I didn't actually have Sallinen in any of my projections, but that was because I expected Peltola and Lajunen would be on the squad. In general, though, all this time I was of the mind that at least three of Peltola/Sallinen/Lajunen/Anttila would make the cut, because coaches generally do like having more than one option for these roles - even when said options are largely interchangeable.
And one last thing. Even if Sallinen did have something ailing him, and Lajunen and Peltola both declined, Marjamäki could still have picked Enlund. Our coach was clearly grooming him for a two-way role, given how he was a staple to the fourth line throughout the last weekend, and performed in the role quite adequately IMO. No, he didn't do this simply because all his grinder familiars declined and he figured, "sod it, let's go all in then" - oh no. This was clearly a conscious chose, not one forced by circumstance.
Heh, all this reminds me of a statement from last year, when we were doing our usual post-mortem...
...because this allows more space for additional grinder wingers.
Lesson learnt, indeed.
