Finland announces squad for 4 Nations: snubs, surprises and expectations

Team Finland’s roster for the upcoming 4-Nation Face-Off has been released.

The Finns announced on Wednesday that forwards Mikael Granlund, Artturi Lehkonen, Teuvo Teräväinen, Roope Hintz, Kaapo Kakko, Joel Armia, Patrik Laine, Anton Lundell, Erik Haula and Eetu Luostarinen have been added to their squad for the international best-on-best event were recorded, together with the defenders Niko Mikkola, Olli Määttä, Jani Hakanpää, Juuso Välimäki and Rasmus Ristolainen.

Kevin Lankinen and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen were also added as goalkeepers.

Aleksander Barkov, Sebastian Aho, Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell and Juuse Saros were called up to the Finnish squad back in June.

Antti Pennanen is Finland’s head coach in the four-nation duel. The 45-year-old will be supported by former NHL player Tuomo Ruutu as an assistant.

The 4 Nations Face-Off will take place from February 12th to 20th in Montreal and Boston.

Full squad

(Note: Highlighted players have already been added to the roster.)

Snubbed

Finland recruited from the smallest NHL player pool of the participating nations and therefore had fewer difficult roster decisions. This team is deep in the middle and that has forced Carolina Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi out of the picture.

Kotkaniemi has the ninth-highest number of points among Finnish skaters this season with 13 – more than several players selected before him.

The other notable omission is defenseman Henri Jokiharju, who appeared in 19 games for the Buffalo Sabers this season and was the only regular Finnish player at the position to be overlooked. — Chris Johnston

Surprises

Patrik Laine played his first meaningful NHL game in nearly a year on Tuesday, making his addition to the roster a mild surprise. Although he is undoubtedly Finland’s most dangerous shooter, his lack of form initially saw him on the outside of the squad.

However, management recognized that this team might struggle to perform well offensively, and with Laine returning to the Montreal Canadiens lineup a full two months before the tournament, there was added comfort that he will be in a good position to do so to improve.

The towering presence of Jani Hakanpää was perhaps even more unexpected. The Toronto Maple Leafs right-shooting defenseman has only been healthy enough to play in two NHL games since last March due to a serious knee injury, but he has built-in chemistry with former Dallas Stars teammate Esa Lindell. — Johnston

Expectations

You can set your watch for how Finland will perform at an international hockey event: they will play hard, they will be incredibly detailed and they will make sure nothing comes easy to an opponent.

This formula has helped bring a small but powerful nation towering success on the world stage in recent years.

The Finns cannot bring as many front-line goalscorers to the 4-nation clash as the teams they will face, and the seven defenders they have selected were picked from a group of just ten Finnish defenders have had this season played in the NHL. Goaltending remains a strength, but they may not even have the strongest goal box in the tournament.

Still, the Finns will arrive in Montreal believing they can beat anyone. And they could do that too. — Johnston

Required reading

Other rosters

(Photo by Mikko Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen: Ron Chenoy / USA Today)