Finland lost its first game of the final leg of
the 2024-25 Euro Hockey Tour on Thursday night in Brno, Czechia 4-2
to the host Czechs. Finland’s goals were scored by Lenni
Hämeenaho
of Ässät Pori and defenseman Veli-Matti
Vittasmäki of German club Kölner
Haie – the
latter was a late addition to the roster.
“The
guy came on hard, maybe we weren’t quite ready and the game started
off a little badly, but we were able to improve as the game
progressed,” Hämeenaho
said after the game. “Today’s
game
was tougher and more physical than the (previous
exhibition) games
against
Sweden.
I noticed that the level has risen.”
Juuse
Saros stopped 30 of 33 shots in the Finnish goal – Jakub Lauko
beat him in the third minute of the game and also scored a late goal
into the empty net.
Pastrnak Will Play For Czechs In Worlds, But Not This Weekend In Euro Hockey Tour
Multiple Czech media outlets reported on Monday that David Pastrňák
has finally agreed to play for his home country in this year’s
IIHF World Championship. Czech national team GM Jiří
Šlégr confirmed the news after the team’s practise.
Finland’s
roster currently includes five NHLers, including Saros and Nashville
Predators backup goalie Justus Annunen. Also on the team are
forwards Joona Koppanen of
the Pittburgh Penguins, Juuso
Pärssinen of the New York Rangers
and Eeli Tolvanen of the Seattle
Kraken.
Under
previous
coach Jukka Jalonen, Finland often relied on European-based
players who were familiar with the team’s system ahead of NHLers,
but it will be interesting to see if new
coach Antti Pennanen decides to add any players who are
eliminated from the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Report: NHL Teams Interested In Finnish D-Man Valtteri Pulli
According
to Finnish media outlet MTV, multiple NHL teams are interested in the
services of 23-year-old Finnish defenseman Valtteri Pulli, who
currently plays in Switzerland for HC Lugano.
Goaltenders:
Justus
Annunen, Juuse
Saros (both Nashville,
NHL), Emil Larmi (Växjö Lakers, SWE).
Defensemen:
Robin Salo, Lassi Thomson (both
Malmö Redhawks, SWE), Atro Leppänen (Sport Vaasa), Tony
Sund (IFK Helsinki), Mikko
Lehtonen (ZSC Lions, SUI), Valtteri
Pulli (HC Lugano, SUI), Rasmus
Rissanen (Linköping HC, SWE), Vili
Saarijärvi (SCL Tigers, SUI), Mikael
Seppälä (HV 71, SWE), Jesse Virtanen (HC
Ambri-Piotta, SUI), Veli-Matti
Vittasmäki (Kölner Haie, GER).
Forwards:
Eemil Erholtz, Lenni Hämeenaho, Jan-Mikael
Järvinen (all Ässät
Pori), Hannes Björninen, Patrik
Puistola (Örebro HK, SWE), Jesse
Kiiskinen (HPK Hämeenlinna), Petteri
Puhakka (Tappara Tampere), Joona
Ikonen (Malmö Redhawks, SWE), Waltteri
Merelä (SC Bern, SUI), Joona
Koppanen (Pittsburgh, NHL), Juho
Lammikko (ZSC Lions, SUI), Ahti
Oksanen (Lausanne HC, SUI), Juuso
Pärssinen (New York Rangers, NHL), Harri
Pesonen (SCL Tigers, SUI), Mikael
Ruohomaa (Frölunda HC, SWE), Tommi
Tikka (HV 71, SWE), Eeli
Tolvanen (Seattle, NHL).
11 NHLers On Swedish Roster At Last Pre-Worlds Tourney
The NHL contingent on the Swedish national team has now risen to 11
as the team approaches its last tune-up before the IIHF World
Championship, and that’s the Czech Hockey Games this weekend –
the final leg of the 2024-25 Euro Hockey Tour.
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