PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The Timrå acquisition Oliver Kapanen comes with a cocky performance ahead of the World Cup quarter-final against Sweden tonight.
When asked what star Mikael Granlund’s suspension means for Finland, he answers:
– He is away for a game, but will be back on Saturday (in the semi-finals).
Finland must overcome the disadvantage in terms of the number of NHL players – the team has three tonight, Sweden has 18 in the squad – and how the teams have performed so far.
Sweden has won seven straight in the World Cup and Finland won only three of its group stage matches.
Sweden favorites
Just like in the 2019 World Cup quarter-finals, Finland overcomes a disadvantage. At that time, Finland also had a home-grown team, while Sweden was teeming with NHL stars.
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But the “Lions” won and finally took WC gold – and the plan is to roar again.
– We have a good chance, of course, we are not gone. We will fight hard and do it with the mentality that we will win, says the 20-year-old Oliver Kapanen who is fourth in the WC’s shooting league with six hits and is Finland’s best goalscorer.
“Changes nothing”
Kapanen’s view that Mikael Granlund is off is that someone else gets to step forward.
– Our captain is away for a game, now someone else has to step up and be the leader. It doesn’t change how we’re going to play, we just keep going. He is out for one game, but back on Saturday.
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You win and move on?
– That’s the plan and that’s how we intend to do it, he says.
To Timrå, but…
The 20-year-old forward from the Kuopio team Kalpa has signed for Timrå, where father Kimmo Kapanen is sports director, ahead of next season. But Kapanen is drafted by Montreal and the question is whether the NHL team wants him over already for next season after his productive WC.
– We will see after the tournament what happens. Maybe I’ll get an extra phone call, I don’t know how the conversation goes. We’ll see after the tournament, he says.
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Judging by Finland’s warm-up, it will be the Växjö goalkeeper Emil Larmi who gets the chance between the posts.
Sweden is injury-free and had all 25 players in the squad on ice in the warm-up at lunchtime on Thursday.
How do you think things are going in Sweden against Finland? Share the article and have your say!
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