WC: 2016 Team Finland

[jalperi]

Iiro Pakarinen wants also play on WC thought he is contractless:
http://www.suomikiekko.com/2016/03/...a-nhl-hyokkaajalla-haluan-ehdottomasti-menna/ (Finnish)

 

[Nixa]

Rasmus Ristolainen from Buffalo is ready to play

http://www.mtv.fi/sport/jaakiekko/n...ni-peliaikakuningas-en-ole-yllattynyt/5809288

 

[Ihmeilja]

I can tell, Lindgren is most likely out of worlds. Lindgren played the two games against Sweden and Jalonen decided, he had seen enough after five periods and benched him.
And seriously I dont believe, Laine could make it. He didn't look very good against Sweden.

 

[FiLe]

And seriously I dont believe, Laine could make it. He didn't look very good against Sweden.

Have to agree. Of course, if Laine plays the rest of the playoffs lights out, he may have a chance. But it's a long shot - especially since we actually seem to have a wide selection of young scoring wingers available.

Winnipeg is out for sure, and Detroit and Colorado are struggling to make it, looking at 1st round exits at best, meaning we'd have Armia, Pulkkinen and Rantanen all free from their day jobs. And if they all are, I don't see Laine making it - yet - with that kind of selection vying for spots.


What comes to Lindgren, I'd agree if our centre situation didn't still look a bit thin. Sure, it can be booming by the time the games start. For example, a selection of Kontiola, MaG and Koskiranta would be quite adequate - while maybe not ideal - for top-9. But it could also be that we're still scrambling to find the right guys for those slots, giving Lindgren the chance to feature in contention quite a while. I don't really see him being that much behind from names like I.Filppula and Niemi.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

If Minnesota and Boston drops in the first round...

Granlund - Koivu- Haula
Korpikoski - Kemppainen- Pulkkinen
Aho - MaG - Armia
Pakarinen - Kontiola - Komarov

Another option
Granlund - Koivu - Komarov
Korpikoski - Haula - Pulkkinen
Aho - MaG/Kemppainen - Armia
Rantanen - Kontiola - Pakarinen

 

[MMANumminen]

If we don't get better players that's terrible....
MaGranlund, Pakarinen, Armia, Kemppainen, Haula

 

[FiLe]

If we don't get better players that's terrible....
MaGranlund, Pakarinen, Armia, Kemppainen, Haula

Umm... those are all pretty good players. In fact, better than most of the material we've seen over the past few years.

 

[QnebO]

If we don't get better players that's terrible....
MaGranlund, Pakarinen, Armia, Kemppainen, Haula

Those are solid players, specially Haula, Armia and MaGranlund. Haula has been on fire actually lately, he could have some serious development on.

 

[Ihmeilja]

What comes to Lindgren, I'd agree if our centre situation didn't still look a bit thin. Sure, it can be booming by the time the games start. For example, a selection of Kontiola, MaG and Koskiranta would be quite adequate - while maybe not ideal - for top-9. But it could also be that we're still scrambling to find the right guys for those slots, giving Lindgren the chance to feature in contention quite a while. I don't really see him being that much behind from names like I.Filppula and Niemi.

I have nothing against Lindgren, but my point was, it seems he is out of Kari Jalonens plans. Jalonen seems to prefer other guys over him.
Niemi is so slow... his skating is not good enough to play in that level. As a slow skating center Immonen would beat Niemi by a clear margin, if available.
Ilari Filppula would not play in the middle, but on wing.

 

[FiLe]

I have nothing against Lindgren, but my point was, it seems he is out of Kari Jalonens plans. Jalonen seems to prefer other guys over him.
Niemi is so slow... his skating is not good enough to play in that level. As a slow skating center Immonen would beat Niemi by a clear margin, if available.
Ilari Filppula would not play in the middle, but on wing.

My whole point was, the centre situation is far from resolved. It can be good with plenty of established names available - or it can be abysmally bad with Koskiranta being the most notable option and then it's down to the very names like Lindgren, Niemi, Nättinen, I.Filppula and perhaps youngsters like Saarela and Aho.

Of course if we have a good selection of more established names, we don't have to ponder with these 2nd rate options. But since things are still very much up in the air, it's premature to say these names will not be there, or playing in some other position.

 

[Ihmeilja]

or it can be abysmally bad with Koskiranta being the most notable option and then it's down to the very names like Lindgren, Niemi, Nättinen, I.Filppula and perhaps youngsters like Saarela and Aho.

Besides Filppula... Aho would be on wing aswell. If the worst scenario happens, Koskiranta could play in the third line and Tomi Sallinen could be a good option for fourth line.
Jalonen would probably prefer Niemi on the team, if there is no better options available. Joonas Nättinen doesn't belong to that team...

Kontiola said he will be available in worlds. And then there is Olli Jokinen who might be interested after missing the whole season due to injury.

 

[IceHockeyDude]

Getting one of:

Barkov
MiGranlund
Teräväinen

Would make a difference for the team

 

[Loffer]

"What difference can one man make in this mess of a team? Nothing. You just run to a burning house nobody can be saved from..." LOL.

Actually I was to ask (but my thoughts lingered) what difference does it make which Granlund is in this team anyway. Marcus has reached Michael's level, has he? And sorry Enlishms in their names but it comes naturally-

 

[IceHockeyDude]

"What difference can one man make in this mess of a team? Nothing. You just run to a burning house nobody can be saved from..." LOL.

Actually I was to ask (but my thoughts lingered) what difference does it make which Granlund is in this team anyway. Marcus has reached Michael's level, has he? And sorry Enlishms in their names but it comes naturally-

Mikael is top 6 forwards for Minnesota, he has been producing well recently and is trusted defensively. Markus is barely an NHL player. His vision is not close to his older brother's. Mikael would be a huge addition to the roster and he has already won WHC gold.

 

[FiLe]

Besides Filppula... Aho would be on wing aswell. If the worst scenario happens, Koskiranta could play in the third line and Tomi Sallinen could be a good option for fourth line.
Jalonen would probably prefer Niemi on the team, if there is no better options available. Joonas Nättinen doesn't belong to that team...

Kontiola said he will be available in worlds. And then there is Olli Jokinen who might be interested after missing the whole season due to injury.

*sigh* Once again, I'm talking about the worst case scenario. In response, you're stating platitudes about what will happen if there're better options available. Yes, if there are better names available, Lindgren and Nättinen likely won't feature. And yes, if there are better names available, names like Aho and I.Filppula (who's a long shot as he is) would be wingers.

It's a good thing that Kontiola will be available. Of course, he'll probably be out of shape like he was last year, but he's still a better option than any of Lindgren, Nättinen, Niemi and who else. What comes to Da Chief, I thought he didn't miss the season due to injury, but because no one simply wanted to offer him a contract anymore. With no competitive games on his belt whatsoever, I really don't see him being an option here.

---

As a related point, having MaG would also help. He's not as good as MiG, but still better than the names mentioned above.

---

Additionally, having someone from our so-called "elite" class of centres, namely Koivu, MiG, Filppula, Barkov, Lehterä or Teräväinen would be even better. But if not, even 2nd tier guys like Kontiola, MaG or Haula (who might actually be borderline elite tier at this point) would be better than the scrubs that have featured on the EHT ice this year.

...man, I'm going to have to start talking in single syllables next.

 

[jalperi]

Here is list of some players whos season is end, let see how many came outside of list to first camp roster

Kontiola
Jormakka
Elo
Koskiranta
Aaltonen
J.Sallinen
Joensuu
T.Sallinen
Lehtonen
Lindgren
Louhivaara
Koivisto
Saarela
Kärki
Ruohomaa
Paajanen
Malinen


V.Lajunen
Jaakola
Eronen
Hietanen
Kivistö
Jalasvaara
Salmela
Mäenpää
Niskala
Jalvanti

Koskinen
Säteri
Metsola
Rynnäs

 

[Ihmeilja]

Here is list of some players whos season is end, let see how many came outside of list to first camp roster

Kontiola
Jormakka
Elo
Koskiranta
Aaltonen
J.Sallinen
Joensuu
T.Sallinen
Lehtonen
Lindgren
Louhivaara
Salminen
Koivisto
Saarela
Kärki

V.Lajunen
Jaakola
Eronen
Hietanen
Kivistö
Jalasvaara
Salmela
Mäenpää
Niskala

Koskinen
Säteri
Metsola
Rynnäs

Sakari Salminen is not yet available. He is in the same team with Kiiskinen and Leino(Växjö Lakers).
Mikko Lehtonen, who played for Örebro and Djurgården, has not had a very good season and sould be out of World Championship team speculations.

It will be interesting to see, what kind of a team Jalonen is able to get together for the double against Slovakia.
For wing there are obvious choices like Aaltonen, Joensuu and Louhivaara and Jormakka, if he is in full fit. There are also guys like Elo, Palola and Filppula for wings.
But for center there is not many options. Tomi Sallinen is probably the only obvious choice.

 

[jalperi]

Mikko Lehtonen, who played for Örebro and Djurgården, has not had a very good season and sould be out of World Championship team speculations.

For wing there are obvious choices like Aaltonen, Joensuu and Louhivaara and Jormakka, if he is in full fit. There are also guys like Elo, Palola and Filppula for wings.

Its only list of some available players for exhibition games, Lehtonen is definately out of World Champion speculations. And Filppula is center so why he not could play as a center againts Slovakia if he got invited to first group. Oh yes and he is on Sweden of course now, and play some relegation game(s) yet so on this moment he is not available. And i dont see any problem to get centers against Slovakia from that list, Koskiranta, Saarela, J.Sallinen and Lindgren are available also and Kontiola if he is on fit.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

First camp roster,emphasis the word first. (its mostly a pretty strange roster)

G: Kilpeäinen (Kalpa,Liiga),Metsola (Amur H,KHL)

D: Lehtonen (KooKoo,Liiga),Kivistö (Avtomobilist Y,KHL),Jalvanti (Örebro HK,SHL)
Virtanen (Lukko,Liiga),Lyytinen (Kalpa,Liiga),Ahonen (Lukko,Liiga),
Salmela (Brynäs IK),Ohtamaa (Jokerit,KHL)

F: Paajanen (HPK,Liiga),Saarela (Ässät,Liiga),Mustonen (Örebro HK,SHL),
JTyrväinen (Pelicans,Liiga),ATyrväinen (Färjestad BK,SHL),Koivisto (Lukko,Liiga),
Wärn (Sochi,KHL),Erkinjuntti (Pelicans,Liiga),TSallinen (Djurgårdens IF,SHL),
JSallinen (Jokerit,KHL),Elo (Avtomobilist Y,KHL),Malinen (KooKoo,Liiga)

 

[Finnswiss]

First camp roster,emphasis the word first. (its mostly a pretty strange roster)

G: Kilpeäinen (Kalpa,Liiga),Metsola (Amur H,KHL)

D: Lehtonen (KooKoo,Liiga),Kivistö (Avtomobilist Y,KHL),Jalvanti (Örebro HK,SHL)
Virtanen (Lukko,Liiga),Lyytinen (Kalpa,Liiga),Ahonen (Lukko,Liiga),
Salmela (Brynäs IK),Ohtamaa (Jokerit,KHL)

F: Paajanen (HPK,Liiga),Saarela (Ässät,Liiga),Mustonen (Örebro HK,SHL),
JTyrväinen (Pelicans,Liiga),ATyrväinen (Färjestad BK,SHL),Koivisto (Lukko,Liiga),
Wärn (Sochi,KHL),Erkinjuntti (Pelicans,Liiga),TSallinen (Djurgårdens IF,SHL),
JSallinen (Jokerit,KHL),Elo (Avtomobilist Y,KHL),Malinen (KooKoo,Liiga)

It's interesting I've never heard of most of these players. How many of them would play the first time in the NT? Except of Ahonen, Salmela, Saarela, Koivisto I don't remember the other ones having seen in the NT the last years.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

I'd take Aho and Rantanen over those players in a heartbeat. I can only see room for Aho and Kontiola when it comes to non-NHL forwards.

 

[Pestilence]

If playoffs started today, after 1st round Finland would have Lehtera or Teravainen and Vatanen or Donskoi, depending on if they come of course.

 

[FiLe]

It's actually quite typical as far as first camp rosters go. These are always full of players who don't have a snowflake's chance in hell to persist 'til the final team. At least 3/4 of them will be replaced as the weeks roll on.

There are some curiosities regardless. Especially the centre selection bears some further examination. With the inclusion of names like Paajanen and Mustonen, I see implications that Jalonen has not indeed been happy with what he's seen from some of his EHT selections this season. So he's taking this opportunity see what those two plus Saarela can do, rather than bringing in someone like Lindgren for another go. And if they don't do much better, Kontiola and Koskiranta will still probably join at some point. Regardless, it's pretty late in the season to be still experimenting, especially when the winger selection seems far more run-of-the-mill.

Similarly, that 50-50 split between new and old in defense is interesting. It's easy to see Jalonen giving some leeway to Jaakola and Hietanen for example, but to have Salmela (who's likely to make it all the way), Ohtamaa and Kivistö there, but not players of similar stature like Eronen, Lajunen or Mäenpää again implies that some of them may have made their way onto KJ's crap list. Although these are far safer experiments, given that apart from Hietanen and Jaakola, Lepistö and Kukkonen probably remain options, and RR55 looks pretty likely as well. Nice to see Jalonen trying to turn some extra stones anyway.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

It's actually quite typical as far as first camp rosters go. These are always full of players who don't have a snowflake's chance in hell to persist 'til the final team. At least 3/4 of them will be replaced as the weeks roll on.

There are some curiosities regardless. Especially the centre selection bears some further examination. With the inclusion of names like Paajanen and Mustonen, I see implications that Jalonen has not indeed been happy with what he's seen from some of his EHT selections this season. So he's taking this opportunity see what those two plus Saarela can do, rather than bringing in someone like Lindgren for another go. And if they don't do much better, Kontiola and Koskiranta will still probably join at some point. Regardless, it's pretty late in the season to be still experimenting, especially when the winger selection seems far more run-of-the-mill.

Similarly, that 50-50 split between new and old in defense is interesting. It's easy to see Jalonen giving some leeway to Jaakola and Hietanen for example, but to have Salmela (who's likely to make it all the way), Ohtamaa and Kivistö there, but not players of similar stature like Eronen, Lajunen or Mäenpää again implies that some of them may have made their way onto KJ's crap list. Although these are far safer experiments, given that apart from Hietanen and Jaakola, Lepistö and Kukkonen probably remain options, and RR55 looks pretty likely as well. Nice to see Jalonen trying to turn some extra stones anyway.

Personally,i don't think Ristolainen is coming...because of what happened year ago

This year games are gonna be tough for us,much tougher than year ago,
i don't see many NA helpers on the way to the "rescue".

And above all is Jalonen's questionable international team coaching ability.

 

[FiLe]

Personally,i don't think Ristolainen is coming...because of what happened year ago

Except Ristolainen has already said he wants to play. It was also mentioned in this very thread, a few days ago. So wherever your eyes are once again, pull em' up, kiddo.

Also, forward department has many young names likely available and willing to go. Markus Granlund has already said that yes, he wants to play. Armia, Pulkkinen and Rantanen are likely to be available as well, and none of 'em have said "no" either.

But go ahead and keep trusting your gut... because it's pretty much a rule by now: You predict something, the exact opposite will happen.


Wait a moment... you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?