Team Finland will rely on youth

For Team Finland, the World Cup of Hockey 2016 is a bit of a case of youth gone wild.
Usually among the most veteran teams in any international tournament, Team Finland is bringing a younger, greener team to the tournament in Toronto. But it hopes there is no drop-off in the quality of play or the results achieved by the past generation. Finland finished third at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, beating Team USA in the bronze-medal game. Four years earlier, in Vancouver, Team Finland also claimed bronze, defeating Slovakia.

The last time the World Cup was played, in 2004, Team Finland finished second, losing 3-2 to Team Canada in the final at Air Canada Centre, the site of the tournament this year.
However, many of the staples of those successes are no longer the blue-and-white clad Lions of Winter that captivated their nation with their ability to "punch up" in weight class in major international tournaments. In fact, only two players remain on the roster from the 2010 Olympic tournament: forwards Valtteri Filppula and Mikko Koivu. Surprisingly, only eight players remain from the roster that claimed bronze in Sochi.
All told, seven players on this roster are 30 or older. If Team Finland is to find success in another best-on-best tournament and advance out of a group that also includes Team Sweden, Team Russia and Team North America, it will be youth that carries the day.
Here is a look at how Team Finland looks heading into the tournament, which begins Saturday:

Forwards
Despite its youth, Team Finland has a pretty complete set of forwards.
The first line, anchored by veteran Jussi Jokinen, features 21-year-old center Aleksander Barkov and 18-year-old Patrik Laine. It was arguably the best line at the 2016 World Championship in St. Petersburg, Russia. Finland finished second, losing the gold-medal game to Canada, and Laine earned tournament MVP after scoring seven goals and finishing with 12 points in 10 games.
That performance, combined with a dominant showing in Finland's run to the gold medal at the 2016 World Junior championship and Laine's subsequent selection by the Winnipeg Jets with the second pick of the 2016 NHL Draft, has expectations at a fever pitch in his home country. Many believe he could be the next game-breaking forward in the mold of Teemu Selanne, a mainstay with the national team for two decades.
"The attention is going to be huge for him, and we have to make sure we can focus just on his playing right now and put all other things on the side," said Selanne, who retired from the national team in 2014 and is now an adviser to the World Cup team. "That's a management job. Hopefully we can do a good job because it is important. He's a young guy with huge expectations and pressure, so we don't have to elevate it any more than we have to."
Barkov, of the Florida Panthers, is among the best two-way centers in the tournament and is a perfect pass-first option for Laine. Jokinen had 60 points (18 goals, 42 assists) with the Panthers last season.
Koivu, 33, is the captain and another steadying influence at center, which will be a key position for Team Finland. Valtteri Filppula of the Tampa Bay Lightning has made three runs of 20 games or more in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and won the Cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 2008.
Those veterans will be asked to guide the younger forwards through the perils and pressures of such a short tournament.
Mikael Granlund, Leo Komarov, Lauri Korpikoski and Jori Lehtera all played in the 2014 Olympics and bring additional leadership and experience to the group.

Defense
This is where the youth really shows on Team Finland. Sami Lepisto, likely the seventh defenseman, is the only one of the seven players older than 26.
Two of the youngest, Rasmus Ristolainen of the Buffalo Sabres and Olli Maatta of the Pittsburgh Penguins, form the top pair. Maatta, 22, won the Stanley Cup last season with the Penguins. Ristolainen already is a top-pair defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres.
Neither player is fazed by the responsibilities being handed to him. Each understands his role in the future of the Finnish national team for the next decade and beyond.
"It is the new generation, defense at least," Maatta said. "There is no more [Kimmo] Timonen, there's not more [Sami] Salo, [Teppo] Numminen, those type of guys. It is a different team, a different look. I don't think the identity changes, it's the same way, but the guys are different. When you look at our future, there are a lot of young guys coming up. I think Finnish hockey is in pretty good shape.
Timonen is an adviser to this team and Numminen is an assistant coach. They can pass on their knowledge, desperately needed for a group that possesses scant NHL experience. Maatta, Ristolainen, Jyrki Jokipakka, Esa Lindell, Ville Pokka and Sami Vatanen have combined for a total of 666 NHL regular-season games. Team Canada's defensemen average 663 games.
"We have a younger group of guys than maybe five or 10 years ago," said Timonen, who also retired after the 2014 Sochi Olympics. "It is time. We all retire. I'm actually looking forward to see how these younger boys do."

Goalies
As usual, goaltending is among the unquestioned strengths of Team Finland. For much of the past two decades, Finland has produced some of the game's elite goaltenders. This time is no different.
Tuukka Rask, 30, of the Boston Bruins was the starter for Team Finland in Sochi, although he missed the semifinal loss to Team Sweden because of illness. He returned to shut out Team USA in the bronze-medal game. Rask went 3-1 in the tournament, with a 1.73 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage.
Pekka Rinne, 33, of the Nashville Predators, has more international experience with Finland, but it has all come at the World Championship level. This is his first opportunity to play at a true best-on-best tournament.
Who will start remains up in the air; each has seen time in the pretournament games. Rinne earned the first start against Team Sweden in Helsinki, a 3-2 overtime win, and Rask played the return leg in Gothenburg, Sweden, a 6-3 loss.
The goalies know their desire to be the No. 1 can't override the larger goal of helping Team Finland be as competitive as possible in this tournament.
"It's a national team tournament, there is no time to be selfish," Rask said. "Obviously everybody wants to play, but it is a whole different situation from your club in the NHL. It's a short tournament and it is a national team tournament, so you will do whatever the coaches tell you to do."
Special Teams
Because Team Finland plays so many close games, special teams generally are a huge component of the game plan as any goal-for or goal-against can swing the outcome of the games.
With a flotilla of two-way forwards on the roster and an emphasis on fundamentals stressed throughout the development process, Team Finland usually is strong on the penalty kill. That should be the case again in this tournament. Ristolainen, Jokinen, Vatanen and Korpikoski are primary penalty-killers for their NHL teams and will see the lion's share of that duty in this tournament.
It is the power play that could make or break Team Finland. Ristolainen (21 points) and Koivu (20) are the only two players to have 20 or more points on the power play during the 2015-16 NHL season.
Laine is the wild card. His ability to get his one-timer off from the faceoff circle could make him a dangerous power-play threat in the mold of Alex Ovechkin from Team Russia or Steven Stamkos of Team Canada.

Coaching
Lauri Marjamaki, 39, is the youngest coach in the tournament and has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in Finland. He made his debut as a coach in the Finnish Liiga in 2013 with the Espoo Blues before taking over Karpat two seasons later and leading that club to back-to-back championships.
Marjamaki also served as an assistant in Sochi in 2014; he was responsible for the forwards and the power play.
He has experience with several players through that experience as well as serving as an assistant on various World Championship and World Junior Championship teams.
"It is so easy to come to the team and know so much," Marjamaki said. "Koivu and Granlund played last World Championship together. Barkov and Jokinen [play] together, and of course Laine played last spring with them. It is easier to start again because you know your linemates."
Marjamaki is known as an excellent communicator and has leaned heavily on assets such as Selanne, Timonen and Numminen to help shape how this team will play and what elements needed to be stressed during the pretournament phase.
"Obviously, he's a player's coach. He wants to take their input," Selanne said. "Overall, the European style of coaching is a lot of communication. I had some experience with him [as a player] and I really like how he is approaching things. He's a calm guy. He tells you how things are and that is always good for the players."
Projected lineup
Jussi Jokinen - Aleksander Barkov - Patrik Laine
Leo Komarov - Mikko Koivu - Mikael Granlund
Joonas Donskoi - Jori Lehtera - Teuvo Teravainen
Erik Haula - Valtteri Filppula - Lauri Korpokoski
Sebastian Aho
Olli Maatta - Rasmus Ristolainen
Sami Vatanen - Jyrki Jokipakka
Esa Lindell - Ville Pokka
Sami Lepisto
Pekka Rinne
Tuukka Rask
Mikko Koskinen