Team Finland WC 2023

[Kibe]

I'll say it again, schedule is bad for us. This team is not ready for Sweden. Would need a prep game vs Hungary in between atleast.

 

[The Cannon of Tesoma]

I'll say it again, schedule is bad for us. This team is not ready for Sweden. Would need a prep game vs Hungary in between atleast.

How Hungary before Sweden would help Team Finland anyway, as three options are:

1. Team Hungary gives relative ass-spanking for Finland by losing 4-5, in which case the preparation against Team Sweden would be FAILURE

2. Team Hungary somehow manages to beat Team Finland X-(Y=<X), in which case the preparation against Team Sweden would be FAILURE

3. Team Finland squarely beat Team Hungary something like 10-2, or 8-0, in which case it would be pure ill-deed for Team Finland in their preparation for the game against Team Sweden, as it would instill to them a sense of false potency and complacency, thus being FAILURE

I would prefer scenario 1, but it isn't possible. Hopefully Team Sweden manhandle us with scenario 3. Then there would maybe remain a slim hope and chance for the rest of the tournament.

 

[illone84]

I'll say it again, schedule is bad for us. This team is not ready for Sweden. Would need a prep game vs Hungary in between atleast.

Not worried about Sweden. Even if we lose its probably a good thing as well go back to the perennial underdog status.

 

[The Cannon of Tesoma]

Sorry guys, take easy with me. It happens to be so that the gut feeling before the tournament was such that only @Ippenator can beat me in my pessimism. So far there are not much to celebrate.

Naturally, I understand very well how Jalonen's magic works as the intra-tournament process of summoning the spirit to the team. His skills are unsurpassed in this respect, and nobody can deny his CV either.

However, for this particular roster time is becoming critical resource. Frances and Hungaries won't help much against Denmarks and Austrias, and if they find themselves in game 7 after all, it won't be easy task.

Esteemed Captain is like a static pole on a 2D board pivoting 3D pawns around; no need to think 4D. Mismatch Euro-vets and NHL-"elites" will figure out how to play with each others whole tournament and oncoming matches can maybe allow them to do that, but those tactics will find a lot less space and time when they will be actually needed. Guys should really start to play for what is on the front of their jerseys, not what maybe attached to a glorious past of numbers on their backs.

And The Arch-Magus Jalonen should say: "PERKELE!" in a locker room, preferably pre-emptively. His plan, his project, his dynastic effort...

 

[Kibe]

How Hungary before Sweden would help Team Finland anyway, as three options are:

1. Team Hungary gives relative ass-spanking for Finland by losing 4-5, in which case the preparation against Team Sweden would be FAILURE

2. Team Hungary somehow manages to beat Team Finland X-(Y=<X), in which case the preparation against Team Sweden would be FAILURE

3. Team Finland squarely beat Team Hungary something like 10-2, or 8-0, in which case it would be pure ill-deed for Team Finland in their preparation for the game against Team Sweden, as it would instill to them a sense of false potency and complacency, thus being FAILURE

I would prefer scenario 1, but it isn't possible. Hopefully Team Sweden manhandle us with scenario 3. Then there would maybe remain a slim hope and chance for the rest of the tournament.

I don't know man. Just seems like a team that takes few games to get going, would rather have atleast some of those against weaker opponents.

 

[Svedu]

Trolling? I looked at the USA line-up and it has two players who did anything with the puck in the NHL: Garland and Tuch. Bonino played in the bottom lines and the rest are 4th line NHL players, AHL:ers or college players.

Germany has three NHL players and the rest are DEL. The only teams that compete with Finland on paper are Canada and Sweden. Losing against anyone else is unfortunately a big failure and when Russia isn't around either, the level is much lower than for example in 2019 when Finland won.

Please just stop. First of all, it's a team game and you've probably witnessed Finland horrendous defense so far. We barely won against Germany with Seider and Peterka as their big and good stars.
The us then?

Gauthier, will most likely have a good career and would probably be a NHL regular if it wasn't for him choosing to play NCAA.
Also, he would most likely be good enough for the Finnish roster as well. Don't kid yourself.
Sean Farrell has been dominant in the NCAA and also been successful in the olympics.
Carter Mazur will probably end up as a NHL'er soon as well.
Grimaldi, from the AHL perhaps but one of the best players from that league if not the best and he's probably hungry to show something because it's obvious he's 2 PPG so far.

My point? There is no value in stating they "Only" have some NCAA players etc. That doesn't say anything about their real potential or future careers because they are pretty young, but still they've already managed to show quite the potential.

Also, Tuch has been great so far and he had quite the season in the NHL as well. And don't forget Garland with a great start in this tourney.
Add all these things with a working system and chemistry? And you for sure have a medal contender.

 

[Razamanaz]

Finland will steamroll in the end of this home tournament not just now; so just relaxa (as it would be in Finnish!).

Ain't no fun waiting round to be a millionaire - after just two games played, that is. Remember.

Hey; the Finland train has just left the station and start rollin'. Even if it was a rather rough uphill start - the rest may be boogie woogie and good as gold.

 

[stonec]

Please just stop. First of all, it's a team game and you've probably witnessed Finland horrendous defense so far. We barely won against Germany with Seider and Peterka as their big and good stars.
The us then?

Gauthier, will most likely have a good career and would probably be a NHL regular if it wasn't for him choosing to play NCAA.
Also, he would most likely be good enough for the Finnish roster as well. Don't kid yourself.
Sean Farrell has been dominant in the NCAA and also been successful in the olympics.
Carter Mazur will probably end up as a NHL'er soon as well.
Grimaldi, from the AHL perhaps but one of the best players from that league if not the best and he's probably hungry to show something because it's obvious he's 2 PPG so far.

My point? There is no value in stating they "Only" have some NCAA players etc. That doesn't say anything about their real potential or future careers because they are pretty young, but still they've already managed to show quite the potential.

Also, Tuch has been great so far and he had quite the season in the NHL as well. And don't forget Garland with a great start in this tourney.
Add all these things with a working system and chemistry? And you for sure have a medal contender.

I'm not looking down on any of the top 5-6 teams in the tournament. They can all win just like Finland did in 2019 with 18 rookies. Many of the 2019 team Finland players later on became solid NHL players like Luostarinen.

We can still look at numbers and line-ups alone and conclude they are weak in this tournament, across all teams. Finland has more NHL players than in any other tournament under Jukka Jalonen except last year I think we had the same number. We have five or six depending on if you count Manninen and the best individual NHL player of the tournament in Rantanen. USA just doesn't compare to this player for player.

 

[jj cale]

Sorry guys, take easy with me. It happens to be so that the gut feeling before the tournament was such that only @Ippenator can beat me in my pessimism. So far there are not much to celebrate.

Naturally, I understand very well how Jalonen's magic works as the intra-tournament process of summoning the spirit to the team. His skills are unsurpassed in this respect, and nobody can deny his CV either.

However, for this particular roster time is becoming critical resource. Frances and Hungaries won't help much against Denmarks and Austrias, and if they find themselves in game 7 after all, it won't be easy task.

Esteemed Captain is like a static pole on a 2D board pivoting 3D pawns around; no need to think 4D. Mismatch Euro-vets and NHL-"elites" will figure out how to play with each others whole tournament and oncoming matches can maybe allow them to do that, but those tactics will find a lot less space and time when they will be actually needed. Guys should really start to play for what is on the front of their jerseys, not what maybe attached to a glorious past of numbers on their backs.

And The Arch-Magus Jalonen should say: "PERKELE!" in a locker room, preferably pre-emptively. His plan, his project, his dynastic effort...

This is what wins tournaments

 

[Svedu]

Sweden with great goalies, underrated little brother Nylander, skilled Raymond and upcoming star in Leo Carlsson? I'm pretty sure this Swedish team without that big of a pressure can and will beat Finland.
Clearly I hope I'm wrong about this.

 

[mattihp]

I hope Rantanen gets on the scoresheet big time. He looks very impressive on the ice, but doesn't really get the results.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Sweden with great goalies, underrated little brother Nylander, skilled Raymond and upcoming star in Leo Carlsson? I'm pretty sure this Swedish team without that big of a pressure can and will beat Finland.
Clearly I hope I'm wrong about this.

you mean alex nylander, the guy who failed to take roster spot in chicago and now pens? he has been nothing special so far in wc btw

 

[Artorius Horus T]

There is still 1 spot available.. maybe Laine could still join...

I mean, its been a little while since the roster was released
maybe Laine is healed enough now, enough that he could possibly play..

I'll say it again, schedule is bad for us. This team is not ready for Sweden. Would need a prep game vs Hungary in between atleast.

Honestly, i have not been impressed of Sweden so far, we looked way better versus Germany what versus USA.
I don't think we have that much of trouble vs Sweden what people think.

 

[FiLe]

The lineup - rather expectedly - remains unchanged from the last game, save for Larmi in net. Suomela is still out.

And if he remains out and we get a choice of players from Dallas after the game tonight, Hintz would be my priority. Yes, the defense could be improved too, but if there's one thing this team can do in true Jalonen style once it gets ahead is protect the lead in those waning minutes - the last game proved that. So, here's hoping we add something that helps us get ahead. Tolvanen will help with that too, if Seattle falters - we have good wingers already, but he'd still be an upgrade.

 

[illone84]

There is still 1 spot available.. maybe Laine could still join...

I mean, its been a little while since the roster was released
maybe Laine is healed enough now, enough that he could possibly play..



Honestly, i have not been impressed of Sweden so far, we looked way better versus Germany what versus USA.
I don't think we have that much of trouble vs Sweden what people think.

Sweden looked pretty bad Vs Germany. On the other hand while we got outskated by US, we had loads of high quality chances just couldn't finish. Anyhow, I expect it to be a close game but I predict Finland wins 4-2. Last goal an empty netter.

OT: revenge for the Eurovision loss
and I also see Germany giving US a tough time in the earlier game.

 

[mattihp]

I'm thinking 4-3. Rantanen with four goals.

 

[Mestaruus]

Finland will steamroll in the end of this home tournament not just now; so just relaxa (as it would be in Finnish!).

Ain't no fun waiting round to be a millionaire - after just two games played, that is. Remember.

Hey; the Finland train has just left the station and start rollin'. Even if it was a rather rough uphill start - the rest may be boogie woogie and good as gold.

I agree with Husqvarna, but I don't agree with the song, because we need better songs than that.

 

[karhukissa]

Good game today, this team is playing better game by game which is the sign we need at this point. Sweden played Mourinho and parked the bus in front of their net, we didn't have enough today to break it. It was great tactic from them.

I'm positive that this team is ready to win those qualification games.

 

[mattihp]

Maybe time to give up on more reinforcement and give Merelä.a whirl instead of Kapanen. Kapanen on that third line is a waste as his IQ is too ehm. Specific to be useful on a line that is not just about scoring.

 

[The Cannon of Tesoma]

Now we have lost 1 game to better offensive team, and 1 game to better defensive team (that can shoot better, nevertheless). And that 1 won game was just lucky strike.

Series of unexpectedly tight low scoring games oncoming against teams weaker on paper.

For this team it looks that going to best 4 would be an achievement.

 

[karhukissa]

Now we have lost 1 game to better offensive team, and 1 game to better defensive team (that can shoot better, nevertheless). And that 1 won game was just lucky strike.

Series of unexpectedly tight low scoring games oncoming against teams weaker on paper.

For this team it looks that going to best 4 would be an achievement.

Few points:
1. Look at how Finland started this game, they came with huge aggression and Swedish d was in a carousel, they couldn't even open game properly. Very good sign at this point, remember that Sweden is a very good team.

2. Finland beat Swedish trap very easily, Finnish team is very heavy and big but they were able to skate to Swedish d-zone with ease. Another good sign.

3. Finnish slow d-core was good today, no issues.

4. Only thing what was lacking is scoring. Hockey is a momentum game, they had chances even though that Swedish defence in front of the net was great. Small margins.

 

[FiLe]

The team is improving, but at the same time the lack of scoring is a bit concerning. We should expect more from our top dogs.

Last year we had a functional 1st line, because MiG is a rich man's MaG. This year the line is slightly dysfunctional - because Rantanen is a rich man's Hartikainen. In other words, as players they occupy too similar a niche, and it hurts the line.

Will Jalonen do anything about it? No, he won't, because the line isn't completely dysfunctional, and the next few games will likely do nothing to expose the issue further. Some coaches might consider fine-tuning things with some lineup management, but I predict Jalonen's going to try and brute force it into a functional line by giving them more time.

But this is, like I said, a fine-tuning issue. The big picture is far from disastrous. This team may yet find the ways to win even if Jalonen is unwilling to work out this particular kink. After all, we did see progress tonight.

A more glaring issue is the lack of a 2C. Sallinen is not a total disaster, but he leaves a lot to be desired in the role. At the very minimum, we need Suomela back in the lineup. And if he's out of the tournament (and - of course - if we don't land Hintz), then Jalonen should seriously consider moving Rantanen down the middle and build a line around him - as he's not a necessary piece to complement the ex-Ufa duo.

 

[illone84]

Few points:
1. Look at how Finland started this game, they came with huge aggression and Swedish d was in a carousel, they couldn't even open game properly. Very good sign at this point, remember that Sweden is a very good team.

2. Finland beat Swedish trap very easily, Finnish team is very heavy and big but they were able to skate to Swedish d-zone with ease. Another good sign.

3. Finnish slow d-core was good today, no issues.

4. Only thing what was lacking is scoring. Hockey is a momentum game, they had chances even though that Swedish defence in front of the net was great. Small margins.

Hopefully one of heiskanen/hintz/tolvanen will be added after the Dallas/Seattle series concludes tonight.

 

[illone84]

Few points:
1. Look at how Finland started this game, they came with huge aggression and Swedish d was in a carousel, they couldn't even open game properly. Very good sign at this point, remember that Sweden is a very good team.

2. Finland beat Swedish trap very easily, Finnish team is very heavy and big but they were able to skate to Swedish d-zone with ease. Another good sign.

3. Finnish slow d-core was good today, no issues.

4. Only thing what was lacking is scoring. Hockey is a momentum game, they had chances even though that Swedish defence in front of the net was great. Small margins.

Loads of good opportunities to score just a step off. Some claim playing these weak teams last before the qf will set us up for failure but I argue the contrary. Perfect opportunity for Kakko, Kapanen and Rantsu to shake the monkey of their back. We will be ready for the qf. I'm 'confident.

 

[Svedu]

you mean alex nylander, the guy who failed to take roster spot in chicago and now pens? he has been nothing special so far in wc btw

I mean... I was right? Expected a tight game with a Swedish win. You have two great goalies...

Larmi is good but he's overly aggressive at times, at least for my taste. When he's that aggressive he will be easy to beat in eventual rebounds.
I have gotten the impression that Johansson and especially Wallstedt are a bit more composed.