The World Cup bronze medal ran away from Nuori Leijon in a rough way, writes hockey journalist Sami Hoffrén.
Gothenburg
Young Lions returns home empty-handed from the World Youth Championships.
The fluctuating and sometimes confusing Junior Lions World Cup tournament ended with a fluctuating and confusing 5–8 loss in Friday's bronze medal match against the Czech Republic.
The way the Young Lions let the bronze medals slip away from them was cruel. The game was completely in Finland's hands, with a 5–2 lead, but the Czech Republic stormed away in excitement to become the third best team in the tournament.
It's time to outline the Young Lions' biggest successes and players who failed at the World Cup.
Even though the bronze game was extremely divisive and full of events, it does not improve to give more weight to the feats or mocks of the bronze game. The bronze game is always its own chapter.
However, it is always about the meeting of two teams that lost the semifinals.
The Young Lions flashed their potential during the tournament and put the champion favorite USA on the line, but a bronze medal would have been the maximum performance for this team. This team would not have deserved anything more.
of the World Cup according to the protocol, the three best players of the medal teams are already named before the final day.
After the World Cup semi-final, Finland's coaching staff chose the center as the best player Jere Lassilandefender Kasper Kulonummen and a winger Tommi Männistön.
There is nothing worse to grumble about than these choices. Lassila was the best Finnish player at the World Cup by a big margin. Männistö was the most positive surprise for the Young Lions. Only Kulonummi can be debated.
The brave 19-year-old defender (7, 0+4) didn't particularly panic, but he played big minutes in the top pair Jesse Pulkkinen with.
Pulkkinen, 18, was the most visible and strongest Finnish defender, but there were also quite a few mistakes in the final stages of the tournament. However, Pulkkinen's (7, 1+2) NHL shares are on a rocket-like rise.
Other defenders cannot even be considered for the top three. Finland's defense equipment this time was unusually thick, which was reflected on the World Cup ice.
Was on the sidelines due to injury Aron Kiviharju17, could have been the number one defender that Finland was missing and an extremely cool lineman.
Note it is noteworthy that only Kulonummi is reserved for the NHL (3rd round 2022).
Lassila, 19, and Männistö, 19, went through the previous two booking events without a booking. Next summer, the situation may be different.
Captain Lassila led the troo
ps from the front.
Lassila (7, 3+5) hit hard screens on the counter in Gothenburg. JYP's number one center was Finland's game and mental leader from start to finish. Männistö (7, 3+1), who plays in the US university league, dazzled with his insane skating speed and directness.
With the exception of Lassila, the players named in Finland's top three are surprising choices, reflecting the prior expectations.
Kasper Halttunen would have been a perfectly valid choice for the top three. The London Knights' frame winger scored three goals and six points in the first group stage. Halttunen was one of the team's igniters amid the initial difficulties of the tournament.
Halttunen's, 18, world-class whip cracked a couple of times handsomely with superiority. In the playoffs, the performances fell flat, which lowers the grade.
Clean papers can also be given Aleksanteri Kaskimäe and Right for Keski. Kaskimäki (7, 2+2) worked steadily on the edge of the second. Kaskimäki brought a lot of added value to its chain with its skating and torque power.
Keskinen (7, 2+3) didn't blow the bank, but managed his square in the middle of the triple. Tappara's stylish 19-year-old playmaker glued his chains together with his wise positioning and insightful, game-promoting solutions.
In advance the highest expectations for Nuori Leijon were aimed at Jani to Nyman, I flew to Hämeenaho and To Konsta Helenius.
Nyman went to the second World Cup tournament of his career as Finland's number one gun, but the gunpowder was wet for a long time. Ilves' young star scored his opening goal of the tournament in the final match of the first group against Sweden and finally decided the victory in the shootout. After the successes, all the way to the barrel shelf, you could see what kind of monkey garden started from the neck.
Jani Nyman silenced the Swedish fans with his goals in the final match of the first group.
In the playoffs, however, Nyman did not rise to the front despite his enterprising play. In the bronze game, Nyman improved his balance by hitting 1+1, but compared to expectations, the tournament (7, 2+4) went to the bottom.
The same can be said about Hämeenaho, who enjoyed the performances 2+0 against the Czech Republic. Ässie's 19-year-old winger carried a big result responsibility on his shoulders on the edge of the first chain. Hämeenaho flashed his gimmick bank and his audacity, but overall (7, 4+2) the offer fell short.
In the Sweden and Slovakia matches, Hämeenaho was strongly featured and also got a result. However, more would have been required before the bronze medal game.
Helenius was thrown into exceptionally big boot
s as a cagehead. The 17-year-old top prospect, who will only be booked for the NHL next summer, started the tournament in the middle of the first place, but fell to the second place in the hierarchy as the tournament progressed.
In terms of power, Helenius' (7, 1+1) tournament went to the thighs. In the semifinals, Helenius took a bigger role by initiating Finland's 3–2 lead goal with his strong exploit. Helenius opened his scoring account at the last possible moment in the bronze medal match.
Konsta Helenius can still play for his age in the next two World Youth Championships.
Although Helenius' tournament was weak in terms of results, Jukurie's credit center played in an upward direction. Helenius was one of the best pacemakers in Finland's attack in the middle lane. Helenius played his best games in the playoffs, which says a lot about the character of the gambler.
Finland goalkeeper situation ie throughout the tournament. Finland left Niklas Kokolla into action, but after two losses Noa Vali got his seam.
After two winning games, Vali moved to the side and Kokko returned to goal after almost a week's break. Not an optimal situation, but Kokko performed effectively in the pressure game of the quarterfinals.
In the semi-final against the USA, Kokko was already the best of his team, which raises the rating. The bronze game, played with open doors, was a nightmare for the Oulu veskar.
Niklas Kokko was the choice of the Finnish coaching staff for the playoffs.
In the light of the statistics, Kärppie's 19-year-old veskari did not really dazzle. Five matches and two wins. The save percentage and the average number of goals conceded remained miserable. Kokko was also able to keep the team upright from time to time during the mantel stages of the tournament.
Kokko certainly did not disappoint, but in pursuit of the world championship, the Young Lions would have needed, especially this year, almost the best goalkeeping performance of the tournament. Kokko was far from this.
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