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Team Finland WC 2023

This was a wake up call that our team needed. That game didn't go well and it will be interesting to see how many changes Jalonen will make if any. Maybe Karri Kivi was right about Jalonen using some unusual tactics against a North-American team and that experiment didn't go well. It is very possible we'll have a good game tomorrow against Germany and against Sweden with no changes with the lines.

Pesonen in would be a move I'd like to see now, but who do we throw out to make room for him? Before people will start saying Kapanen out, I must remind that Kapanen was one of the only players that didn't leak to the defensive end in that game. Well Kapanen's line is pretty defensive anyways. I actually don't know who to throw out. Armia wasn't amazing in that game despite of receiving that Finland's best player award. I don't know what was up with that. Did they reward him for the 2 min penalty that he took? Oksanen was more deserving for that award. Maybe it's too early to make changes with forward lines because stylistically Germany game will be different compared to USA game.

If I have to guess, Jalonen won't change the first line. He will keep it together and give it more time, despite of it's quite mediocre showing or even below that.
Manninen's pass was the reason why 2-1 goal happened for example. Rantanen made a pass just as bad, which luckily didn't lead to a goal. On the positives, we did create a lot of good scoring chances as well, but the finishing wasn't good.

Few changes in the future after Germany game earliest if things don't improve could be swapping Rantanen & Kakko's places with each other and swapping Kapanen's and Armia's places. Suomela-Kapanen after all was a working duo in the practice matches and adding Rantanen to that sounds interesting.

I think we need few more games before proper analysis. Germany game comes too quickly so Jalonen should do changes earliest after that game and latest after Sweden game if one of these games or both don't go well.
 
What a bullshit game.
Finland played only 20 minutes of 60 minutes

Get your f***ing shit back to together and f***ing soon ladies and WAKE THE HELL UP.
Without massive improvements next games this team will be so done elinimated after quarterfinals.
Please hockey-gods help Seattle Kraken and Toronto Maple-Leafs win their series in NHL.

This team needs so badly
at least 2 or 3 of Barkov, Lundell, Luostarinen, Hintz, Heiskanen, Lindell and Hakanpää.
 
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This was pretty much no defense game.

Haula would be a needed add but he’d UFA of course
 
The hype of team Finland being superior to USA was only due to ignorance of media and common people. Yes, we had the best individual but after that its all USA. Our first line center is AHLer, we have 1 NHL caliber defenseman and euro goalies. This tournament is joke
 
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Bunch of AHOs said:
The hype of team Finland being superior to USA was only due to ignorance of media and common people. Yes, we had the best individual but after that its all USA. Our first line center is AHLer, we have 1 NHL caliber defenseman and euro goalies. This tournament is joke
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The USA team is pretty good, but if you have watched Jalonen hockey before you would know that the group stage games are mostly tweaking for him. This USA team would get beaten 7/10 in a deciding game.
 
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Suomela resting and Pesonen plays. Likely no one more coming then. Rantanen or Armia needs to be tried as a center. Sallinen, Björninen and Lammikko are lacking offensively to put it nicely. Suomela might never get started.
 
mattihp said:
Suomela resting and Pesonen plays. Likely no one more coming then. Rantanen or Armia needs to be tried as a center. Sallinen, Björninen and Lammikko are lacking offensively to put it nicely. Suomela might never get started.
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Pesonen's speed and hustle could bring some energy.
So as expected Florida advanced last night and likely Dallas tonight. Maybe we could get Tolvanen? Play him with Manninen-Härski and move Rantanen to C.

Tolvanen - Manninen - Hartikainen
Armia - Rantanen - Kakko
 
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mattihp said:
Rantanen or Armia needs to be tried as a center.
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Since when has Armia been a center? Anyway, while Sallinen shouldn't be the 2C of a team like this in any situation resembling ideal, he's not as big of an offensive blackhole as Lammikko is.

Suomela is apparently sidelined as a "precaution" - but whether he's out for a longer while or not, I wouldn't mind seeing the NHLers together in the same line. Some would bump Armia up, but Kapanen was one of the players who managed to look good vs. USA, so he might deserve a promotion.

Kapanen - Rantanen - Kakko
Pesonen - Manninen - Hartikainen
Sallinen - Lammikko - Armia
Oksanen - Björninen - Anttila

As an added benefit, no one would have to be on their off wing. Kapanen can play both.

But let's see how the game vs. Germany goes.
 
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Bunch of AHOs said:
The hype of team Finland being superior to USA was only due to ignorance of media and common people. Yes, we had the best individual but after that its all USA. Our first line center is AHLer, we have 1 NHL caliber defenseman and euro goalies. This tournament is joke
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That AHLer scored the golden goal last year and has done well against NHL competition in the past. If he got a game or two this year in the NHL, would that make him better? Too much focus on where people play 'cos we have seen time and time again that European league players can beat NHL players.

The game last night should be a good wake up call. USA played like a team, Finland didn't. Some players need time to adjust to their linemates like Rantanen. A lot of rusty players who should find their groove as the tournament goes on.

The things I am mostly worried about is the center situation and defense's ability to move the puck. Manninen is the only proven playmaking center, Suomela was pretty useless last night like he has been this spring in national team. Björninen and Lammikko are checking line centers. I can't believe they didn't pick more natural centers than those four. What if one of them gets injured or is completely useless? Sallinen and Rantanen can play center but it's still not a great plan.

Lehtonen and Määttä are the only defensemen who can move the puck. Otherwise there are too many stonehands on the defense who can maybe give a good first pass but are very vulnerable to forechecking forwards. I don't see a solution to this problem unless Dallas is eliminated and Heiskanen wants to play, which I don't see happening.
 
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FiLe said:
Since when has Armia been a center? Anyway, while Sallinen shouldn't be the 2C of a team like this in any situation resembling ideal, he's not as big of an offensive blackhole as Lammikko is.

Suomela is apparently sidelined as a "precaution" - but whether he's out for a longer while or not, I wouldn't mind seeing the NHLers together in the same line. Some would bump Armia up, but Kapanen was one of the players who managed to look good vs. USA, so he might deserve a promotion.

Kapanen - Rantanen - Kakko
Pesonen - Manninen - Hartikainen
Sallinen - Lammikko - Armia
Oksanen - Björninen - Anttila

As an added benefit, no one would have to be on their off wing. Kapanen can play both.

But let's see how the game vs. Germany goes.
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Armia played a wee bit as a center prior to being drafted :D

Rantanen however would strive with the amount of puck he'd get in the middle. There's no option to him as a center now IMO
 
mattihp said:
Suomela resting and Pesonen plays. Likely no one more coming then. Rantanen or Armia needs to be tried as a center. Sallinen, Björninen and Lammikko are lacking offensively to put it nicely. Suomela might never get started.
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File said it already, but I'll repeat that Suomela isn't resting because he played bad. He is resting as a precaution. Sounds like a small injury or illness to me.

This makes some interesting lines though. I'm glad that we accidentally got room for Pesonen with this, because I wasn't sure who would've been the one to remove to make room for Pesonen, because I really want to see Pesonen playing. He usually works in any line. I hope that we get Suomela back at some point.
 
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Mestaruus said:
File said it already, but I'll repeat that Suomela isn't resting because he played bad. He is resting as a precaution. Sounds like a small injury or illness to me.
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I know. Did not wuggest otherwise. In the best of worlds, Suomela gets up to speed. I still can't understand his stat line in the SHL though.
 
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mattihp said:
I know. Did not wuggest otherwise. In the best of worlds, Suomela gets up to speed. I still can't understand his stat line in the SHL though.
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I think that he will be all right if he gets to play with same line mates for a while. Maybe we'll see the SHL Suomela then. I think he has been all right so far in the practice games.
 
Mestaruus said:
I think that he will be all right if he gets to play with same line mates for a while. Maybe we'll see the SHL Suomela then. I think he has been all right so far in the practice games.
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Maybe. I miss the days when you could clearly see who had offensive skill. Almost 40yo Helminen was slow as molasses but as soon as he touched that puck you just knew. Many of these guys are smart and subtle instead of highly skilled.
 
These first games are really tough, but we saw flashes what Rantanen and Kakko can do, at this level they are able to dominate as they wish. I'm positive that they will step up big time when qualification games start, there are no d-men in this tournament that can stop that.

But. Like people have said, defence is slow and has been bad so far. Also goaltending, big mystery. Jalonen needs to work with that, this defence needs more support from forwards than last year when we had Heiskanen level quarter back.

Everything else than gold = catastrophe. And at this point i wouldn't bet my house on that gold medal.
 
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"First give some siima, and then pull matto alta" - game strategy can work only if the defense works well and rigidly by all 5 cylinders, as the very idea is to reserve energy for later parts of a game when opponent becomes more and more gassed, to be out-skated, out-shot, and out-played plain and clear.

...or then Offence must be highly over-productive to warrant mediocre-to-bad defense.

I fail to see either.
 
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Not great yet but going in the right direction. Great that the first line got some successes. Kapanen was also good. The fourth line hasn't been playing as well as usually yet.
 
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karhukissa said:
These first games are really tough, but we saw flashes what Rantanen and Kakko can do, at this level they are able to dominate as they wish. I'm positive that they will step up big time when qualification games start, there are no d-men in this tournament that can stop that.

But. Like people have said, defence is slow and has been bad so far. Also goaltending, big mystery. Jalonen needs to work with that, this defence needs more support from forwards than last year when we had Heiskanen level quarter back.

Everything else than gold = catastrophe. And at this point i wouldn't bet my house on that gold medal.
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Yes, I would also bring my wife's house as a bet to be on the safe side. 😂
 
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