The Finnish national team has taken a roster of 26 players to the World Junior Summer Showcase, which starts on Sunday in Minneapolis, Minn.
“We’re taking a pretty big group,” said coach Lauri Mikkola. “Just because of the time difference, we can rotate the players a bit, and we don’t have to go to every game with the same lineup.”
Before the Showcase, Finland hosted a four-team tournament on home ice in Vierumäki which featured two Finnish squads – an A-Team and what was essentially a B-Team, which was made up of all U-19 players and will probably form the basis of the Finnish team at this year’s World Junior A Challenge in December.
Unlike the tournament in Vierumäki, the Finns are not bringing any players based in North America to the Showcase. Most notably, that includes forwards Kosta Helenius and Emil Hemming – first-round picks in 2024 and have already been signed by the Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars, respectively.
That has opened up some spots for players from the B-Team to appear in the Showcase, including Kasper Pikkarainen and Joki Atte, who are draft picks of the New Jersey Devils and Dallas, respectively.
10 NHL-Drafted Players On Czech U-20 Summer Roster
The roster that the Czechs have brought to a
four-team summer tournament in Vierumäki,
Finland includes
10 players who have been drafted by NHL teams, including defenseman
Radim Mrtka, who as taken ninth overall by the Buffalo Sabres this
summer.
The World Junior Summer Showcase runs from July 27 to Aug. 2 and features the junior national teams of Finland and Sweden, as well as two teams each representing the USA and Canada.
Goaltenders: 1 Saarinen Kim, HPK Hämeenlinna – Seattle Kraken, 30 Rimpinen Petteri, Kiekko-Espoo – Los Angeles Kings, 31 Kerkola Patrik, KalPa Kuopio;
Defensemen: 2 Jokinen Mitja, TPS Turku; 3 Kiviharju Aron, HIFK Helsinki – Minnesota Wild; 4 Nykyri Niklas, HIFK Helsinki; 6 Soini Sebastian, Ilves Tampere – Minnesota Wild; 7 Nieminen Daniel, Pelicans Lahti – Nashville Predators; 14 Saari Julius, Jokerit Helsinki; 18 Mononen Veikka, KalPa Kuopio; 25 Boelius Lasse, Ässät Pori – Anaheim Ducks.
Forwards: 8 Kettunen Anton, Pelicans Lahti; 9 Koivu Aatos, TPS Turku – Montreal Canadiens; 10 Pulkkanen Akseli, KalPa Kuopio; 11 Kalto Onni, TPS Turku; 12 Saarelainen Joona, KalPa Kuopio– Tampa Bay Lightning; 15 Kuhta Jasper, HIFK Helsinki; 16 Vanhanen Matias, HIFK Helsinki; 17 Tuuva Leo, Lukko Rauma; 20 Pikkarainen Kasper, TPS Turku – New Jersey Devils; 21 Westergård Max, Frölunda SWE – Philadelphia Flyers; 23 Vesterinen Roope, HPK Hämeenlinna; 24 Joki Atte, Lukko Rauma – Dallas Stars; 27 Pietilä Benjamin, Kärpät Oulu; 28 Ruohonen Heikki, Harvard University NCAA – Philadelphia Flyers 29 Räsänen Veeti, Jokerit Helsinki.
Photo © David Reginek-Imagn Images.
Frondell & Eklund Withdraw From World Junior Summer Showcase; 16 Drafted Players Still On Swedish Roster
Anton
Frondell and Victor Eklund will not play for Sweden at the upcoming
World Junior Summer Showcase, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association
<a href="https://x.com/Trekronorse/status/1947220256218390856">tweeted
on Monday</a>.