The NHL season resumes a few days after the Christmas break on Wednesday night Finnish time.
Urheilu’s ice hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen during the Christmas break created an overview of Finnish players’ performances in the NHL during the fall season. Lehkonen highlighted the three biggest successes and the three biggest disappointments. Both categories even included somewhat surprising names.
Successful people
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado
32. 23+19=42, +8
Mikko Rantanen is without a doubt the best Finn in the NHL this season – one can even talk about the best Finnish hockey player right now. Rantanen is sixth in the NHL’s goal market and tenth in the points market, although he has had to play most of the season without his familiar chain friends, Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog.
Rantanen has grown into a tough class leader for a team ravaged by injuries, not only as a game example, but also as a result maker.
Rantanen has scored no less than 24 percent of all his team’s goals.
Rantanen’s performance in the midst of a merciless physical load has made a special impression. The TPS student has played for about seven weeks with an average of more than 24 minutes per match, sometimes even more than 29 minutes. However, Rantanen doesn’t steal from the game and doesn’t make many passes.
– The name of the job is that Mikko does an absolutely insane amount of work after the games in order to be ready to train again the next day. After training, on the days in between, he works hard to be able to play again. That is Samper’s hard professional activity, how these top players get their bodies in shape, says Lehkonen.
– It has also caught my eye how Rantanen immediately raises his gloves after mistakes. He also demands hard performances from himself. Mistakes sometimes happen in risky situations, but he fights the puck back quickly, Lehkonen enthuses.
Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars
34. 16+22=38, +18
The best Finnish center of the NHL season. Hintz is a pace machine, and stopping him even at the NHL level is becoming an insurmountable task for opponents at times.
In addition to the incredible speed, the Nokia Center has all the qualities required at the top level, from game understanding to a high personal skill level.
The Ilves coach has become an almost irreplaceable player for his team in the past couple of seasons and a starting force for one of the NHL’s best attacking trios (Jason Robertson-Hintz-Joe Pavelski).
Hintz has won his games 5-for-5 31-15 and Dallas has recorded 63.5 percent of the dangerous scoring opportunities in his favor when he is on the ice. Hintz ranks 11th among strikers at the 300-minute mark in the ratio of goal posts in the first sector.
– Should we slowly start talking about the fact that Hintz has an absolutely brilliant eye for the game. It hasn’t been terribly talked about. There’s a lot of talk about having to react. Hintz doesn’t react, he’s already going, and when he does, he can’t be caught. Even in a small space, he is able to make great little games constantly.
Hintz’s chain mate Robertson can be found high in the personal statistics, but Lehkonen gives credit to the Finnish center for that as well.
– Robertson scores goals and so on, but it might be that the game wouldn’t go quite like that with another center, Lehkonen laughs.
Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars
35. 3+7=10, +18
Lindell is a name that definitely belongs on the list, but whose glory is too often overlooked by the general public.
The name of the defender from Helsinki does not appear at the top of the points market, but when it comes to protecting the own goal with underpowered plays and all, the 27-year-old Lindell is the nobleman of his place in the NHL. Lindell is a basic bone that moves and positions well, fights hard and on the other hand opens the game excellently and simply enough.
Lindell’s power statistic +18 says a lot about the Finn’s season, as does the 53 percent mark found in the dangerous goal posts statistic. Here it is good to emphasize that Lindell starts the game more than six times out of ten from his own area, but has often been rolling in the direction of the game towards the opponent’s goal.
Lindell has killed the ice with an average of more than four minutes per game – the number is the highest in the entire NHL.
– It’s damn hard to win ice hockey games if the team doesn’t have basic players who do the dirty work on the field. In addition to them, Lindell always puts the first pass on the shoulder or at least goes one area forward. On top of that, he is one of the NHL’s best underpowered defenders, Lehkonen praises.
– His role is very clear. When the start is yours, it comes from there that you would like to twist the puck for yours. When the game is in the opponent’s head, Esa comes to whistle for a while, Lehkonen flirts.
As the puck man of the old league, Lehkonen also lights up the edge that Lindell uses in the rink. The Finn thrives in corner twists and goal-forward pressures, sharing the pain, but he doesn’t spend much time on the ice.
– Lindell is a nasty guy in the ice house, disgusting to play against.
Disappointments
Kasperi Kapanen, Pittsburgh Penguins
24. 5+8=13, -3
If the Bills leave out the early December hat trick against St. Louis, there has been almost nothing on offer. At least not in terms of potential. Kapase, 26, has all the elements to become a top chain player in the NHL through his excellent foot speed, good skill level and high-quality shot, but things have slowed down in Pittsburgh. For one reason or another, Kapanen cannot get all the power out of his machine.
The head coach has also noted this Mike Sullivan, who planted Kapa for long periods on the side of the stand in the fall. After returning to Kaukalo, Kapanen has been a player for about ten minutes. Such a role does not match the player’s potential, salary or the club’s expectations – hardly even the player’s own expectations.
– Kapanen still hasn’t quite accepted the fact that Sullivan wants his every shift to be the same amount of work, i.e. all in the game. Pittsburgh already has some players who have a bit of a right to screw around and they are centers. That means that the piers must be able to pump, Lehkonen sees.
– And Sullivan doesn’t think “Kassu” is a jerk anymore. The treatment comes accordingly.
Among the developed statistics, the ratio of dangerous goal posts, which is a scary 37 percent in Kapas, catches the eye. Pittsburgh has therefore lost 63% of the goal posts in the first sector after the Finn was on the ice. The number is by far the weakest in the team. Many frame attackers have won their games by about 60% in this regard.
It could very well be that Kapanen’s time in Pittsburgh is coming to an end.
Aleksander Barkov & Patrik Laine
25. 6+16=22, +5 (Barkov)
20. 9+7=16, -5 (Wave)
This duo has had bad luck with injuries. Both of the players have been sidelined due to injury twice already this season, Laine also for long periods last season. Barkov is sick right now.
Laine got his taps open after returning from illness and goals have been scored recently. Laine is still an uneven performer at the NHL level, if this is compared to the league’s elite players. Barkov’s basic level is really high, but according to Lehkonen, the best Barkov wasn’t available in the fall season.
– Barkov must understand that he is even the best center in the league, close at least. You have to find ways to stay out of conflicts even a little from time to time. A bit of a sniff of what the opponent brings to the table on any given day. However, Barkov is the player the opponent wants out of the game, says Lehkonen.
– Barkov’s minutes must be a plus in Florida, especially now, when things are tight with the playoff spot. Autumn was not particularly good by his standards. With that salary bag, it is expected that he will lead that team to the playoffs night after night. Now it feels like leadership in Florida is only building Matthew Tkachuk about.
Regarding Laine, Lehkonen reminds us to be patient.
– He is not even close to the ceiling yet, not even close. He needs to think about whether he, as an athlete, can do things even better to be a better player. He’s got big limbs and he’s a player who can deflect and stuff. Expectations were high again after the summer of all time, but there were injuries. Still, he makes a surface per game.
Regarding the spring season, Lehkonen especially wishes Lainee good health.
– Uncle Ismo doesn’t get Christmas presents, so I’m thinking of giving my present to Lainee so that she stays healthy for one year. It would be nice to see where one of the best scorers in the world can reach.
See the Finnish highlights of the NHL week below.