Finland’s tournament in the Under-20 Ice Hockey World Championships started on Boxing Day with a surprise loss, when Switzerland was better in overtime with 3–2 goals.
We went to Urheilu’s expert Top Nättinen with three things about the Young Lions match.
1. Calling is very un-Finnish
12 points for Finland in the previous World Championships Joakim Kemellin the situation speaks for itself. Kemell started as the 13th striker, but finally took his place in the third period by Brad Lambert instead of the first chain.
Kemell, who played scattered substitutions at the beginning of the match, ended up working the seventh most, about 14 minutes.
Kemell admitted that he wondered about his role for a moment. He stated that the matter was discussed with the coaching.
– I don’t really know any particular reason other than that you have to be able to keep up the workload every day and earn a place in the lineup, Kemell told Discovery.
Kemell has scored eight goals for JYP in the SM league this season. Nättinen reminds that Finland cannot afford to lose any goal scorer or player capable of it.
Nättinen finds the situation confusing. He wonders if Kemell has slacked off in training or otherwise behaved in an arrogant manner.
– Is that really the solution to put the 13th as the attacker and wink, send a message with threat and fear? That’s a really old fashioned way of doing it.
According to the expert, Kemell should be put in the first chain and trust that the game will go. Now the head coach Tomi Lämsa however, confuses Kemelli and the whole team.
– This is also a strange situation for Joakim Kemell. His tires should have been pumped from the start. If this has not been publicly discussed within the team, it can confuse others as well. Energy is wasted when you put a player in such a situation.
In addition to Kemelli, Nättinen wondered about the gambling of many others. Although the game went to overtime, Topias Vilén clocked almost 28 minutes of playing time.
Lenny Hämeenaho and Alexander Kaskimäki played for six to eight minutes.
– Really confusing and un-Finnish. I don’t understand what Vilén’s playing time is based on, when it’s a short tournament and a lot of games. That way there would be no need to burden, says Nättinen.
– Hämeenaho has been able to score points in the SM league. Now you certainly won’t find the role satisfaction that Lämsä is looking for. It’s really strange to be played like that.
2. Finland lost in the statistics
Switzerland took the shots 27–16 and the saves 24–14. The number of shots fired by the Young Lions was small, even though there are often many situations in a small rink.
– The opponent’s goalkeeper made only fourteen saves in the small rink. That alone says that Finland was not good at the offensive end.
– Finland couldn’t really get into long pass chains in the attack zone, but had to give up the puck. None of the players seemed at home. The game felt uncertain.
3. The loss was not a disaster
At this point, it is good to remember that one weaker match does not spoil the whole tournament. Nättinen reminds us that it is only one match of the first group.
– The most important thing is that Finland gets to the quarter-finals and wins that match. This was not a disaster, and no crisis is worth organizing.
– Tomi Lämsä wants to improve his playing style and this was one step. Not so big, but learning material was certainly found. Of course, you can’t be satisfied with a loss.