Finland: Under-18 Junior Cup Coverage
August 10-15, 2004; Czech Republic/Slovakia
Finland
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The absence of studs Tuukka Rask and Teemu Laakso (who remained with the Under-20 team at the time) seemed to strip the Finnish Under-18 roster bare, resulting in a seventh place finish. Finland lost the opening two games to the United States and the Czech Republic, which immediately sent them into regulation, where they, once again, failed to impress against Slovakia, before salvaging some positives, outplaying Switzerland in the game for second-last place.
Top performers
The Finnish captain failed to show on the scoreboard, aside from one measly assist in five games .. Seemed to get nothing going, partly due to average footspeed and rough acceleration .. skates with good balance and is strong on his feet .. very good with the puck and possesses excellent shooting skills .. intensity and determination were lacking .. there is some toughness to his game, but he never seemed to get into a groove .. 2005-draft eligible forward may have been overwhelmed with captain's duties.
Maybe the only real standout for the Finns in the tournament, amassing three goals and four points in five games .. A good skater with nice balance and above-average top-end speed .. has soft hands and a quick stick .. competitive and resilient in traffic and in the corners .. showed excellent dedication and may have been the hardest worker on the roster .. gets back to his own zone with intensity .. killed penalties and was a fixture on the powrplay .. never backs down from a physical challenge.
Failed to score on 11 shots in the tournament, finishing with one point (5-0-1-1) .. A deceptively quick skater for his size, but lacks balance and lower body bulk .. shows the willingness to drive to the net .. manoeuvers swifty in traffic and likes to exercise his shooting skills consistently .. has a hard slap shot with accuracy .. does not use his frame enough at either end and is pretty skinny .. there is a lot of raw range in here .. shoots right.
In the three games he played, he was very solid (.900 sv %) .. a quick, athletic goaltender with excellent dexterity .. plays square to the shooter and skates well .. covers the lower part of the net well with quick legs .. vulnerable up high and has an average glove hand .. tends to guess at times which leaves him on his knees more often than he should be.
Other players
Not a good skater; does not take off very well .. below average hands, but likes to shoot; almost greedily at times he hogs the puck .. a solid defensive contributor; aggressive with a quick stick .. does not have a mean streak.
A big defenseman with a powerful stride, but average agility .. defensively-oriented .. works hard down low, but does not really show a nasty edge .. has sub-par hands and puck skills .. playmaking is an adventure for him in terms of timing and precision .. does not shoot enough, though he has a hard slapper .. late 87-born .. what you see is what you get.
Mikael Kurki, D
Good footspeed and agility .. not hard to knock off his skates .. thinks offense and likes to rush the puck .. crafty, but does not know how to effectively make use of an open lane .. excellent accuracy on shots from the point .. reacts well to the flow of the game and has a keen eye for fellow forwards .. lacks bulk and a polished positional game .. opposing forwards skated right by him numerous times.
Skates adequately with good straightaway speed, but his first few steps lack some giddyup, as he fell behind on several occasions .. a player who likes to play the body, but does not have a lot of offensive upside .. average vision; supported the offense admirably, but overlooked some passing lanes .. stays with his man well and can make a check in a timely fashion .. works hard along the boards .. probably the most mature and confident rearguard on the Finnish roster.
Smallish and his wheels did not impress .. does not have a strong stride to generate effective speed .. must bulk up his lower body .. got outmuscled consistently .. lacks good vision and hockey sense to make up for his skating deficiencies .. lacked accuracy on his feeds.
An effective one-on-one player with nifty tricks and dekes .. deceptively quick, but not fast .. stuck his nose into traffic and battled hard for the puck .. average shooting skills and no apparent scoring touch .. invisible without the puck
A fluid straightaway skater with strong balance, but is not very quick laterally .. was beaten several times by speedy forwards in man-on-man situations .. adequate defensive habits; knows his positional responsibilities well .. showed raw puckmoving upside, but struggled to hit his target numerous times .. average vision and his hands were a little stiff .. shot some cannons from the point, although he did not get many on the net .. strong and poised for his age .. at his best when he kept his game simple.
Oskar Osala, F
Average skater without a quick first-step burst .. combative and gritty .. likes to throw his body around at both ends of the ice .. the toughest and one of the more defensively responsible Finns .. can play both center and left wing .. hands are nothing to write home about .. possesses a heavy slapper with good accuracy .. late 87-born .. character player with limited offensive upside.
Average skater .. did not show much creativity with the puck .. showed some giddyup along the boards .. pretty physical; used his body in corner battles.
A playmaker with decent speed .. competitive and works hard along walls and corners .. defensively aware .. passes at times lacked accuracy .. not aggressive enough in one-on-one situations .. good energy with and without the puck .. came back to help out defensively.
Deceptively quick .. sneaks through defenses with a sharp pivot step .. not determined enough on the forecheck to make a difference offensively .. a good stickhandler with a quick wrist shot.