World Junior Preview: Finland is Too Good To Fail

Do you like nightmares? No? Then you probably didn’t want to be a Finnish hockey fan a year ago in Montreal. A year off of winning gold at home, the Finns struggled to score throughout the tournament, meeting up with Latvia in the relegation round. The team didn't seem built to win, with poor coaching (head honcho Jukka Rautakorpi was actually fired during the tournament) and a lack of solid veterans leading the way.

This time, the Finns look ready to compete for another gold. Sure, the team struggled at the Four Nations event in Russia in November, but without many of their stars, it was bound to happen. In fact, Eeli Tolvanen should be their most dangerous threat to challenge for the scoring title in Buffalo.

What does this year’s entry have in store in the United States this year?

Goaltending: There’s one thing that Finnish goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has to do: be good enough. Last year, Veini Vehvilainen was arguably Finland’s best player throughout, only to have his team get saved in relegation in one of Finland’s worst ever tournaments. This year, with a stronger roster overall, Luukkonen will just have to keep pucks out of the net less than Finland can score. Well, duh, but the point is that Finland’s offense and defense appears strong enough that as long as Lukkonen doesn’t blow any games, he’ll be fine. Of course, the Buffalo goalie is good enough to earn some wins. One of the best goalies in the Finnish junior league last year, Luukkonen has had a rough start to the year in the Mestis league, but his team isn’t doing much to help him.

Defencemen: A potential defenceman for the Finns at the Olympics too, Miro Heiskanen is set to lead the team on the blue line at the World Juniors after making his first appearance last year. The third overall pick in 2017 will be part of a more veteran defence core from a year ago, which struggled to limit scoring chances. He’ll be counted on to be a power-play leader, which works well considering how many minutes they’ll be counting on him for. Joining Heiskanen will be Urho Vaakanainen, a Boston first-rounder in 2017 looking to turn a nice season in Liiga with SaiPa into a big-minute performance at the World Juniors, his second time at the event. Vaakanainen has participated in many international tournaments at various levels, but he’s never been counted upon as a leader as much as he will be this year.

New York Islanders prospect Robin Salo is hoping his good World Junior Summer Showcase tournament will earn him more ice time as a 19-year-old, making his lone appearance at the tournament. Tri-City Americans star Juuso Välimäki is well on pace to hit at least 70 points in the WHL this season, and also hopes to chase his first gold medal with the Finns since the 2016 U18's.

And how could we forget the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Olli Juolevi? He's been off to a tremendous first-half of the season with TPS, his first year in Liiga after winning the Memorial Cup with London last year. Juolevi was one of the best players at the World Juniors in 2016, leading all defencemen with nine assists to help Finland win gold.

If there's a position the Finns are lacking in, it's surely not defence.

Forwards: There are few players with as hot of a start to the international year as Nashville Predators prospect Eeli Tolvanen. An offensive specialist with a knack for punishing teams on the power play, Tolvanen played the first few months of the season at over a point per game average with Jokerit in the KHL, a massive accomplishment for any 18-year-old. At the Karjala Cup, Tolvanen helped the Finns grab gold at home thanks to three goals, including the tournament-winning marker against Canada.

The Finns have had some good NHL drafts in recent years, and Winnipeg Jets first-rounder Kristian Vesalainen is no exception. A big forward with a great shot, Vesalainen's two points from last year was a fluke when compared to the rest of his international resume. Vesalainen will be a star in the NHL one day, and when hooked up with Tolvanen on the wing, it's going to be an unfair duo for the rest of the teams.

Boston Bruins draft pick Joona Koppanen is having a good debut season with Ilves in Liiga and he was one of Finland's stronger players at the Four Nations event last month as well. Montreal Canadiens prospect Joni Ikonen was one of Finland’s best players at the World Junior Summer Showcase, while Janne Kuokkanen, who played four games with the Carolina Hurricanes to kick off the year, was simply a force to be reckoned with after five points in five games. Oh, and don’t forget about Aleksi Heponiemi, who is simply dominating the WHL this year and will easily surpass 100 points.

Projection: It’s hard to do worse than Finland did last year, considering the other option is literally relegation. On the back end, the team is flying high with players having lots of big game experience around the world. In the crease, the Finns have a guy capable of grabbing wins and getting the job done, while some of the tournament’s top forwards will be wearing blue and white. It should be a great year for the Finns, who have nothing to lose as the ninth-ranked seed.

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