IIHF World ChampionshipDiscuss International Tournaments like the WJC, Olympics, and World Cup, as they take place, or discuss past tournaments. performances.
Team is deep for sure, but still Aaltonen was a key player even though he was on the third line. He played pp, has made a lot of goals in junior competitions and SM-league, and most importantly he was a leader in this team.
He was all of these things, yes, but not the epitome of single one.
Like I said, we have other solutions for PP, other scorers and plenty of leaders left.
In my vocabulary, a "key" player is someone you'll struggle to replace. I don't intend to belittle Aaltonen and what he did. He was real good, no denying that, but the team as a whole just is in such a way that they can carry on and not lose a stride. There are still a whole handful of other options that don't feel any less disjointed now that he is out. Things may be a little different, but hardly any worse.
This was really bad loss for Finland. This kills 3rd line altogether. Finland's chances to medal, let alone to get gold, are gone with the wind. Sorry, but that's how it is. Too bad.
Apparently one of the Canadian reporters was watching the Finns practice and one of the coaches approached to ask him if he was a Czech. The Canadian didn't say if he was thrown out of the Finnish practice. There may have been a rule change re: opposing team personnel viewing practices over the hubbub caused by the Canadian-Swedish debacle at the Ivan Hlinka tournament last summer. The Swedes said they would bring the issue up at the next IIHF congress. If that occurred or not, I have no idea.
Team Finland GM contacted IIHF about this and according to them, it is within the rules to watch practices. Czech Rep will be issued a warning about it. Story here: http://www.mtv3.fi/urheilu/jaakiekko...en-mm-kisoissa
Aaltonen got his first "In Russia, things are different" experience while at the hospital. According to Iltalehti's story, he was surprised how old all the equipment was there. According to MTV3's blog http://www.mtv3.fi/urheilu/jaakiekko...kin-kayda-nain they didn't even have crutches for him. They were at the lobby of their hotel when an attractive local lady brought wooden crutches for him, the kind you'd expect to see in old western films. They cost 612 rubles and were too short for Aaltonen.
Aaltonen got his first "In Russia, things are different" experience while at the hospital. According to Iltalehti's story, he was surprised how old all the equipment was there. According to MTV3's blog http://www.mtv3.fi/urheilu/jaakiekko...kin-kayda-nain they didn't even have crutches for him. They were at the lobby of their hotel when an attractive local lady brought wooden crutches for him, the kind you'd expect to see in old western films. They cost 612 rubles and were too short for Aaltonen.
Not sound cocky but it has to be a win. Probably not a blowout but it should be a clear W for Team Finland. It's time to get our **** together.
Yup. Routine win. Similar to the way Swedes handled it.
But I don't think our **** was ever apart. Obviously you're not going to be as motivated against Latvia when you have beaten NA guys (even pretour.) and know the biggest games are ahead.
Yup. Routine win. Similar to the way Swedes handled it.
But I don't think our **** was ever apart. Obviously you're not going to be as motivated against Latvia when you have beaten NA guys (even pretour.) and know the biggest games are ahead.
I don't think Aaltonen is a player who can be directly replaced by Leino or anyone else, but he can be replaced collectively both on and off the ice.
This team has a lot of players and a coach from Jokerit, and they're the most injury-riddled team in SM-liiga but are still in first place because they have both depth and a system that everyone knows and is able to follow. If anyone knows how to deal with a situation like this, it's them.
When it comes to off-ice leadership, we have enough leaders on the team even without Aaltonen and now they'll need to step up. Salomäki has to stop messing around and taking stupid penalties, and Ristolainen seems like a guy who can lead the team, as does Teräväinen (which was a bit of a surprise, but a pleasant one at that). Many members of this team have leadership qualities and this season they've had an opportunity to play with older, strong leaders which can't have hurt their development in this department.
On the ice, we have Barkov, Lehkonen and with some reservations even Teräväinen who aren't afraid to get in front of the net and deflect and bury rebounds. All of these players also have nice shots, as well as both Granlund and of course Armia. Aaltonen's a great player and although severely underrated, he doesn't possess anything that someone else in the top6 doesn't.
Aaltonen's injury does take away a lot of firepower from the 3rd line, which is why keeping Teräväinen there would be useless. Nykopp, Leino and Järveläinen make for a decent 3rd line. They won't score as much as the Teräväinen-Aaltonen duo would've, but I don't think they'll be a liability either and who knows, maybe they can score a goal or two. Yesterday it looked like Leino took Nykopp's place in the 2nd line after Aaltonen was gone, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them try that line tomorrow. I don't think it's a particularly good idea, but we'll see. At worst Leino will hog the puck like Nykopp yesterday, but hopefully Valtonen will react immediately if that happens.
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So what do you guys think about match against czechs? what are your predictions?
Anything but a regulation win for Finland would be a huge failure. Don't mean to underestimate the Czechs and I'm not expecting a blowout by any means, but our team looks deeper and the defense is better.
I rest my case. Aaltonen was a critical piece of the puzzle. Now when he is out they are forced to change the 3rd line to some crappy shutdown line which will only be a liability. You overrate the depth of the team. Finland is no Sweden. The bottom lines will let in too many goals in big games. Chances to medal are very slim now.
Just like I thought. Good! Top 6 is still badass but the third line looks much weaker than against Latvia. If everything goes as expected, a routine victory for Finland.
I rest my case. Aaltonen was a critical piece of the puzzle. Now when he is out they are forced to change the 3rd line to some crappy shutdown line which will only be a liability. You overrate the depth of the team. Finland is no Sweden. The bottom lines will let in too many goals in big games. Chances to medal are very slim now.
The two bottom lines are defensive, and the 3rd line we used to have with Aaltonen still healthy was a line that may have been a defensive liability in the big games. This one isn't. It probably won't produce much, but defensively it's fine.
The two bottom lines are defensive, and the 3rd line we used to have with Aaltonen still healthy was a line that may have been a defensive liability in the big games. This one isn't. It probably won't produce much, but defensively it's fine.
Loffer is a troll, he's the guy who thought that Ossi Väänänen wouldn't bee good enough for EHT team in the Finland-section of the boards.
Have I said that?? Don't recall. That must have been somebody else. Sounds ridicilous.
Had to go back and check it out. Guess we owe our silly friend an apology, it was a different user.
Still, if one gets mixed up with a clown like that, it's a sign that ones own statements aren't exactly held in the highest of regards either.
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Originally Posted by Gaps
I don't think Aaltonen is a player who can be directly replaced by Leino or anyone else, but he can be replaced collectively both on and off the ice.
This is actually what I was trying to say. Given his role, Aaltonen, was supposed to be something of a jack-of-all-trades offensive weapon, wearing out the opponent in both ends and scoring occasionally. He was doing a very fine job but in the end was nothing the other guys can't make up.
I'd consider for example losing Armia a far bigger blow. He's not nearly as versatile as Aaltonen, but his special talent is something that would be harder to duplicate.
And yeah, there is nothing wrong with the bottom six, at least defensively, since it now consists of players (sans Järveläinen, who was there to begin with) who were picked in the first place because of their sound the two-way game. Given how somebody belittles the contributions of these workhorses makes me suspect that they don't really watch much hockey beyond the highlights in YouTube. If they're serious to begin with, that is.
Had to go back and check it out. Guess we owe our silly friend an apology, it was a different user.
Still, if one gets mixed up with a clown like that, it's a sign that ones own statements aren't exactly held in the highest of regards either.
This is actually what I was trying to say. Given his role, Aaltonen, was supposed to be something of a jack-of-all-trades offensive weapon, wearing out the opponent in both ends and scoring occasionally. He was doing a very fine job but in the end was nothing the other guys can't make up.
I'd consider for example losing Armia a far bigger blow. He's not nearly as versatile as Aaltonen, but his special talent is something that would be harder to duplicate.
And yeah, there is nothing wrong with the bottom six, at least defensively, since it now consists of players (sans Järveläinen, who was there to begin with) who were picked in the first place because of their sound the two-way game. Given how somebody belittles the contributions of these workhorses makes me suspect that they don't really watch much hockey beyond the highlights in YouTube. If they're serious to begin with, that is.
Quite right, I checked it too. It was a poster called "jonlin" who held Vaananen in low regard. Keep facts straight!
Nice to hear that the bottom six is still ok. Hope you are right. I just fear that the lack of talent there will show in critical games.
Nice to hear that the bottom six is still ok. Hope you are right. I just fear that the lack of talent there will show in critical games.
You see, there are different kinds of talent in a hockey team. The bottom six is still very talented in its two-way game and should do just fine in preventing any cheap ones going in. Like I said, it's the very reason these players made the squad, so claiming that they'll be a liability in that sense does nothing but plant one major egg on one's face. Besides, the defense is far more key in that, and it wasn't weakened a single bit, being still nothing short of impressive.
Our production in the offensive end took a minor hit with losing Aaltonen, but he was not a top-six player to begin with, and like Muuri said, more of a luxury as a third line C. The scoring units are still absolutely loaded, even more so now that they had to condense the talent. And if those top lines can't put up the necessary production required to win the games, blaming the slightly weakened third line of the outcome is badly misdirected anger.
To sum it up, Aaltonen was in a good form and definitely an asset, but by no means mission critical. Just like Ikonen and Haapala weren't, which is why they got cut. Our team still has all the necessary pieces to go far in this tournament.
Some folks just recently "discovered" Kalle Kossila, a Finn somewhat dominating in the NCAA, and eligible to play in the WJC this year, and someone who has been talked about on this forum quite a bit too.. so now anyone who has followed his play this season at St. Cloud, here's a question to you:
Do you think he was snubbed out of a spot because this generation was so heavy with SM-Liga tested players there wasn't any particular "need" to go the extra mile and search for possible dark horses abroad? (Example: Erik Haula)
It's a little late now, but considering Kossila is producing for St. Cloud State while Ville Järveläinen wasn't going to make the team, I think it's safe to say he would have been comfortable playing at the WJC level. I don't know that he was "snubbed" so much as he was less available. He probably wouldn't have been able to practice with the team as much leading up to the tournament. For a "superstar", you don't worry about that as much, but I don't know that Kossila is a "superstar." He's very good though.
I think I agree with Seppänen or other way around. From the article
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Peli ei kutsunut tänään luokseen sitä, että Suomen jätkät olisivat olleet jäällä verenmaku suussa. Sille ei ollut sijaa, joten oli pakko elää tilanteen mukaan. Suomi teki kaikki ottelun maalit, pelasi OK-tasolla 60 minuuttia ja se piisasi ylivoimaiseen voittoon.
The two bottom lines are defensive, and the 3rd line we used to have with Aaltonen still healthy was a line that may have been a defensive liability in the big games. This one isn't. It probably won't produce much, but defensively it's fine.
