U17 World Hockey Challenge - Finland

Team Finland - 9th Place

The Finland squeaked out on a win against Team Ontario in their opening game but then went winless the rest of the tournament. The Finns battled back from a 4-0 deficit against Sweden in their second game but appeared mentally exhausted after that game succumbing to Team Quebec, Team West and eventually losing to the lowly Czech's in a demoralizing 7-5 loss to conclude a rather lacklustre performance. McKeen's Director of Scouting David Burstyn was on hand and files notes on several prospects that represented Team Finland.

Forwards: C+

The Finns had some depth up front as their top-six forwards proved to be a handful for most clubs. The top unit of Armia, Salomaki and Granlund had successful tournaments before receiving limited icetime in the final game against the Czechs. As has been the case with the Finns in recent international tournaments the forwards were far too small to make a difference but did compete for loose pucks and battled valiantly along the boards.

Defence: C-

A lack of size on the backend crippled the Finns ability to contain the rush and defend. They were routinely pushed off the puck and they lacked a true puck moving defenseman with elite stick skills. They worked well as a unit and consistently rolled four pairings, spreading the icetime evenly amongst them.

Goaltending: D

Surprisingly this was the Finn's weakness. Niklas Kekki was the Player-of-the-Game in their opening win but failed to build on any type of success throughout the tournament, eventually splitting the duties with Richard Ullberg. In their defence the blueline did very little to minimize chances as the Finns surrendered more than 31 shots in each game.

Scouting Notes:

Richard Ullberg (2011), G, HIFK U18

Ullberg has started seeing more icetime this year with HIFK U18 even though he made the team as a 14-year old .. a sizeable goalie that moves remarkably well for his stature .. sets up well and can get up and down fairly quickly .. plays a butterfly style but crouches far too low, in essence making himself smaller and not being able to take of advantage of his size .. his rebound control needs improvement, as he tends to kick the puck out too far ahead of him .. doesn't track pucks overly well in traffic .. keeps his glove hand too low .. his overall mechanics are good and considering the quality of shooters he faced this tournament it should only make him better when he returns to his Jr. B league .. scouts will like his size and athleticism.

Samuli Piiponen (2011), D, HIFK Helsinki

Piiponen, the assistant captain and tallest player on the Finnish backend (6'2, 160) played a very average game and did not excel in any particular area yet saw icetime in all situations .. modest puck skills, as he does not panic with it .. average skater, not a fast player but he is mobile .. upgrades to his agility and footwork are essential for him to become a North American pro .. playing more physical would also help his development, as he was not feared by the opposition.

Santeri Arousva (2011), D, Assat U18

Arousva returned for his second consecutive U17 tournament after playing last year as an underage player .. a slick and capable skater with decent agility and quickness .. he is undersized and coughs up the puck far too easily when leaned on down low .. as a result, he needs to make quick plays with the puck and does so with a fair degree of success .. can launch himself out of the zone and make great outlet passes .. he can make soft passes out of the zone or stickhandle around players .. surprisingly, he does not see first-unit PP time, but is on the second unit .. despite his point totals, the Finnish coaching staff constantly overlooked him opting to play him in the last thirty seconds of the PP rather than playing the majority of it .. his biggest problems lie in his lack of size and that he simply cannot contain forwards off the rush.

Patrik Parkkonen (2011), D, HIFK Helsinki U20

Team captain is playing Jr. A in the U20 league after winning the league Championship in Jr. B as a member of HIFK U18 squad .. most rounded defender whose overall skill set is above his peers .. he handles the puck well and surprises the opposition with fine pieces of stickhandling on occasion .. saw a bulk of the PP time and even though he does not have a great shot his puck distribution skills made him a constant with the man advantage .. ok defensively but needs to move his feet quicker, as he can get caught flat footed and danced around .. he can angle-off guys and understands the game and his positioning but his first step needs work .. shows the most promise on the backend as an NHL prospect, yet his small stature (5'9, 165) is am immediate concern at this point.

Rasmus Ristolainen (2013), D, TPS U20

The youngest player participating in this tournament and in the Jr. A SM-Liiga league, he is a late 1994 .. he has split time with both the U18 and U20 team and has not looked out of place playing against opponents four years older than him .. showed remarkable poise with the puck considering his youth and inexperience .. at times, he appeared overwhelmed by the calibre of the opposition but had the presence of mind to play within his skill set and allow the play to come to him .. maintained his defensive position and was not lured away or drawn out of position .. he played on both the PP and PK and had the full confidence of the coaching staff to work through his game .. appeared tentative early in the tournament but with each passing game he slowly started to become more confident .. at 6-foot-0, he has plenty of time to grow and develop physically .. he lacks a physical dimension to his game but this should come when he physically matures.

Miro Aaltonen (2011), C, Blues U20

Aaltonen provided good secondary scoring centring the second line .. more of a playmaker than a shooter, his patience and play-reading ability helped to lend his name to the score sheet .. good on the half boards, especially on the PP where he makes the most of the additional ice allotted to him .. sees plays develop and moves his feet to areas where he can score or make a play .. has great hockey sense .. shows little trepidation in charging the goal or going into danger areas despite his slender frame (5'8, 135) .. has an elusiveness to him and a silky demeanour when he is skating .. needs to develop physically but is an intriguing prospect, as he always makes things happen.

Joel Armia (2011), RW, Assat U20

The most dangerous scorer on the team, Armia has quick, soft hands and led the team in goal and point scoring with 5-5-3-8 totals .. an upright skater with quick bursts of speed .. he has an innate ability to know where to go in the offensive zone and like natural goal scorers the puck tends to follow him .. he is a pure finisher but also has good playmaking skills and can surprise defensemen with a quick accurate pass .. is better suited to play with a natural playmaker and formed good chemistry with Granland throughout the tournament .. Armia needs to add some weight to his upper body, as he can be pushed off the puck along the wall, however he is one of the Finns biggest players at 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds .. at times, he can force things (only when his team is down) and shoot with little awareness for his surroundings .. can disappear at times only to finish a game with a couple of goals, as he has stealth-like, game breaking skills .. one of the better prospects to emerge from this Finnish team but needs to play with more urgency.

Jesper Kokkonen (2011), LW, Ilves U20

Kokkonen got better with each passing game .. even though he was held off the score sheet (scored goal in final game against the Czechs), he provided the Finns with plenty of opportunities due to his thrashing, grinding style of play .. at 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds, he still needs to develop physically but he was not afraid to hurl his body and cause a disturbance down low .. not a great skater, his hands operate quicker than his feet .. he has good puck skills but will not win many foot races .. his balance and strength serve him well in tight spaces .. he also uses his size well when stickhandling and when establishing position .. at times, he makes good decisions with the puck but his game is littered with errors .. plays a North American game.

Sami Salminen (2011), RW, HIFK U20

The sum of his parts, Salminen works hard for all his chances and has the size (6'4, 200) to gain additional ice and ok hands to finish his chances .. asserts himself physically and willingly goes to the front of the goal to bury the garbage .. registered 5-3-1-4 point totals and gradually moved up onto one of the top two lines .. he is a knock-kneed skater and his skating appearance is very awkward .. he generates very little speed and is more of an up-and-down winger .. his turns are not overly fluid and it appears as if he is constantly on the verge of falling over .. struggled in speed games but was smart enough not to get caught too deep, as he remained relatively involved in the defensive zone because he did not over commit offensively .. his skating mechanics need to be corrected because at this point his skating is not even close to pro standards.

Miikka Salomaki (2011), C, Karpat U20

First-line centre was the straw that stirred the drink, as he made others better with his hockey sense and complementary skill set .. does everything well but nothing exceptional, it is his on-ice awareness that makes him such a valuable player .. constantly put forth strong efforts on both sides of the puck .. eagerly helped the defensemen by coming back far below the blueline and giving them outlets .. a healthy skater but not a particularly strong one, he has a short limited stride but constantly pumps his feet so it appears he is actually going faster than he is .. is a thick player who plays with courage, as he does not shy away from attacking the net or getting involved .. good hands to stickhandle but his shot needs work .. he could also use some additional upper body strength to continue to play and excel at the type of game he plays .. has all the makings of being a top prospect that many NHL scouts will focus on next year.

Tomi Wilenius (2011), RW, Ilves U18

Originally pencilled in as a top-six forward, he saw his icetime decrease considerably throughout the tournament .. a small winger who has good first-step quickness but not a separation gear .. he tends to drive to the outside, as he is too small to make a play in open ice .. nonetheless, he charges hard to the net looking for offence .. regrettably, he did not exercise this characteristic consistency and disappeared for long stretches during games .. it was even more unsettling because his team was leaning on him to produce .. does not handle the puck or have it on his blade for long .. he does not recognize pressure and his hockey sense comes into question when he coughs up the puck in the neutral zone, as he does not always make the simple play .. Wilenius is good on the cycle but lazy on the backcheck .. he is undersized and needs to make many adjustments to his overall game.

Markus Granlund (2011), C, W HIFK U20

The younger brother of Mikael Granlund, a projected first round NHL pick this season .. has had a very successful season thus far for HIFK averaging over a point a game (26-11-18-29) .. played both the wing and centre but looked better down the middle, as he oozes creativity .. he is a tricky stickhandler that is difficult to contain in tight spaces and can make defenders look silly if they play the puck against him .. plays more of a perimeter game, as he does not drive the net and appears reluctant to engage in traffic areas .. however, he does force defenders back and will push the envelope if he sees an opening by exposing a flatfooted defender .. has uncanny offensive awareness, as he reads plays well and is smart in terms of supporting the play and maintaining pressure inside the zone .. lacks power in his shot but he has a quick release .. generates solid levels of speed and employs a series of stop and starts to shore up his position on the ice while pushing defenders back and using his vision to set-up a linemate .. there are shades of Saku Koivu in him in terms of natural playmaking skills but he needs to be more consistent and apply more of a physical dimension to take advantage of those skills.