dunno...If nitty can keep it up then def. him but his hasnt shown that in previus years. Also Rinne might be the starter in the next olympics so why not give him some experience. His also been great this season.
C'mon No he hasn't shown in NT, but the guy is 6'4 and 230 lbs, huge hitter, hard shot (knows how to score) and quite good skater. Also used to NHL-rink. Hahl is a joke. Pihlström has the energy so why not. Immonen isnt a 4th-liner and his too small his great othervice maybe for WC. S.Kapanen hasn't been that good this year. He is fast but the stickhandling isn't there and his very small. It also takes some time to get adjusted again to the NA rink no matter if they have played there before. The olympics is a short torunament as you stated so there is no time for adjustment.
Osala's slot in the olympic team would be a 4th line energy player, and he's approximately 4th in depth after J.Ruutu, Bergenheim and Pihlström. Even Leo Komarov might go over him.
Joke or not, Hahl is 3rd in slot for 4th line center, after N.Kapanen and Nokelainen. Also a coach's favorite, so at least as much in contention as Osala is. Same goes for Sami Kapanen, who is 4th in slot for two-way forward after Pyörälä, Korpikoski and Peltonen.
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The olympics is a short torunament as you stated so there is no time for adjustment.
Another thing that takes some adjustment are the coaching methods, something which all the players I mentioned know well thanks to past NT experience under the current coach. The team is gathered together only two days before the puck drops, so we won't be seeing too many firsttimers around. And yes, Filppula likely makes the team despite having zero NT experience, but he's slotted for a key role, while Osala is rank-and-file. And on those, the team management tends to favor experience and players they already know.
So just add up the players listed into the long list, since while I'm not disputing that Osala wouldn't be an interesting addition (I certainly wouldn't complain), he's still fairly low in contention. I got the impression you tried to list all the players who at least have a chance, be they our favorites or not. And those I mentioned most definitely do.
I know that my opinion is irrelevant and doesn't count and for some reasons I will never understand Jarkko Ruutu is quite popular by many Finns.
Nevertheless it would be better for team Finland to renounce on Jarkko Ruutu. Especially for the Olympic Games 2010 when almost all NHL players are available - if they are not injured - because they are held in Canada, nobody can tell me that there are no better options for team Finland than him.
nobody can tell me that there are no better options for team Finland than him.
Sean Bergenheim... and that's it.
Korpikoski, Nokelainen are unknowns to the NT system so their chances are slim if all are healthy, especially since they haven't been putting up anything Ruutu hasn't. Pyörälä is another hopeful, but he hasn't exactly made a case for himself either.
Ruutu has the experience and sources say that he's also a decent bench player, so it seems likely he's going to make the cut, no matter how controversial character he might be in the eyes of us fans.
And in other news, Selänne is out for a yet unknown time due to a fractured hand. He still has time to heal up and catch a game or two, but since we have nothing better to do, let's assume for a second he doesn't. What changes might that bring to the lineup?
Selänne out maybe 8 weeks.
Would be ****ing horrible not to have him in the lineup because he is the only real sniper of this country. Who whould score our goals??
Selänne out maybe 8 weeks.
Would be ****ing horrible not to have him in the lineup because he is the only real sniper of this country. Who whould score our goals??
That's really a big pitty but don't give up the hope, may be there will come out of the team a scorer we didn't expect at all, like Ville Peltonen when he scored the winning goal for the bronze medal game against Canada years ago, I don't remember when it was and if it was a world championship or Olympic games.
There's a persistent rumor going around that the forwards chosen for the team would be Filppula, Hagman, O.Jokinen, N.Kapanen, the Koivu Bros, Lehtinen, Miettinen, Peltonen, 2x Ruutu, Selänne and Jarkko Immonen.
This would mean J.Jokinen is out of the team.
Personally, I'm not buying it (or more likely not wanting to buy it), but let's speculate away... What is your opinion if it actually turns out to be like that?
I'm not buying it either but wouldn't be completely shocked if it turned out to be true considering the head-scratching choices our management has done in past years.
Personally, I'm not buying it (or more likely not wanting to buy it), but let's speculate away... What is your opinion if it actually turns out to be like that?
It sucks if that happens. I dont want to see Peltonen out there constantly being one step behind and getting out musceled. In the other hand this wouldn`t be the first time player get`s awarded with olympic trip because of his career (Kurri 1998). Also team Russia and Sweden have allready selected some controversial players so maybe I can live with Peltonen (if that happens) and hope for the best.
More I think about it, less I have a problem with Peltonen.
What I won't take so easy is the exclusion of Jussi Jokinen. C'mon, does a guy like Immonen really one-up him?
I am thinking exactly the opposite.
I dont see any role for Peltonen in the team. Immonen`s ability to play both winger and center creates lots of diffrent options for best possible lines. Immonen could even be the guy who gets OJ going (altough OJ seems to be heading towards another self-confidence crisis).
Immonen`s ability to play both winger and center creates lots of diffrent options for best possible lines. Immonen could even be the guy who gets OJ going (altough OJ seems to be heading towards another self-confidence crisis).
If you haven't noticed, you can say the exact same things about J.Jokinen. He also has loads of small ice experience, past chemistry with M.Koivu, OJ and Niko Kapanen, plus he's apparently the world's utmost shootout expert at the moment.
I think J.Jokinen`s ability to be Jere Lehtinen type of "fixer" has been exaggerated. He can play in many roles, but he is not the guy who gets the line going. Still J.Jokinen should be in the team and Peltonen is the guy who should not be there.
That's a ****ing shock for me.
No Jussi Jokinen and Peltonen and Immonen instead of him?!
He has 25 points in 38 games this year, is a shootout expert, has great chemistry with many players on the team. Also the PP-duo of Jokinen-Pitkanen would be a weapon, it's working very good at the Hurricanes.
this is kinda ot from this thread but i figured id ask here instead of making a new one. does anyone know where i can get official team finland olympic apparel (besides hockey jerseys) online that ship to canada??
dunno...If nitty can keep it up then def. him but his hasnt shown that in previus years. Also Rinne might be the starter in the next olympics so why not give him some experience. His also been great this season.
