Kiviharju is just something else, it’s like he sees the game in slow motion. He literally never panics. Besides him, Halttunen looks pretty good, gives me slight Laine-vibes. Also liked Nyman today. Fun to watch them cause chaos in the offensive zone with their size and skill.
U18: Team Finland 2022 U18 WJC roster talk
- Thread starter ijuka
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FinPanda
Team Finland 2022 WHC champions
SantosHalper
Get off my lawn
Lauri Merikivi and he's followed by Marko Kauppinen. Next U16 coach is not announced yet.
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Guess we have to win this hard way, eh? Canada has not played well but they have lots of fire power which we don't have. We just have to hope that Canada comes to play with bad attitude. I think Finland has played well, their efford is good and they work hard but this '04 age group ain't very good. Best player in this team is 16-year old defenseman, Kiviharju unbelievable good. Best 16-year old d-man i've ever seen. And our best forward(imo), or at least one best forwards so far is Halttunen an '05 born.
All right thanks for the info about the coach.
Czech dominated Canada with shots. It was like 50-25 and we know that USA beat them 8-3 in embarrassing fashion so Canada is not too scary, but they will surely play their best game against Finland and Finland has to be prepared for that. Finland better be fired up after the loss against Sweden or Finland goes home, but I'll say that Finland wins after a thriller.
The 04 age group indeed isn't great but it also doesn't help that Joakim Kemell's been practically invisible. When considering how he's played the full season in Liiga with quite a strong scoreline he should be a more impactful player than the Swedish top line for example, but that of course was not even close to being the case. Indeed, Halttunen has been the best, outside of him there just have been some flashes here and there.
Most of the time it's the "4th line grinder"-type play style after receiving the pack, just dump it in and try to battle hard for it. Most of the forwards seem to seriously struggle with stringing a couple of passes together. It also doesn't help that the coaching system seems practically nonexistent and the players are just doing whatever.
As for Finland vs Canada, we have to remember Czechia probably is a stronger team than Sweden, who even lost to Latvia and even vs Finland wasn't that amazing considering how mediocre Finland played. USA of course defeated Finland 6-1 before the tournament and I have no doubt it would go at least as poorly if we played USA again. As such, Canada losing to Czechia doesn't exactly make Finland a favorite against Canada. Canada has a very clear talent advantage when it comes to forwards, and Finland has only had one good defensive pairing. Canada's coaching has been terrible but so has Finland's.
I still am happy Finland plays vs Canada, though, because I get to enjoy TSN commentary. Even if it's the last game Finland plays.
Was thinking the same. At least I can watch a TSN stream and the Canadians will see how good Kiviharju is
SantosHalper
Get off my lawn
Kemell clearly is not an line driver, 04 group needs atleast 1 "Aho/Teräväinen" to drive the line and creating chances. 15 goals this year in Liiga, 8 of them were powerplay goals. Last year Kemell had 3 goals, 1 against Germany in a 10-0 win and 2 against Russia in semifinals in 5-6 loss. We have to hope that Kemell can find scoring in crucial time again.
Last year Kemell played with Rasmus Ruusunen and Sami Päivärinta, two grinders and again in U20 tournament he played with Karvinen and Kapanen. How come our coaches can't pair him up with actual playmaker?
SantosHalper
Get off my lawn
And he did, this team needed a leader and Kemell answered the call. HUGE win by our boys, incredible job! Excelent efford, good fight and huge confidence boost to the entire team. A bit underwelming age class, not very highly skilled team but lots of grit and character. Kind like a U18 version of mens 2019 WHC team.
It is pretty noticeable. Kemell tried to do a lot but his plays weren't super effective, he tried fancy things but often couldn't get much done. Of course, when he had an opportunity to shoot he scored, and did score a hat trick - he also had another breakaway so he could have scored 4 goals. But you indeed get the feeling that he needs someone else to be the play driver on his line. He quite clearly has a lot more skill than the other Finnish forwards but something feels incomplete.
I guess that's being overly critical after a hat trick game but yeah. How I saw it.
FinPanda
Team Finland 2022 WHC champions
The fact we made it to semis, I consider that already a win for us. Coaching is bad, goaltending has been terrible and the team lacks top talent. They have a lot of sisu though, which definitely is a good thing. Truly a Finnish team who most of the time doesn't give up.
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This is what scares me. Please, do not allow goals from 50 feet out, Leinonen.
I think that Sweden will be beaten in the rematch but that's as far as they will go. Czech or USA will be too much in the final this time. Time slot also favors the pair from the other match. 4 hours more rest so I think that bronze would be hard to take as well.
SantosHalper
Get off my lawn
Hyvä Me - Hyvä meidän joukkue! Congrats boys, enjoy the medal and enjoy the win. May this be the first of many achievements.
Great tournament by team Finland. Not very highly skilled team and quite underwelming age class but lots of grit and character. Comeback victory against Canada in QF and almost a good comeback against Sweden, and again comeback win in a bronze medal game. U18 version of the men's 2019 WHC tournament.
Even if Finland would have lost the bronze medal game, this tournament would have still been succesful. This team managed to development their through out the tournament, something what the 2019 and 2021 teams could'n do. Two very good 60 minutes against Sweden and Czechs, Marttila has got lot of hate and most of the time it's been justified but now he deserve's credit. Well done Mika, good job! And thank you for your service to the junior national teams.
Great tournament by team Finland. Not very highly skilled team and quite underwelming age class but lots of grit and character. Comeback victory against Canada in QF and almost a good comeback against Sweden, and again comeback win in a bronze medal game. U18 version of the men's 2019 WHC tournament.
Even if Finland would have lost the bronze medal game, this tournament would have still been succesful. This team managed to development their through out the tournament, something what the 2019 and 2021 teams could'n do. Two very good 60 minutes against Sweden and Czechs, Marttila has got lot of hate and most of the time it's been justified but now he deserve's credit. Well done Mika, good job! And thank you for your service to the junior national teams.
FinPanda
Team Finland 2022 WHC champions
JabbaJabba
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