I'd like to see Barkov and Armia in the same line. On the other hand, they're our lone big forwards so 2nd and especially 3rd line would be kinda small.
I don't know if it's just me but i would take Lindbohm over Lindell for the 7th Defender.
I don't know if it's just me but i would take Lindbohm over Lindell for the 7th Defender.
Oh me too. Lindell hasn't been very impressive. He just came to my mind. I haven't seen Lindbohm play really.. But based on what i've read, Lindbohm has been good.
We have so many guys playing against men this year it's ridiculous. It wouldn't surprise me if a player like Vainonen was eventually cut. Since this year's WJC will be held in Russia, it's not like we need to have players with NA rink experience anyway.
Also Hännikäinen has been very good in Jokerit's bottom six. Since Rasmus Kulmala's ice time has diminished, this is how I see our forwards ATM:
Whether Lindbohm looks solid and top-4 material or not, it's still more important to figure out who fills the OD and DD slots. The surefire locks Määttä, Ristolainen and Pokka are all OD. Lindbohm is the current top dog on DD side.
Lindbohm
and two of Valkonen, Auvinen, Vainonen... of course it can also be an OD contender if he appears to be solid in the own end and reliable on PK.
Whether Lindbohm looks solid and top-4 material or not, it's still more important to figure out who fills the OD and DD slots.
It's not the end of the world if you have two good PMDs playing together. Especially if they get the job done. Same thing if you have two good defensive dmen in the 3rd pairing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FiLe
Hännikäinen still isn't a centre forward. But that's easily fixed on this lineup as Salminen can play the slot. As can Leino.
I'm aware of that. However, Salminen & Lamberg love to hit everything that moves. And they hit hard. And they can use that abilty better as wingers. Hännikäinen is looking like a reliable two-way forward and can play more defensively between those two cannonballs. Faceoffs could be a problem but Salminen can handle those.
Leino isn't a 4th line player at this level. But he is a good backup if someone in our top9 doesn't produce.
It's not the end of the world if you have two good PMDs playing together.
I never said I've got something against that. Even less lately, as it's worked quite well in the adult Lions under Jalonen. Also, I've seen enough of Määttä and Ristolainen to say that they're complete packages and definitely not liabilities in own end either.
I was simply commenting on the general composition of the seven, which tends to be 4OD/3DD no matter who plays with who on even strength. We got three of our PP quarterbacks locked down, and need fourth. Lindbohm is not that guy. He is, however, probably the most reliable shutdown type we have as of now and definitely belongs on the roster if he keeps playing as he does right now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Needles
I'm aware of that. However, Salminen & Lamberg love to hit everything that moves. And they hit hard. And they can use that abilty better as wingers. Hännikäinen is looking like a reliable two-way forward and can play more defensively between those two cannonballs. Faceoffs could be a problem but Salminen can handle those.
Leino isn't a 4th line player at this level. But he is a good backup if someone in our top9 doesn't produce.
Leino is a good multipurpose forward who has spent plenty of games in HPK's 4th line and can handle his two-way duties just fine. Not that I'm saying he should be the frontrunner for 4th line C, that Jokerit trio is admittedly more deserving. But Salminen should be the centre. Don't take this too hard, but it's a little silly that you claim Leino isn't able to handle the job, but would still happily hand it to Hännikäinen, whose experience for playing in the middle is technically nada, zip, zero and zilch.
Forwards
10 Joel Armia, Ässät
11 Markus Granlund, HIFK
13 Markus Hännikäinen, Jokerit
15 Miro Aaltonen, Blues (A)
16 Aleksander Barkov, Tappara
22 Miikka Salomäki, Kärpät
25 Henrik Haapala, Tappara
28 Artturi Lehkonen, KalPa
29 Robert Leino, HPK
36 Nico Nyberg, Blues
45 Ville Järveläinen, Peliitat
46 Thomas Nykopp, HIFK
61 Juuso Ikonen, Blues
No big surprises. Teräväinen, Salminen and Lamberg have injuries so their exclusion was to be expected (with Järveläinen, Nyberg and Nykopp as the obvious placeholders). Well, Juuso Vainio's name hasn't shown up in speculations much, so him making it over Niklas Tikkinen was a minor surprise. But somebody gets eventually cut anyway to make room for Määttä.
So, Ristolainen gets the "C" for this tournament. I find it interesting that most of the best leaders of the new generation seem to be d-men. Do you think Määttä will be captain in the WJC?
It sort of brings out how far we've come with depth. Especially in defense it's nothing short of staggering. In a worse year, the challenger squad's D could be what we'd see in the final tournament.
Forwards
10 Joel Armia, Ässät
11 Markus Granlund, HIFK
13 Markus Hännikäinen, Jokerit
15 Miro Aaltonen, Blues (A)
16 Aleksander Barkov, Tappara
22 Miikka Salomäki, Kärpät
25 Henrik Haapala, Tappara
28 Artturi Lehkonen, KalPa
29 Robert Leino, HPK
36 Nico Nyberg, Blues
45 Ville Järveläinen, Peliitat 46 Thomas Nykopp, HIFK
61 Juuso Ikonen, Blues
From what I've heard, Nykopp has been pretty impressive lately. It will be interesting to see if he can challenge for a 4th line role.
Salomäki is on the roster for tonights game so he can't be inured
He's probably simply taking a rest then. Being a lock on the final roster no matter which way you wish to twist it, he can certainly afford it.
Also, I just noticed that Teräväinen's status has not been discussed here. He has a broken finger and as of couple of weeks ago, his return estimate was given in 4-6 weeks. Yeah, he's likely to make it, but cutting it close regardless.
They have teen terrible so I pop a new name to speculation: Eetu Laurikainen. Has been very solid in WHL this season. 17GP 91,8% 2,59GAA 7wins 6losses 4 OT/SO losses
Other candidate could be Ville Husso 15GP 91,2% 2,61GAA in A-juniors
Couldn't believe three months ago that we have to think Laurikainen as starting goalie... But because Finnish hockey federation is pure garbage they probably don't know who he is and don't even invite to camp or watch his games.
Laurikainen has played quite a few games with good results, so I hope the coaching team takes him into consideration. Rindell did say in an interview this week that they have been keeping an eye on the boys playing in North American junior leagues, so I'd imagine that he's aware of Laurikainen.
I'd say a lot depends on how the other netminders do during next week's NT games. They end up being somewhat solid, Laurikainen will likely end up being a no-call. Not-so-solid, he should become an option on the table.
It's hard to say anything conclusive, given how we were missing more than a line's worth of top players (Granlund, Armia, Salomäki, Teräväinen) for various reasons.
In defense, Ristolainen was the best D-man, with bit of a surprise name riding on the coattails. Juuso Vainio's name hasn't shown up in our early speculations here, but he was really good as well. Might just have punched himself a ticket.
Those that did show up were very solid however. Lehkonen led the tournament in scoring, and Barkov... well, let's just say that this kid is a national treasure and definitely going places. So happy he chose to represent Finland and even made no question about it.
One of the more important answers we did get was in netminding department. Korpisalo played most of the time and was very solid. He'll be our starter now going into WJC, methinks. Ullberg was the designated one and he lost it. While they're not comparable, apparently Juvonen and Perhonen were both pretty decent with the B-team, so it might be difficult for Ullberg to even make it as a backup now.
The roll now, given what we've seen...
Korpisalo (Juvonen)
Määttä - Ristolainen
Lindbohm - Vainio
Vainonen - Pokka
Parkkonen
Juuso Ikonen was a contender in most early lineups, but he was completely invisible here. Nykopp was another pleasant surprise. Brings some much-needed size as well.
It's hard to say anything conclusive, given how we were missing more than a line's worth of top players (Granlund, Armia, Salomäki, Teräväinen) for various reasons.
In defense, Ristolainen was the best D-man, with bit of a surprise name riding on the coattails. Juuso Vainio's name hasn't shown up in our early speculations here, but he was really good as well. Might just have punched himself a ticket.
Those that did show up were very solid however. Lehkonen led the tournament in scoring, and Barkov... well, let's just say that this kid is a national treasure and definitely going places. So happy he chose to represent Finland and even made no question about it.
One of the more important answers we did get was in netminding department. Korpisalo played most of the time and was very solid. He'll be our starter now going into WJC, methinks. Ullberg was the designated one and he lost it. While they're not comparable, apparently Juvonen and Perhonen were both pretty decent with the B-team, so it might be difficult for Ullberg to even make it as a backup now.
The roll now, given what we've seen...
Korpisalo (Juvonen)
Määttä - Ristolainen
Lindbohm - Vainio
Vainonen - Pokka
Parkkonen
Juuso Ikonen was a contender in most early lineups, but he was completely invisible here. Nykopp was another pleasant surprise. Brings some much-needed size as well.
We have to remember that Ikonen was best player from Finland at lake placid at much better competition than this was and Finland had better team. But i've noticed that finland lacks high-end power foward type of players into top lines. Salomäki is good but isn't that high end of prospect.
It's fairly obvious that Ullberg has absolutely no self confidence at the moment. Right now it seems unlikely that he'll even get a decent chance of regaining it with SaiPa before the WJC, so him not making the team at all wouldn't surprise me one bit. Korpisalo is probably a lock in this situation, but I'm not feeling very confident about having him be our starter. Sure, he played well this week, but he hasn't played all that much otherwise this season. So I hope they'll still take a look at other options. Either way, it still looks like goaltending will be our biggest problem in the WJC.
Quote:
But i've noticed that finland lacks high-end power foward type of players into top lines. Salomäki is good but isn't that high end of prospect.
This is problem #2. IIRC, Barkov played with Lehkonen and Haapala for two games in this tournament and it worked just fine, but I can't imagine it working out in the WJC. Barkov's fantastic, as everyone and their brother knows, but we can't give him two small wingers and expect them to produce like a decent 1st line when we're up against big, physical teams.
. The stream will work in other countries according to swehockey.se.
