Helenius, Hemming, Kiviharju highlight Finnish summer U20 rosters

The Finnish Ice Hockey Association has announced a list of 24 U20 players that will attend a training camp in Vierumäki July 18-22, during which time they will play a couple of exhibition games against visiting U20 national teams from Czechia and Switzerland. The list includes highly-ranked 2024 NHL Draft prospects Konsta Helenius, Emil Hemming and Aron Kiviharju (who ended up getting chosen by the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild, respectively). It also includes several returnees from the team that finished fourth at last year's IIHF World Junior Championship and already-drafted prospects, most notably San Jose Sharks’ second-round pick Kasper Halttunen of the London Knights.

The Finns have also announced the list of 22 players that will comprise a so-called “challenger” team. The most notable names on that list are NHL draftees Janne Peltonen, Emil Järventie and Tuomas Uronen. That team will also play the visiting Czech and Swiss teams, as well as the Finnish U18 national team.

After the camp is over, Finland will announce a list of 25 players that will go to Plymouth, Michigan for the World Junior Summer Showcase in late July and early August.

Goaltenders:
Vali Noa, TPS Turku
Vedenpää Visa, Kärpät Oulu (Seattle Kraken)
Vinni Eemil, HIFK Helsinki (Edmonton Oilers)

Defensemen:
Jokinen Mitja, TPS Turku
Junkkari Jimi, Pelicans Lahti
Kangas Kalle, HPK Hämeenlinna (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Kiviharju Aron, HIFK Helsinki (Minnesota Wild)
Korkola Niko, Tappara Tampere
Pieniniemi Emil, Kärpät Oulu (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Tuhkala Arttu, Luleå SWE
Väisänen Veeti, KooKoo Kouvola (Utah HC)

Forwards:
Alasiurua Arttu, Kärpät Oulu
Halttunen Kasper, London Knights OHL (San Jose Sharks)
Helenius Konsta, Tappara Tampere (Buffalo Sabres)
Hemming Emil, TPS Turku (Dallas Stars)
Hynninen Topias, Jukurit Mikkeli
Kiiskinen Jesse, HPK Hämeelinna (Nashville Predators)
Kumpulainen Rasmus, Oshawa Generals OHL (Minnesota Wild)
Kuusla Emil, Jokerit Helsinki
Leppä Tom, Michigan Tech NCAA
Miettinen Julius, Everett Silvertips WHL (Seattle Kraken)
Nurmi Jesse, KooKoo Kouvola (New York Islanders)
Rautiainen Benjamin, Tappara Tampere
Saarelainen Joona, KalPa Kuopio

Challenger team:

Goaltenders:
Rimpinen Petteri, Kiekko-Espoo
Saarinen Kim, HPK Hämeenlinna (Seattle Kraken)

Defensemen:
Inhala Joose, Kiekko-Espoo
Kiukas Peetu, SaiPa Lappeenranta
Muhonen Niilopekka, KalPa Kuopio (Dallas Stars)
Nieminen Daniel, Pelicans Lahti
Nykyri Niklas, HIFK Helsinki
Nyman Nooa, Kiekko-Espoo
Peltonen Janne, Kärpät Oulu (Chicago Blackhawks)
Soini Sebastian, Ilves Tampere (Minnesota Wild)

Forwards:
Huttu Elias, JYP Jyväskylä
Jansson Elias, Michigan Tech NCAA
Järventie Emil, Tappara Tampere (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Koivu Aatos, TPS Turku (Montreal Canadiens)
Levänen Eetu, Sport Vaasa
Lind Onni, Jokerit Helsinki
Loponen Markus, Kärpät Oulu
Pikkarainen Kasper, TPS Turku (New Jersey Devils)
Ruohonen Heikki, Kiekko-Espoo (Philadelphia Flyers)
Suoniemi Tuomas, Kiekko-Espoo
Uronen Tuomas, Ottawa 67´s OHL (Vegas Golden Knights)
Ylitalo Otso, Ässät Pori 

NOTE: This article was originally published before the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and has been updated to show which teams selected players on both rosters.