Finland’s under-20 men’s national ice hockey team already suffered its second defeat at the World Cup in Sweden.
Finland, which lost its opening game to Canada on Boxing Day, lost to Germany 3–4 in its second game. The defeat was historic, as Nuoret Leijonat had won all previous matches against Germany at the World Cup level (25 wins).
Even worse, Urheilu’s hockey expert Top from Nättinen felt the way Finland’s defeat came.
– The result is quite shocking when you look at the starting points of the match. When I went to watch this game, I wanted to look at Finland’s mental state with a really big lens. How does the team come into the game, how do they fight on the field and how do they live together on the bench. You couldn’t really see anything on the field. Not game-wise, and not mentally, Nättinen sums up.
In this article, expert Nättinen goes through the three most important points regarding the match against Germany and the continuation of the tournament.
Mental side: worrying
Nättinen was surprised that the lack of mental charge seen in the Canada match was not just the excitement of the first match or one surprising situation. Against Germany, all the same was present.
– When I looked at the teams that played on the field, I could see from Germany that this match meant a lot to them. I can’t say the same about Finland. Sometimes the game doesn’t work, it’s okay to make mistakes. But, if mentally no one is present, I really wonder about it.
Nättinen, who won the under-20 World Championship gold in Nuori Leijon in January 2014, wonders why the Finnish team doesn’t show that it plays in these games. In the under-20 competitions, passion, the desire to show off and even excesses have been standard, he reminds.
– The way Finland showed itself in the rink was a really big disappointment for me. For example, what the players looked like when they fanned out after their goals. Samu Bau it looked like he was almost embarrassed by that goal. It seemed that the Finns cared about the fact that “let’s save the airs against the louder ones, this is only Germany”. At the same time as the Canadians are already celebrating in the first games by jumping to the edge of the plexiglass, says Nättinen.
According to him, this all seemed like the whole Finnish team thought the game was just “another day at the office”, underestimating Germany. Its result was finally visible on the light board at the end of the match.
The action of the coaching team in the game also surprised Nätti.
– The head coach Lauri Mikkola looks really worried and unsure. I myself have played under such coaching in my career and I can tell you, it sticks to the team. It also catches on really quickly if coaching is not involved in the hustle and bustle.
Playful side: lost
According to Nättinen, it was difficult to find positive aspects of Finland’s playing side. Finland dominated the game at one point in the second period, when they put a lot of pressure on the German defenders. A lot was left in the barrel after that episode.
– The cornerstone of Finnish ice hockey, i.e. team play, the umbrella under which things start to be built, also shines by its absence.
According to Nättinen, the Young Lions’ game is on a tightrope. The players don’t know how to read each other’s movements or how to act in certain situations on the field.
– For this reason, there was an incredible amount of puck losses, even considering the general level of under-20 competitions. In the youth national teams, you can get them from time to time, but now there were too many of them, he says.
– In my opinion, the attacking game includes above all speed, joint rhythms and passing chains. In that game, according to my calculations, Finland crossed the opponent’s blue line about five to six times. If Finland attacked well, it was too often caused by a single individual having to take on too much responsibility with long transports. It doesn’t help team play.
According to Nättinen, this often leads to the previously mentioned puck losses due to pushing. In turn, it is not possible to react to these as a team.
Even the top individuals are now very weak in Finland. Nättinen thought about the reasons why they are not able to show their proven best.
– I see that even the top individuals in the team now have a cast that they are not doing well. Because they don’t dare to be brave, and they don’t get support in the way they play.
– The most blatant example is why Lenny Hämeenaho plays with superiority in front of the goal. I would like to know who has made the decision that a player with an excellent shot, who has scored more than ten league goals, is a goal-scoring player. That’s why it’s quite pointless to expect effects from him, for example.
The big picture: the ingredients of a disaster
Nättinen hopes that Finland would be able to reset everything that has happened in the tournament so far at the latest now. There is no opportunity to train or develop players in the World Cup tournament. Change can only happen on the spiritual side, if it is to come.
However, the ingredients for a real disaster are at hand.
– In a complete disaster picture, Finland’s loss to Latvia in the upcoming game would mean a place in the qualifiers. That would be a complete scandal. The Finnish national ice hockey team should never be in such a situation. Now it is no longer a matter of getting a good opponent to the playoff stage. Now we are playing to even make it to the playoffs.
Nättinen places the biggest responsibility for the terrible start of the tournament for the Young Lions on Mikkola’s coaching team.
– When you look at the level at which Finnish players play in their own leagues among adults, the strengths of the top players should also be visible in the World Cup arena. I don’t see any other reason at the moment, other than that they are currently playing a game at the team level that they are not used to. They have been coached better and they have played more organized.
Nättinen says that he even passes the responsibility on to the higher levels of coaching. That is, for those who have chosen this group to coach the Young Lions.
– By what process and on what grounds have those choices been made. What is Lauri Mikkola’s ability to pilot the team in that difficult position?
– Or let’s think about it Jussi from Joki, who was likely brought into the coaching staff to get the young players to believe the messages with the authority his NHL career provides. Now in a difficult place, his role is also put in a difficult light: does he have enough experience or the ability to react as a coach?
Nättinen ends with one reflection.
– At the end of the day, you have to think about whether the kind of people who serve this age group have been coached there. Know them and know how to support them. When you think about this matter, it could very well be that this coaching group is assembled more to support Lauri Mikkola than for the players and the game to do better.