The last places in the Lions’ team were not decided based on game performances, writes journalist Tommi Seppälä.
Tommi Seppälä
The national team management’s arguments seemed pretty out of the blue at Wednesday’s media conference regarding the use of the passing lane in connection with the selections for the NHL’s four-country tournament. Explanations were really needed, because rarely have players been brought to a lion tournament of this size using the passing lane in the way seen.
However, this is how we wanted to act now.
Patrik Laine made his debut in Montreal on Wednesday and immediately succeeded in scoring. Laine was selected for the team, even though he had not played a game for eleven months before his debut. Laine’s career has already been in some sort of sideslip for a long time.
Right from the start, GM was shocked Jere Lehtinen a statement about how, based on discussions in the early autumn, Laine wanted to take a place on the team specifically by playing, but “now it went like this”.
Why did it happen like this?
After this, the head coach Antti Pennanen stated during Lehtinen’s speech that he noticed that “Laine has always been good in the national team”. Is this the case though?
A lot of faith, a little realism
Laine has represented Leijon the last time in the 2016–2017 season. In the World Cup organized at that time, no points were scored in three matches. Including training matches, the balance of six matches was 0+1. A year earlier, Laine certainly shone at the men’s and youth World Championships, but we are talking about one success at the adult level nine years ago.
In football Jari Litmanen was almost always good in the national team in his time, despite various changes in the club team. In the case of Laine, Pennanen’s throw did not hit the middle of the board.
Pennanen also said that he was convinced by the conversation he had with Laine. The head coach said that he was impressed by Laine’s words and believes that he will reach the top level he is aiming for by February. Lehtinen repeated the same mantra, stating that Laine will be in top shape in two months.
This kind of speech contains a lot of wishful thinking and less everyday realism that belongs to classic sports speech.
Laine seems to be in a better state mentally than he was during the depressing Columbus years, but at the same time, it should be remembered that Laine has not managed two summers of top-level training. At one point, there was a break from the ice for seven months.
Considering the various difficulties, Laine has achieved a decent result in the NHL, but at the same time, exactly this kind of “tomorrow in top shape” type of discussion and various “then when” arguments have been going on for Laine throughout the 2020s?
Is something now fundamentally different from before? Of course it might be.
Contrary to traditional Leijona values
Something from Laine and Jani Hakanpää the choices also rub against traditional lion values.
Selections were not made this time based on game performances. Such practice has rarely been used in the national team. At least the Sochi Olympics 2014 can be considered an exception. Teemu in Selänte it was difficult at that time in Anaheim, but the “has always been good in the national team” argument could really have been used for him.
Your back shone in the Leijona shirt in Sochi as well.
In the case of the loan, the selection criteria are of course easy to understand. The Superiority Game’s Expertise in terms of trigger skill and dexterity are clear usable strengths. It is entirely possible that Laine will emerge as the decider in one of the matches with superior strength.
Perhaps the issues and risk factors could have been talked about by their proper names at Wednesday’s media conference. It is clear that no one knows in what condition Patrik Laine will arrive at the tournament. Or what is Laine’s traditionally mediocre five-on-five playing or defensive playing.
Buffalo also felt a little special Henri Jokiharjun leaving it on the beach from the defensive end. Jokiharju, who is very mobile and moves the puck, profiles as an all-round defender, has played an overall balanced fall in Buffalo’s back lines, but the big Hakanpää, who had been sidelined for more than half a year due to injury, was brought into the team.
Hakanpää is currently on the injured list.
Not resolved by game shows
At the same time, when the game has developed to an unprecedented speed, the national team management wanted to bring in Hakanpää, who was already in trouble with the movement, and Utah, who went through a really difficult autumn Juuso Välimäki. They overtook Jokiharju, who undoubtedly played better.
Hakanpää is a specialist in the underpowered game and value competition selections are of course always a subject of debate. One likes this, the other likes that. Perhaps the use of the overtaking lane just at Hakanpää and Laine was a little surprising, however – or at least the way in which the method of operation was communicated was confusing.
The elephant tiptoed around the china shop as best it could, when efforts were made to discourage the use of the overtaking lane through weakly thought-out arguments. The last places in the team are not decided based on game performances and that seems a little special especially in Finnish hockey.