Urheilu’s expert Juha Juujärvi summarizes the World Ice Hockey Championships that ended on Sunday. Juujärvi paid particular attention to the players’ individual skills.
The World Ice Hockey Championships ended in Tampere on Sunday with Canada’s gold party.
In the final, Canada finally defeated Germany in checkers 5–2. Bronze was won by Latvia, who beat the United States 4–3 in overtime.
Sports expert Juha Juujärven according to the World Championships were even and any team from the top countries could have won this year.
– Alongside the uniformity, it was evident that there were teams with different game identities. It was a good, really fast attacking winning game like Switzerland and the USA, who dominated the opening series.
– The Czech Republic and Sweden, on the other hand, played defensively and quite passively. Their tournament never started.
This is where the Lions fell behind
According to Juujärvi’s view, Leijonat would certainly have been ready to play for the world championship again this year, but Finland lagged behind, for example, Canada and Germany in game speed and goal-scoring efficiency.
– I couldn’t really find freedom and self-confidence when the successes in tight games were so few. It was visible in the speed of the game, because it was a slow and forced push.
Individual skill on display
Juujärvi drew attention to the fact that many goals were scored through individual skill in the games.
– In the games, 1-1 situations were won and through that the players got into goal-scoring situations and finished with good shots. Attention must be paid to individual skills in Finnish hockey and youth activities.
However, according to the expert, good team play in Finnish hockey supports individual success.
– But without the excellence of individuals and the natural cooperation between individuals, it is impossible to succeed with just a team game.
– Maybe the solution to the final was that Canada was better than Germany in terms of individual skill. Game-wise, there weren’t that big differences.
Latvia as a color patch
According to Juujärvi, the happy color of the Games was Latvia, which won its first World Cup medal.
– It was well trained and in the same category as Germany and Canada, of course in miniature size. There were not so good individuals, but strong team play and sufficient individuals led to the bronze.
According to Juujärvi, the medals from Germany and Latvia are a great proof that the investments in junior and national team activities are reflected in the results.
The investments pay off
Juujärvi reminds that both teams had applied for Finnish expertise in their coaching teams. Germany had an assistant coach Pekka Kangasalu and in Latvia Petteri Nummelin.
– Germany has invested in junior work for a long time and the assistant coach of Latvia has coached Zemgale in Mestis and sought experience in Finnish ice hockey throughout the season.
– Such investments have positive consequences.
The line drive was successful
During the tournament, it was said that Canada and the United States did not have the best NHL players in the tournament. In advance, teams were even belittled, for example, in Finland.
According to Juujärvi, it would be great to see the best possible teams from all countries at the World Championships. On the other hand, the line drawing was successful from both sides.
– They chose highly motivated players. Canada had individual skills, but also played with great commitment.
– It would be desirable to get the best players to the games, but these are also top players, although not all of them are the sharpest in the NHL.