The Finns have a squad full of players crowned with success. Gold from the Olympics in Beijing and from the World Championships in Tampere in the same year is held by goalkeeper Harri Säteri from Biel, Switzerland, forwards Hannes Björninen from Örebro, Sweden and Saku Mäenalanen from Langnau, Switzerland, and defender Mikko Lehtonen from Zurich, who was also at the World Championship triumph in 2019 in Bratislava and Košice.
Striker Iiro Pakarinen from IFK Helsinki also celebrated under the five rings. Forward Jere Innala from Sweden’s Frölunda was also a member of the winning team at the previous year’s championship, the 2019 world champion is defender Oliwer Kaski from HV 71. Mikael Granlund was involved in winning gold in Slovakia in 2011 and 2019.
Säteri with Björninen and Mäenalanen, like Määttä, Kaski, Pakarinen, Puustinen and Innala, also have silverware from the 2021 World Cup in Riga. Pakarinen is the vice-champion of the world and from Minsk 2014, where another forward, Pekka Jormakka from Jukurit Helsinki, was also introduced. Määttä is a two-time Stanley Cup winner with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017 and won bronze at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Photo: Václav Šálek, CTK
Jáchym Kondelík scores the only Czech goal. On the left, Juuso Riikola from Finland.
At last year’s World Cup in Tampere, where the Finns were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Canada after a 1:4 defeat, there were goalkeeper Emil Larmi from Växjö and defenders Lehtonen, Määttä and forwards Björninen, Ahti Oksanen from Sweden’s Oskarshamn, who in the 2021/2022 season played in the Czech extralize for Hradec Králové.
Another six players have NHL experience. Säteri caught 15 games for Florida and Arizona, guard Juuso Riikola of Langnau played 80 games for Pittsburgh, Lehtonen 26 games for Toronto and Columbus, and Örebro’s Rasmus Rissanen played six games for Carolina. Attacker Pakarinen has 134 games in the regular season for Edmonton and one more in the playoffs, and Mäenalanen has 94 games for Carolina and Winnipeg.
Goalkeeper Lassi Lehtinen from MoDo Hockey, defensemen Jesper Mattila from KalPy Kuopio, Vili Saarijärvi from Langnau, Veli-Matti Vittasmäki from champion Tappara Tampere and forwards Arttu Hyry from Kärpätu Oulu, Juha Jääskä from IFK Helsinki, Oliver Kapanen from KalPy Kuopio, Rasmus Rissanen from Örebro, Patrik Puistola with 17-year-old Konsta Helenius from Jukurit Helsinki, who joined the Finnish team at the end of the tournament in Brno after the domestic under-18 world championship in Espoo.
Defenders Atro Leppänen from Sport Vaasa, Aleksi Matinmikko from Ässätu Pori, Tobias Winberg from Jyväskylä, Axel Rindell from Timra and forwards Julius Mattila from Lukko Rauma, Eemeli Suomi from Ilves Tampere, Joona Luoto from Bern, Lauri Pajuniemi from Malmö and injured Markus Nurmi from TPS Turku.
| Nominations of Finnish ice hockey players for the World Championship in Prague and Ostrava (May 10-26): |
|---|
| Goalkeepers: |
| Emil Larmi (Växjö/Sweden) |
| Lassi Lehtinen (MoDo Hockey/Swed.) |
| Harri Säteri (White/Switzerland), |
| Defenders: |
| Juuso Riikola |
| Vili Saarijärvi (both Langnau/Switzerland) |
| Jesper Mattila (KalPa Kuopio) |
| Veli-Matti Vittasmäki (Tappara Tampere) |
| Oliwer Kaski (HV 71/Swed.) |
| Mikko Lehtonen (Zurich/Switzerland) |
| Olli Maättä (Detroit/NHL) |
| Rasmus Rissanen (Örebro/Sweden.) |
| Attackers: |
| Consta Helenius |
| Pekka Jormakka |
| Patrik Puistola (all Jukurit Mikkeli) |
| Juha Jääskä, Iiro Pakarinen (both IFK Helsinki) |
| Jesse Puljujärvi, Valtteri Puustinen (both Pittsburgh/NHL) |
| Arttu Hyry (Kärpät Oulu) |
| Oliver Kapanen (KalPa Kuopio) |
| Hannes Björninen (Örebro/Sweden) |
| Mikael Granlund (San Jose/NHL) |
| Jere Innala (Frölunda/Swed. |
| Saku Mäenalanen (Langnau/Switzerland) |
| Ahti Oksanen (Oskarshamn/Sweden). |
WC in hockey 2024
The 87th World Ice Hockey Championship is taking place in the term 10-26 May 2024 in the Czech Republic, the tournament will be divided between the cities of Prague and Ostrava.
Tags: Finlands nomination Ice Hockey World Championship
