be absolutely in in the national team, no questions asked. He's got the talent.
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If we had alot of snipers and finesse players on our team, Salmo would've been an excellent addition. But this is a blue-collar team, and on such a team, Salmo is easily hustled away ;)
 
Hassan said:
Mika Noronen played a mediocre season in HPK in Finland and was a bit of a disappointment.
Vesa Toskala's season wasn't long. he played nine games in Ilves at the end of the season but was almost phenomenal.
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Actually Noronen had a good season, and was 3rd best goalie in the league.
 
mikkoz said:
Actually Noronen had a good season, and was 3rd best goalie in the league.
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No he didn't. His place as the number one goalie in his team was occasionally even disputed. I'd say he was the 6th or 7th best in the league. In any event, he hasn't been good enough to make it to the team :shakehead
 
Ipa said:
I'm not sure if he officially retired yet, but he has been injured for a long time. Looks like his hockey career is over. I'm remembering he came back to Finland in the first place because he suffered from some kinda rheumatism and then I think there was some groin injury as well. He played two seasons in Espoo Blues and didn't do very well because of his injuries. He was also in the roster this season, but didn't play a single game. If it wasn't for his injuries, he'd be fighting for a spot in the national team and he would have had a better NHL-career as well. It's a pity, but sometimes life is hard. :(
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thanks for the info, though it's sad to hear. :(
 
Some world championship stats for the "high" profile forwards... Not many goal scorers, we'll have it spread out all over the roster hopefully.

Niko Kapanen's points look splendid.

Tomi Kallio
46GP 12G 15A 27P +14

Jukka Hentunen
25GP 7G 9A 16P +18

Niko Kapanen
34GP 10G 14A 24P +17

Olli Jokinen
63GP 15G 13A 28P +16


Timo Pärssinen
18GP 5G 11A 16P +9


Niklas Hagman
21GP 7G 3A 10P +0



Ville Peltonen
74GP 28G 33A 61P +35
 
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mattihp said:
Some world championship stats for the "high" profile forwards... Not many goal scorers, we'll have it spread out all over the roster hopefully.

Niko Kapanen's points look splendid.
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Well.... How splendid are we talking? 150 Pts in 60 games? Oh yeah, I forgot, that was Gretzky.
 
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