WC: Finland 2024 roster talk

[FinPanda]

Wow, entire team shat their pants.... drop the soft perimeter players out and put the work boots back on.

Jääskä - Granlund - Hyry
Oksanen - Kapanen - Puljujärvi
Puistola - Helenius - Jormakka
Mäenalanen - Björninen - Pakarinen

PP1
Oksanen(net front)
Puljujärvi(wall) Kapanen(slot) Granlund(wall)
Lehtonen(point)

PP2
Hyry(net front)
Helenius(wall) Jormakka(slot) Puistola(wall)
Kaski(point)

Puustinen has still done absolutely nothing. With Helenius we would get little more offensive talent.

So I like this lineup.

 

[Mestaruus]

Puistola is for me still not a player with enough fire for a Finnish mens team in a WC. He's a decent player for the euro leagues with his skill. But not intensity, fire etc. And his skill level isn't anything worth mention at this level question its frankly.
Many bash Jormakka and his talent level. I haven't followed him good enough but Puistola should get some more heat too.

Puistola had his chance. I rather see Jormakka as well now. Also Helenius should be inserted back in but as a winger. I doubt that Jalonen will put him to wing position though.

At this point we most likely need wins from both Canada & SUI to avoid Sweden, so it's not looking that great. If we don't get any points from one of those top countries, it most likely means SWE-FIN QF.

 

[FinPanda]

Puistola had his chance. I rather see Jormakka as well now. Also Helenius should be inserted back in but as a winger. I doubt that Jalonen will put him to wing position though.

At this point we most likely need wins from both Canada & SUI to avoid Sweden, so it's not looking that great. If we don't get any points from one of those top countries, it most likely means SWE-FIN QF.

We better get at least 1 point from either CAN/SUI or we may not even make the quarterfinal. One point will maybe be enough.

 

[Jukurit]

Weird how ordinary Granlund looks. Hard to believe he led his NHL team in scoring.

 

[Mestaruus]

We better get at least 1 point from either CAN/SUI or we may not even make the quarterfinal. One point will maybe be enough.

My feeling is that we'll find a way to the quarterfinals but we'll go home against Sweden. That was the only thing to avoid, sigh...

Pakarinen - Granlund - Innala
Puljujärvi - Kapanen - Helenius
Oksanen - Hyry - Puustinen
Mäenalanen - Björninen - Jääskä

Puistola, Jormakka

Actually looking at it a bit, maybe I'd go with this and if things don't get better, insert Jormakka back in.

Since Kapanen can score goals, though so far vs weak countries only, but perhaps against the better ones as well, Helenius can feed him from the wing. It feels like Puljujärvi is the more important piece for Kapanen than Oksanen, so I'd keep those two together. I was tempted to move Pulju with Granny, but I'll keep Pulju with Kapanen for now.

I wouldn't give up on Innala yet, we need his scoring. Maybe he'll get that ketchup bottle open soon.

I also don't want to give up on Puustinen yet, just put him in a new line.

 

[gritdash60]

I still believe after this shitshow Finland will challenge Canada for the win saturday. Team Canada isn't a team who is going to play trap in the neutral zone or turtle in front of their net in the d-zone. Also they might get bored and do stupid shit when they find out Team Finland wants to hold the puck and stand behind their own goal for half of every period.

 

[FinPanda]

I'm disappointed Kapanen didn't properly block the shot to make sure we got at least that one point. That one point lost might cost a lot for us.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Has Aho arrived yet?

 

[JJTT]

Has Aho arrived yet?

No room for him. Jalonen used all the passes already.

 

[ijuka]

Finland losing to Austria was not surprising at all, predictable, even. The team's been trash, and somehow got an ego off beating Great Britain, where hockey is about as important as wearing sunscreen during a Finnish winter.

I said it then, I'll say it now. I can't stand this underdog hockey garbage. Finland always plays like they're the worse team trying to survive into a tie. Can't wait until we're rid of this "Meidän peli"-garbage that's been ruining Finnish hockey for decades. The whole idea that you somehow can only focus on your own game and ignore what the opponent's doing is pure lunacy, and the only reason it's been working in WC is because Finland is like the only country who cares about what happens in that tournament(and Russia if they're playing). The others consider it a vacation.

It's sorta like when you join some fun party games and completely tryhard there and play to win when everyone else is just trying to have some fun. It's pretty pathetic to an extent.

 

[FiLe]

Today's numbers from Jalonen's lottery machine:

Lehtonen - Vittasmäki
Rissanen - Kaski
Määttä - Mattila
Riikola - Saarijärvi

Innala - Granlund - Pakarinen
Oksanen - Kapanen - Puljujärvi
Jääskä - Hyry - Puustinen
Mäenalanen - Björninen - Jormakka

The first line looks... okay. It's properly roled at least. Pakarinen adds some much-needed muscle. Can also take faceoffs if MiG keeps underperforming at them. Puustinen on 3rd means he isn't that responsible for scoring anymore, but gets to be more of an energy forward.

It's also interesting to see Jalonen mix up the D pairs a little. It seems the idea is that both Lehtonen and Määttä are getting a bit more liberties, while their partner is instructed to play it safe.


PP units:

1: Granlund - Pakarinen - Innala - Oksanen - Lehtonen

2: Kapanen - Puljujärvi - Puustinen - Saarijärvi - Kaski

Saarijärvi is an interesting add to the units. After all there is not a rule it needs to be 4 forwards + 1 d-man. This being said, I would have personally placed him on PP1, as the QB on the line, while Lehtonen becomes the guy who's on the opposite wall, slapping one-timers from MiG's passes. Innala has been frustratingly inept at that.

 

[Sanf]

Today's numbers from Jalonen's lottery machine:

Lehtonen - Vittasmäki
Rissanen - Kaski
Määttä - Mattila
Riikola - Saarijärvi

Innala - Granlund - Pakarinen
Oksanen - Kapanen - Puljujärvi
Jääskä - Hyry - Puustinen
Mäenalanen - Björninen - Jormakka

The first line looks... okay. It's properly roled at least. Pakarinen adds some much-needed muscle. Can also take faceoffs if MiG keeps underperforming at them. Puustinen on 3rd means he isn't that responsible for scoring anymore, but gets to be more of an energy forward.

It's also interesting to see Jalonen mix up the D pairs a little. It seems the idea is that both Lehtonen and Määttä are getting a bit more liberties, while their partner is instructed to play it safe.


PP units:

1: Granlund - Pakarinen - Innala - Oksanen - Lehtonen

2: Kapanen - Puljujärvi - Puustinen - Saarijärvi - Kaski

Saarijärvi is an interesting add to the units. After all there is not a rule it needs to be 4 forwards + 1 d-man. This being said, I would have personally placed him on PP1, as the QB on the line, while Lehtonen becomes the guy who's on the opposite wall, slapping one-timers from MiG's passes. Innala has been frustratingly inept at that.

Yeah I was already hoping Pakarinen for the first line in last game. It felt that it has need for that kind of bigger working class guy who has touch of offense in him too. Hope that Innala can produce.


Offense has been question in many last tournaments. But still we have had some of those "euro stars" like Manninen, Hartikainen... Now we have one teen, one NHL depth player, one Liiga breakthrouh player and 30 point scorer from Swedish league.

I´m not mocking them. All of them had good season and more or less deserve to be here. But these are worrying parts to build first line with Granlund to a hockey worldchampionships. I think we may have hit the limit.

 

[illone84]

I never thought I'd cheer on the Czechs to beat Austria but considering the ramifications of an Austria win, I will enjoy a beer or two watching tonight's game.

 

[Mestaruus]

I did get the first line right. Good changes by Jalonen. He didn't want to change the Kapanen line and that's not a bad decision either. I wanted to see Helenius there replacing Oksanen and feeding Kapanen even more from the wing.

I never thought I'd cheer on the Czechs to beat Austria but considering the ramifications of an Austria win, I will enjoy a beer or two watching tonight's game.

Yeah I guess we'll have to cheer for the Czechs in that one. The Czechs are well rested and Austria isn't. Should be clear that the Czechs take Austria seriously after all the things Austria has done in this tournament, so everything is pointing towards a Czech victory, but with Austria nothing surprises me anymore. The Czechs are leading now, but if it goes to OT or somethig, it's wouldn't be that surprising.

 

[FinPanda]

Watching the Czechs score goals on powerplay makes me so sad when we watched our team yesterday and we literally didn't score a powerplay goal. I feel like our terrible powerplay will cost so much for us. Swiss PP is terrifying and Canada is Canada..

 

[Mestaruus]

Watching the Czechs score goals on powerplay makes me so sad when we watched our team yesterday and we literally didn't score a powerplay goal. I feel like our terrible powerplay will cost so much for us. Swiss PP is terrifying and Canada is Canada..

He should just form a PP unit out of these pieces, in other words put currently the most offensive potential players together:

Kapanen + Granny + Helenius + Lehtonen (or Kaski) + <insert mask man(=Pakarinen)>

For PP2, just put what's left.

 

[Mestaruus]

IIHF power rankings had some funny ones:

 

[WayTooCold]

The Eastern part of Sweden has almost no NHLers and thus are on the bring of div B.
It was a costly gamble to take a bunch of nobodies and neverheards. Better luck next time.

 

[Jersey Fan 12]

Finland losing to Austria was not surprising at all, predictable, even. The team's been trash, and somehow got an ego off beating Great Britain, where hockey is about as important as wearing sunscreen during a Finnish winter.

I said it then, I'll say it now. I can't stand this underdog hockey garbage. Finland always plays like they're the worse team trying to survive into a tie. Can't wait until we're rid of this "Meidän peli"-garbage that's been ruining Finnish hockey for decades. The whole idea that you somehow can only focus on your own game and ignore what the opponent's doing is pure lunacy, and the only reason it's been working in WC is because Finland is like the only country who cares about what happens in that tournament(and Russia if they're playing). The others consider it a vacation.

It's sorta like when you join some fun party games and completely tryhard there and play to win when everyone else is just trying to have some fun. It's pretty pathetic to an extent.

Sunscreen is important. The sun off the snow can be as bad as the sun off the ocean on a beach day.

 

[FinPanda]

Relax enjoy the games

 

[WeAre]

Sunscreen is important. The sun off the snow can be as bad as the sun off the ocean on a beach day.

What sun? We won more championships than there is sunny days in Finland at winter time

 

[24 others]

because Finland is like the only country who cares about what happens in that tournament(and Russia if they're playing). The others consider it a vacation.

You're not alone. In the Czech Republic, marriages break down and friendships end in murder over what happens in the tournament.

 

[Svedu]

delete

 

[Svedu]

Kuokkanen, Turkulainen, Somppi, Kupari, Robin Salo, Topi Niemelä, Räty brothers, Nyman, Huuhtanen, Koivunen, Saarela, Lammikko, Heponiemi, Veeti Miettinen etc? Feel like a couple of these players could've been a bit more exciting than others in this roster?

Weren't players of this calibre interesting for this years roster when the overall level seems very low?

 

[king89]

This is kind of what I expected. After all it's a pretty meh team with a few interesting pieces like Helenius, Kapanen and Saarijärvi but yeah overall very meh. This team doesn't have the heart and sisu like the miracle team from 2019 either so I didn't expect us to pull off some sort of miracle.