Young Finnish players are here

[chet1926]

I would actually try to build a team based on chemistry rather than "6 best players myst be ToP6". Aho+Teräväinen, Koivu+Granlund are tandems. Barkov would fit very good with A+T as he plays same style as Staal. Barkov is ofc a better player. I have Laine as G+K:s thriggerman. I feel that could be a good match. Maybe theese are points to consider? I feel we play 3 good scoring lines here and the 4th is more of an defending one

Fair enough, I just feel like so many people under-rate Rantanen on these forums.

 

[chet1926]

Mikko and Aho is a toss up.

I can live with that assessment. Both are very good young players.

 

[jonlin]

Fair enough, I just feel like so many people under-rate Rantanen on these forums.

If we go with only best forwards my top5 would be:

Barkov
Laine
Aho
Rantanen
Granlund

 

[Laineux]

19 year old isn't ppg what a scandal

Good news is that no Finnish player ever was better at 19.

But Laine's play has definitely been dissapointing relative to expectations based on his rookie season. Rare are the nights where he appears like a star NHLer.

 

[Jugitsu]

If we go with only best forwards my top5 would be:

Barkov
Laine
Aho
Rantanen
Granlund

I would rate them in a slightly different order, but very much spot on with the top 5 at the moment.

 

[Jugitsu]

I think you have the highest scoring Fin (Rantanen) at the current point in time on the 3rd line, he is a better player than Granlund, Teravainen, Koivu and Aho at very minimum.

Realistically the only Fins that are better than Rantanen are Barkov, and Laine.

Realistically the only Fins that WILL be better than Rantanen are Barkov and Laine, and I necessarily wouldn't bet my life on it.

Rantanen is producing like a madman for sure, but I would definitely not rate him higher than Aho and Granlund at the moment. They might be behind Rantanen scoring wise right now, which could very well change sooner rather than later, but overall both are more influential players than Rantanen to their respective teams at the moment. And yes, I have watched all three play a lot this season, and the previous ones. MacKinnon's line would not die if Rantanen was removed, but taking Aho or Granlund away from their lines would not only kill them (the lines, not the players), but would probably have wider effect on their team's success.

 

[chet1926]

Realistically the only Fins that WILL be better than Rantanen are Barkov and Laine, and I necessarily wouldn't bet my life on it.

Rantanen is producing like a madman for sure, but I would definitely not rate him higher than Aho and Granlund at the moment. They might be behind Rantanen scoring wise right now, which could very well change sooner rather than later, but overall both are more influential players than Rantanen to their respective teams at the moment. And yes, I have watched all three play a lot this season, and the previous ones. MacKinnon's line would not die if Rantanen was removed, but taking Aho or Granlund away from their lines would not only kill them (the lines, not the players), but would probably have wider effect on their team's success.

Just fully disagree with your assessment on Rantanen. His line with MacKinnon and Landeskog would very much regress if he was removed from it. Rantanen is easily the Avs second most important player and very influential to our team and it's success.

I guess my question is what has Aho done that Rantanen has not? They are virtually equal in everything at this point in time. Aho was better last season, but Rantanen also played on the worst team in 20 years. And this year Rantanen has been better. But overall their numbers are very similar.

As for Granlund, he is a very good player but so are Aho and Rantanen and both of these guys are doing things Granlund never did at age 20 and 21. Granlund was a 40-45pts player until last season where he put up 69pts at age 24. This season Rantanen is on pace for 79pts at age 21 and Aho is on pace for 69pts as a 20 year old. I'd take either Aho or Rantanen over Granlund.

 

[Jugitsu]

Just fully disagree with your assessment on Rantanen. His line with MacKinnon and Landeskog would very much regress if he was removed from it. Rantanen is easily the Avs second most important player and very influential to our team and it's success.

Rantanen hasn't yet showed to be a complete player. I'd argue he would not be a PPG this season without MacKinnon. He gains more from MacKinnon than MacKinnon gains from him. Sure he complements the line very well at the moment, but judging from what I've seen, the line wouldn't die from losing Rantanen. He's a wonderful player for sure and has a very bright future ahead of him.

I guess my question is what has Aho done that Rantanen has not? They are virtually equal in everything at this point in time. Aho was better last season, but Rantanen also played on the worst team in 20 years. And this year Rantanen has been better. But overall their numbers are very similar.

Rantanen feeds off of MacKinnon. Aho's line pretty much feed off of him. It's not just scoring, but the overall game. Scoring wise Rantanen hasn't separated himself from Aho, or Gralund enough to warrant being called better than either of them for what they are doing for their teams at the moment.

As for Granlund, he is a very good player but so are Aho and Rantanen and both of these guys are doing things Granlund never did at age 20 and 21. Granlund was a 40-45pts player until last season where he put up 69pts at age 24. This season Rantanen is on pace for 79pts at age 21 and Aho is on pace for 69pts as a 20 year old. I'd take either Aho or Rantanen over Granlund.

The argument really wasn't about what Granlund did at the age of these two players. It was about you saying Rantanen is better than Granlund and Aho right now, which I disagree with. I did say in my post that Rantanen will probably be the best Finn after Barkov and Laine.

As for which 2 out of these 3 I'd take for my team, obviously the answer is Aho and Rantanen, both of whom have a much higher ceiling than Granlund. But right now, Granlund is probably the best Finnish player behind Barkov. Yes, I'd rank him above Laine too right now.

But in a season or two this is bound to change when Rantanen, Laine and Aho will blast by Granlund from left and right.

 

[cgf]

Realistically the only Fins that WILL be better than Rantanen are Barkov and Laine, and I necessarily wouldn't bet my life on it.

Rantanen is producing like a madman for sure, but I would definitely not rate him higher than Aho and Granlund at the moment. They might be behind Rantanen scoring wise right now, which could very well change sooner rather than later, but overall both are more influential players than Rantanen to their respective teams at the moment. And yes, I have watched all three play a lot this season, and the previous ones. MacKinnon's line would not die if Rantanen was removed, but taking Aho or Granlund away from their lines would not only kill them (the lines, not the players), but would probably have wider effect on their team's success.

By that same token with the way Mikko has started playing lately his production wouldn't die if taken away from MacK either. He needed 20-25 games to figure how not to become too much of a passenger, but he's playing like a monster again.

 

[TIGERCOOL]

Weird, thought Donskoi would have more points by now. Always seems to play good whenever I catch a game.

I saw donskoi live against Sweden and NA in the world championship tournament and he stood out as perhaps Finlands second strongest player after Barkov. I had no idea who he was at the time, but he works his ass off and has skill to boot.

 

[FinnLightning26]

Aho could very well be one of the smartest players I’ve seen on the ice.

He's called the Professor for a reason. I have absolutely loved him since I saw him the first time.

 

[behemolari]

I liked the thread more where someone predicted all the Finns to score 100 points.

sound legit

 

[FinPanda]

Looking even better now, even Ristolainen is having a good season, at least offensively. Barkov and Rantanen PPG, 7 Finns have over 40 points and the oldest has born in 1991. Barkov '95, Rantanen '96 and Laine '98 are the top three.

And this story will continue next year..

 

[RageQuit77]

Let's not forget Haula. 23+22=45 in 60GP for Vegas. LW.

 

[Plural]

Looking even better now, even Ristolainen is having a good season, at least offensively. Barkov and Rantanen PPG, 7 Finns have over 40 points and the oldest has born in 1991. Barkov '95, Rantanen '96 and Laine '98 are the top three.

And this story will continue next year..

Aho/Rantanen - Barkov - Laine is legitimately a world class line internationally. Can't beat the absolute star-power of the best, but I would feel confident going against any country with that as our 1st line.

 

[FinPanda]

Aho/Rantanen - Barkov - Laine is legitimately a world class line internationally. Can't beat the absolute star-power of the best, but I would feel confident going against any country with that as our 1st line.

Yeah feels great, really fun times as a huge Finnish players fan..

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Rantanen 40gp 14+24
Laine 41gp 18+16
Barkov 38gp 11+23
Aho 40gp 13+20
Teräväinen 40gp 11+21
Haula 36gp 15+13
Mi. Granlund 36gp 11+19

And don't forget Määttä, Nutivaara or Puljujärvi. Even Armia has had quite good season so far.

Great season so far for them. In Finland people say our hockey is in some kind of "crisis". I don't see it. Happy to see our young guys play so well.

Why did you leave out Olli Määttä?

Kid has been a cornerstone defender of the 2x Stanley Cup champs, and despite a lot of criticism, is having a pretty good season, in my opinion. He's been around so long, I think people forget that he's only 23 years old.

 

[FinPanda]

Why did you leave out Olli Määttä?

Kid has been a cornerstone defender of the 2x Stanley Cup champs, and despite a lot of criticism, is having a pretty good season, in my opinion. He's been around so long, I think people forget that he's only 23 years old.

I mentioned him in my post, just didn't put up the points. Määttä has been my favourite Finn (Barkov is very close) from the moment he entered the NHL.

So I didn't forget him!! He is awesome.

 

[Conspiracy Theorist]

Aho/Rantanen - Barkov - Laine is legitimately a world class line internationally. Can't beat the absolute star-power of the best, but I would feel confident going against any country with that as our 1st line.

Lehtinen-Koivu-Selänne was one of the best lines ever.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I mentioned him in my post, just didn't put up the points. Määttä has been my favourite Finn (Barkov is very close) from the moment he entered the NHL.

So I didn't forget him!! He is awesome.

Not sure how I missed that. My fault! I love Olli, and as a Penguins fan, it pains me to see how much crap he gets from a lot of Pittsburgh fans. The kid is a trooper, and has barely had a real off-season to work on things since he joined the league.

 

[Plural]

Lehtinen-Koivu-Selänne was one of the best lines ever.

Absolutely. Somewhat similar in dynamics as I could see Aho - Barkov - Laine to be. Different kind of players, but the roles probably could have a lot of similar aspects. Bodes well for Finns if that line can find chemistry as well ass Lehtinen - Koivu - Selanne.

 

[FinPanda]

Not sure how I missed that. My fault! I love Olli, and as a Penguins fan, it pains me to see how much crap he gets from a lot of Pittsburgh fans. The kid is a trooper, and has barely had a real off-season to work on things since he joined the league.

Yeah every time I read something about him, it's crap. Too bad.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Yeah every time I read something about him, it's crap. Too bad.

Yeah, most defensemen don't even peak into their mid-late 20s, and a lot of fans rip this kid to shreds .

Halfway through his rookie season I said that I believe he will be a Norris contender one day. I still believe that to be true.