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W/C Mikko Rantanen (2015, 10th, COL) II

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topched88 said:
What do you read into this? I was under the impression that the only reason he wasnt getting good minutes in the NHL toward the end of this season was management, yet the FIN coach feels he is best suited for the 4th line. I am legitimately curious as I ended up picking him up in my hockey pool
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I think it speaks more to the quality of forwards that his team has in this tournament, this is their A team up front and that shouldn't take away anything from Rantanen being set on the 4th line.
 
topched88 said:
What do you read into this? I was under the impression that the only reason he wasnt getting good minutes in the NHL toward the end of this season was management, yet the FIN coach feels he is best suited for the 4th line. I am legitimately curious as I ended up picking him up in my hockey pool
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Look at lots of the roster decions Jalonen has made, many are questionable. Not saying he's a bad coach, he just does some things that make you go "huh?."
 
topched88 said:
What do you read into this? I was under the impression that the only reason he wasnt getting good minutes in the NHL toward the end of this season was management, yet the FIN coach feels he is best suited for the 4th line. I am legitimately curious as I ended up picking him up in my hockey pool
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He's been one of the best forwards out there when he's played. Was mentioned as the best forward inside the team after the Slovakia game and did great today too. Strong on the puck and minimum mistakes. 4th line isn't for him but he's done his job there. First 2 Finnish lines are NHL players and third line is just vet guys the coach trusts, so nothing to worry about his plays inside the game.
 
topched88 said:
What do you read into this? I was under the impression that the only reason he wasnt getting good minutes in the NHL toward the end of this season was management, yet the FIN coach feels he is best suited for the 4th line. I am legitimately curious as I ended up picking him up in my hockey pool
Click to expand...

Jalonen has made some damm weird decisions in this tourney, it was crazy that he refused to play him so long.

I'm loving Rants game but he just has to deal with this the best he can.
 
Jayevs said:
Look at lots of the roster decions Jalonen has made, many are questionable. Not saying he's a bad coach, he just does some things that make you go "huh?."
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Also this Finland's unbeaten record makes you go, "huh"?

K.Jalonen has got a lot of critics but, man, we are winning every freaking game with a huge margin.

Rantanen and Pihlström are great energy duo on the 4th line. Lightning fast guys, who'll transition the game from the D-zone to O-zone.

I really really like Rantanen. He looks phenomenally better now than at WJC. Big steps ahead.
 
Henkka said:
Also this Finland's unbeaten record makes you go, "huh"?

K.Jalonen has got a lot of critics but, man, we are winning every freaking game with a huge margin.

Rantanen and Pihlström are great energy duo on the 4th line. Lightning fast guys, who'll transition the game from the D-zone to O-zone.
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I'm honestly not sure how we are winning. The first shot of each period went into the net. Finland was struggling hard in the first and in the second period we have our first shot on like the 8th minute that happens to go in.

Lindell still plays the most and every time he gets the puck he donates it to the opposition. Me and my dad started taking note and saying "Look Lindell has the puck" every time he got it and I'd say that like 75% of the time it was given away by him. A normal coach would have Lindell a healthy scratch by now, etc.

But well, Finland's winning... Let's try to believe that it's skill and due to a good coaching system although seriously, I doubt you can depend on our team being asleep for the first 5 min of every match and the first shot of 2 periods going in.

I'd like to see Rantanen on a scoring line with Aho on the third but I guess his speed functions in a 4th as well.
 
topched88 said:
What do you read into this? I was under the impression that the only reason he wasnt getting good minutes in the NHL toward the end of this season was management, yet the FIN coach feels he is best suited for the 4th line. I am legitimately curious as I ended up picking him up in my hockey pool
Click to expand...

Yes Rantanen had certainly earned a good look in the NHL but they didn't want to burn his ELC. So it is what it is there.

I didn't think Finland should have kept Rantanen around to either not play him or barely use him but to me IMO it was almost like the coach knew the right buttons to push because anytime Mikko is challenged he can raise his game, he's that type of person. He looks incredibly fired up to me and it's at the exact right time. I was wondering why the coach seemed so reluctant to use him but that's not his tone right now at all. That's my read on it anyway.
 
topched88 said:
What do you read into this? I was under the impression that the only reason he wasnt getting good minutes in the NHL toward the end of this season was management, yet the FIN coach feels he is best suited for the 4th line. I am legitimately curious as I ended up picking him up in my hockey pool
Click to expand...

He has looked pretty solid. I think he would fit in nicely somewhere in the top6 but it seems the Finnish top9 has clicked after moving Komarov with the Minny duo. Also with Rantanen on the 4th line it has become even more of a threat, they're now 3-0 or so in the tournament. On a leaner year that 4th line would be our 2nd line as is, this is actually one of the strongest Finnish teams ever on ice.
 
Rants had a key assist in yesterday's game. Using his hockey sense to create that goal. He looked fine to me. Good to see him play again. Really like his game.
 
topched88 said:
What do you read into this? I was under the impression that the only reason he wasnt getting good minutes in the NHL toward the end of this season was management, yet the FIN coach feels he is best suited for the 4th line. I am legitimately curious as I ended up picking him up in my hockey pool
Click to expand...

He was benched for a while but when they let him play he has been amazing. The fourth line is not a defensive shutout line, they seem to play offense just like the other lines. He replaced Pulkkinen and is playing a similar role but much better. I think he would be a better fit than Jokinen in the first line, but can't complain about coaching after the results the team has been getting.
 
The reason for Rantanen 4th line duty is also his ability to play that role compared some other guys higher up the roster. Komarov has definitely earned his place in the 2nd line and the third line is working great with Pyörälä in it. Any other wingers from the higher lines would be wasted in the 4th line so quite frankly that's the best place for him in this team. That's not to say he couldn't play in the top lines either and with a weaker forward group, he'd most likely be in the top nine.
 
Esko6 said:
The fourth line is not a defensive shutout line, they seem to play offense just like the other lines.
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That's correct. The 3rd line plays like a scoring shutdown line, and the 4th line plays like a scoring almost-shutdown line. There's no purely defensive line since all of the forward lines have good offensive ability on top of their defensive awareness.
 
I trade Boedker, 2nd pick 2017 and 3rd pick 2016 for Mikko Rantanen and 4th pick 2016 in my fantasy league.

I really like my deal, my favorite prospect in 2015 draft... Colorado are lucky to get him 10th...
 
Rantanen is barkov-esque near the boards and actually more explosive skater. He is still the one prospect for Finland that is under the radar. Should be a lock for World Cup basically, with 3rd line role.
 
FinProspects said:
Rantanen is barkov-esque near the boards and actually more explosive skater. He is still the one prospect for Finland that is under the radar. Should be a lock for World Cup basically, with 3rd line role.
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Agreed, Rantanen should have played the entire tournament and has been a joy to watch even with the limited minutes. He has the size, skating and the skill. The coaching staff obviously were cautious taking in too many youngsters, but Rantanen has certainly earned his spot. Needs to be in the WC team no questions asked. He's going to be a very special player going forward.
 
I hope he finds evil and mean side of himself to crash the net.
I think he has the speed and frame to go through the defensemen.

He has looked better now than in U20 tornament. Points or not.
 
BusQuets said:
This guy looks absolutely huge there. Looks bigger than Barkov.
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I've seen him quite a bit and I agree he definitely looks large out there.

I don't know where this U20 thing is coming from. He had a slow start because he went there immediately from playing in the AHL (Avs wouldn't let him go until the AHL holiday break) but then once the elimination games began he played very well. Everyone would remember Rantanen scoring the gold medal winning goal if they could hold a lead for two minutes. He still was named best player that game. And yeah he had an injured wrist too.
 
tigervixxxen said:
I've seen him quite a bit and I agree he definitely looks large out there.

I don't know where this U20 thing is coming from. He had a slow start because he went there immediately from playing in the AHL (Avs wouldn't let him go until the AHL holiday break) but then once the elimination games began he played very well. Everyone would remember Rantanen scoring the gold medal winning goal if they could hold a lead for two minutes. He still was named best player that game. And yeah he had an injured wrist too.
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On my own "eye-test advanced stats" Rantanen was probably the best player in semifinal + final game together. Semi-final was total off-game from Laine-Aho-Puljujärvi, but others carried Finland to final. At final game, all TOP3 lines were almost equally good.
 
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