Guys like Salomaki and Auvinen had been rising entering the tourney, but a few other Fins had better tournaments than they did.
As far as Salomäki goes, he was named as one of the top-3 players in his team by the coaches, so I guess he fulfilled his role. He’s not a high scoring forward and I’m sure that didn’t come as a surprise for NHL scouts who have actually followed him during the season. I’ve seen him as a high 2nd rounder on some lists, but to me that’s just a sign of not being educated on the matter.
Auvinen hasn’t been anything more than a footnote going to this year’s draft. A very average prospect and just one of those guys who might or might not get drafted in the later rounds, I don’t think anyone expected him to be one of the top guys for Finland.
All in all some are making a too big of a deal of this tournament, it’s a small sample size - a short tournament played in a European rink with varying level of competitors. NHL teams have scouted these players for a long time, so not much comes as a surprise to them. For example Kucherov has been a star in MHL for two years and already played in the KHL, so it’s not like he came from nowhere.