I was going to post this. Statistically he has been great. I think that he has a good chance to make more points than Granlund in season 08-09 but I have to say that Granlund's linemates were less talented than what Ikonen has now. Kossila and Aaltonen have both played in national teams. When Granlund played in jr A. He was sometimes centering the third line and he maybe had to do more for his points than Ikonen. That been said I think too that Ikonen is the most talented kid since Granlund. Only flaw is his size... If I remember correctly he was listed 169 cm last season and now 170cm... I really hope that he hasn't stopped growing...
in 08-09 when Granlund played in the World Juniors the team was alot worse than what we are able to put together this year, and he was taken mainly because there was not enough players with SM-liiga experience. I doubt that Ikonen will make the team with only Jr. A experience, even though it seems that he is really dominating there right now.
Yes yes you are right, but he should be under the consideration if he continues to produce in jr A like he has. Don't think he will make it though. Like u said team is much better than 08-09 season and the thing is that Ikonen's linemates help him a bit to produce.. Blues has done already 29 goals in 5 games and I think their team is really good this season..
and the thing is that Ikonen's linemates help him a bit to produce..
Might help a bit, but none of Ikonen’s teammates think the game at the same level as he does, Aaltonen might come fairly close but that’s about it. Ikonen's ability to sort out the right play/pass combined with perfect timing and execution is something that you very rarely see in Finnish juniors.
Might help a bit, but none of Ikonen’s teammates think the game at the same level as he does, Aaltonen might come fairly close but that’s about it. Ikonen's ability to sort out the right play/pass combined with perfect timing and execution is something that you very rarely see in Finnish juniors.
Yep. I was just reminding that situation is different than Granlund's situation before people
start to hype Ikonen to go 1st overall or something...
Really shame that he's so small, especially since his hockey IQ, skill level and skating seems to be top notch. He's been listed at 169/170 for a while now and turns 17 in few months so I doubt he will any significant height anymore.
Is Juuso Ikonen a son of Juha? At least Juha's son (Joni) is playing in Blues 97 -juniors (Matinkylä) and he seems to be quite good player, thinking that he is born in 99. He already was one of the best players in a game I saw (two last periods).
Is Juuso Ikonen a son of Juha? At least Juha's son (Joni) is playing in Blues 97 -juniors (Matinkylä) and he seems to be quite good player, thinking that he is born in 99. He already was one of the best players in a game I saw (two last periods).
Yeah Juuso and Joni are brothers with eachother and Joni is superskilled aswell but tiny like his older brother.
Is there anyone who doesen't take Sasha Jr. into U-20 WJC team? I hope Raipe agrees with us.
Yeah Juuso and Joni are brothers with eachother and Joni is superskilled aswell but tiny like his older brother.
Is there anyone who doesen't take Sasha Jr. into U-20 WJC team? I hope Raipe agrees with us.
Right now he should be on the team but we'll see how he looks by late december. He's physically still a kid so he might be pretty gassed out, who knows. Right now though if myself I would put together a team he'd definately be there. Then again I don't know much
As has been said, our forwards are best in years. And I'm not that worried about defence. Although our defence corps will probably be young and inexperienced, it's much more high-profile and talented than what we've had for years. Our goalies should be servicable too. My real concern lies with coaching. Hoping that Helminen and Haapakoski pull a miracle on ice, but Helminen's inexperience with coaching and the teams performance in tournaments this fall have not been convincing.
At least Juha's son (Joni) is playing in Blues 97 -juniors (Matinkylä) and he seems to be quite good player, thinking that he is born in 99. He already was one of the best players in a game I saw (two last periods).
Going off topic, but there's another 99-born player on that team; defenseman Miro Heiskanen. Yesterday against KooKoo he had 1+1=2p, whereas Ikonen had 0+1=1p. I wonder if Miro is related to Santeri Heiskanen?
As has been said, our forwards are best in years. And I'm not that worried about defence. Although our defence corps will probably be young and inexperienced, it's much more high-profile and talented than what we've had for years. Our goalies should be servicable too. My real concern lies with coaching. Hoping that Helminen and Haapakoski pull a miracle on ice, but Helminen's inexperience with coaching and the teams performance in tournaments this fall have not been convincing.
Even though Helminen is unexperienced, he has divine hockey IQ, which should help as a coach...
Plus everyone knows he's going to play with The Stamp, they have proven chemistry, there's no time to try new lines before the the tournament. Both Pulkkinen and Granlund will probably play at the Karjala tournament anyway.
I hope not, although Jalonen likely picks at least 90% of the WHC team to Karjala tournament. And the people wants to see especially The Stamp on the ice...
I'd rather see Granlund, Pulkkinen, Donskoi, Armia etc. playing preliminary matches with U20 squad against Mestis teams / other U20 teams. I would be beneficial to get some PP practice to the top guys and build some chemistry with the new guys (Ristolainen, Barkov etc).
Our top lines look pretty good at the moment. Hopefully everyone stays healthy. If Barkov continues to impress at Tappara, he should be a lock. At the moment Tappara fans consider barely 16yo Barkov as their 2nd line center
Donskoi - Mi. Granlund - Pulkkinen
Salomäki - Ma. Granlund - Armia
X - Barkov - Ruuttu
Donskoi - Mi. Granlund - Pulkkinen
Salomäki - Ma. Granlund - Armia
X - Barkov - Ruuttu
I'm fairly certain that Ma.Granlund will play wing at the WJC's. At the moment the strongest candidates for centre forward are probably Mi.Granlund, Salomäki, Ruuttu, Paajanen, Halinen and Barkov. Some of them could naturally play wing as well.
I'm fairly certain that Ma.Granlund will play wing at the WJC's. At the moment the strongest candidates for centre forward are probably Mi.Granlund, Salomäki, Ruuttu, Paajanen, Halinen and Barkov. Some of them could naturally play wing as well.
He'll get murdered in the small rinks. Better to have some one more physical like Salomäki who take hits better than Markus. Besides he's played left wing with Kärpät last season and this season, the WJC isn't the right place to try out players out of their most recent comfort zone/position.
He'll get murdered in the small rinks. Better to have some one more physical like Salomäki who take hits better than Markus. Besides he's played left wing with Kärpät last season and this season, the WJC isn't the right place to try out players out of their most recent comfort zone/position.
Your comment is irrational. Salomäki was a centre forward and Ma.Granlund a winger at the Summer Challenge. There they faced both USA and Sweden twice in a very small rink. Salomäki was probably the top player for Team Finland and Ma.Granlund played the same perimeter game as before, no problemos. In addition Salomäki played well as a centre forward at the previous WJC’s after mostly playing wing for his club team. Playing centre forward against teams like Sweden, Canada and USA is tough, IMO it’s not an ideal job for Ma.Granlund at this point. And talking about recent positions, has Ma.Granlund even played centre forward more than a few shifts this season?
I haven´t seen this season Gibson, Perhonen or Aittokallio playing, so I can´t say which of them is the strongest candidate for the number 1 job on goal.
Everyone who wants Ma.G to play center needs to Go watch the kid play. If you still think so after it, you're out of your mind.
Yes, I have seen Ma Granlund playing (not this season yet though) and he could be probably better on the wing as he lacks a little bit in skating and he isn´t the strongest player either. Salomäki can play both wing and center, so you´re probably right, it might be better if Ma Granlund would on the wing and Salomäki would play at center. Hopefully I´ll see this season a couple of game where the younger Granlund will play before the World Juniors, so it would help a little bit to do a line-up for Finland at this tournament.
