TEAM FINLAND IIHF U18 PREVIEW (*early roster prediction-Men's)
One of my favourite international ice-hockey tournaments is definitely the u18.
Why? It's simple, we get to watch the best players for the blue & white machine from the u18 age group and then start to speculate which of the standouts will make it to the next u20 team. And this year, ladies and gentlemen, is a special year no doubt-since the tournament will be hosted in Espoo and Vantaa, Finland.
While there is no doubt that the recent announcement of back to back best-on-best tournaments (4 nations face-off coupled with olympics 2026) has overshadowed the upcoming IIHF men's u18 tournament in Suomi (April 25-May 5), it will nonetheless be guaranteed to be a very exciting and fast-paced event.
That being said, let's jump right in. What will the young Lions look like this time around?
*The player names that are bolded are the biggest names *I have included birth year and height and where they are projected to be drafted in 2024.
Forwards:
Julius Miettinen (06) - Konsta Helenius (06) - Emil Hemming (06)
6"3, second round. 5"11 early to mid first round. 6"2 late first round
Joona Saarelainen (06) - Aatos Koivu (06) - Kasper Pikkarainen (06)
5"9 - late second round, 6"0, late third to late fourth, 6"3, late second
Matvey Butkovskiy (06) - Tuomas Suoniemi (06) - Max Westergård (07)
6"2 5th-7th rounder, 5"10, late second to late 4th , 5"10 (2025 draft eligible)
Lauri Sinivuori (06) - Heikki Ruohonen (06) - Roope Vesterinen (06)
6"0, 5th rounder , 6"1 3rd-4th rounder, 5"10, 5-7th rounder
Defense:
Veeti Väisänen (06) - Aron Kiviharju (06)
6"0, late first rounder, 5"10 late first rounder
Jesper Kotajärvi (07) - Sebastian Soini (06)
5"11 (2025 draft eligible), 6"2 3rd rounder
Niilopekka Muhonen (06) - Mitja Jokinen (06)
6"4 3rd rounder ,5"10 (3rd rounder)
Daniel Nieminen - 6"0 - 2024 draft eligible 4th-6th rounder
Goalies:
Kim Saarinen (06) 6"4 #1 1 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Goalies) 3rd-4th rounder
Petteri Rimpinen (06) 6"0 eligible for 2024 draft
Patrik Kerkola (07) 6"0- 2025 draft eligbile
A strong blue-line...
As you can see, the most players in bold are playing defense. Which alludes to the strengths of this team. Veeti Väisänen was very close to making this year's WJC in Sweden but was a last minute cut. Aron Kiviharju would have been a lock to play in Gothenburg, but was injured a few games into the season in Liiga. Finally, Sebastian Soini, Niilopekka Muhonen, Mitja Jokinen, and Daniel Nieminen are all experienced on the blue-line for Suomi and can play quick paced, modern hockey.
Offense will have to come from good defense and also mobile d-men....
As the old cliché goes, "offense comes from good defense, and good defense wins tournaments." Although this team will have some solid potential first-round forwards in Konsta Helenius and Emmil Hemming, the team will still have to rely on defensemen such as Veeti Väisänen and Aron Kiviharju to jump in the rush and score some clutch goals if Finland wants to go all the way.
Will Aatos Koivu surprise us?
A lot of heads have been turning in the hockey world since hearing that Saku Koivu's son has been making a name for himself. Everyone knows that if Aatos is anything like his dad or uncle, he will be a surefire bet to at least be a decent NHLer. He is currently listed at #30 by central scouting European skaters and could even go as high as the 3rd-4th round. Regardless of what happens, his stock is skyrocketing and if he plays well in Espoo, he could even go even get selected in the 3rd round in June of this year in the upcoming 2024 NHL draft.
Kim Saarinen is the lion-king in net...
Most have already penciled-in 6"4 goaltender Kim Saarinen as the starter, and with a 2.34 GAA and 0.918 save % for HPK U20, he might just be the man.
So far a bit underwhelming....
The roster below is the team that recently participated in the final preparation event for the upcoming IIHF men's U18 in Finland. The tournie hosted in Plymouth, USA, and overall was underwhelming, but to be fair, Finland was missing key players Kiviharju, Väisänen, Hemming, and Helenius. Finland lost all their games with exception to a 5-1 win over Switzerland. But the good news is that they kept it very close vs Sweden (OT loss 5-6).
Goalies:
1 Rimpinen Petteri, Kiekko-Espoo
31 Saarinen Kim, HPK Hämeenlinna
Defensemen:
2 Amhamdi Onni, Pelicans Lahti
3 Nieminen Daniel, Pelicans Lahti
4 Jokinen Mitja, TPS Turku
6 Muhonen Niilopekka, KalPa Kuopio
7 Marila Eelis, HIFK Helsinki
8 Soini Sebastian, Ilves Tampere
10 Jalasti Bruno, Quebec Remparts QMJHL
11 Nykyri Niklas, HIFK Helsinki
Forwards:
12 Koivu Aatos, TPS Turku
14 Loponen Markus, Kärpät Oulu
15 Pulkkanen Akseli, KalPa Kuopio
16 Pietilä Benjamin, Kärpät Oulu
17 Kopiloff Oliver, HPK Hämeenlinna
18 Ruohonen Heikki, Kiekko-Espoo
20 Keinänen Juho, Jokerit Helsinki
21 Teshome Natan, Jokerit Helsinki
22 Kettunen Anton, Pelicans Lahti
23 Väärälä Ville, Tappara Tampere
24 Saarelainen Joonas, KalPa Kuopio
25 Puolanne Elias, Kiekko-Espoo
26 Vesterinen Roope, HPK Hämeenlinna
29 Pikkarainen Kasper, TPS Turku
Gold on home ice? Hope dies last!
Fun fact: this will be the 4th time that the Finns will have hosted the IIHF U18 men's tournament, and so far, their best result was a bronze in 2001. Now, I wouldn't bet my mortgage on Finland winning (*I don't even have a mortgage ahah) but I will make a conservative bet that Finland wins another bronze as they did 23 years ago. Like Teemu Selänne once said "let's hope for the best and fear the worst- toivotaan parasta ja pelätään pahinta."