Oliver Kapanen Once Again Headlines Finnish Roster For Swedish Leg Of Euro Hockey Tour
With two legs of the 2024-25 Euro Hockey Tour complete, the four teams – Czechia, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland – are back in action Feb. 6 to 9 for the Swedish Hockey Games. Most of the tournament will be held in Stockholm but the opening day will also feature a game between Switzerland and Finland in Langnau, Switzerland.
That game in Langnau will be the only one where Antti Pennanen will be behind Finland’s bench. After that game, instead of accompanying the rest of the Finnish squad to Sweden, he and some of his other staff will head overseas to begin preparations for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Assistant Jussi Tapola will take over the rest of the weekend.
At the Euro Hockey Tour’s midpoint, the Finns are in second place with 11 points – four back of first-place Czechia and five ahead of third-place Switzerland. Finland won the first leg on home ice in Helsinki in November and then finished second at the Swiss Ice Hockey Games in December.
Unlike the 4 Nations Face-Off, this tournament will consist entirely of European-based players. By the time the IIHF World Championship rolls around in May, Finland and other top European teams will use a combination of both groups.
Finland’s 24-man roster for the Swedish Hockey Games features 10 players from the Swedish Hockey League, nine from Finland’s Liiga, four from Switzerland’s National League and one from Germany’s DEL. It’s a rather inexperienced group but notable names include Montreal Canadiens prospect Oliver Kapanen, Kalle Kossila, who briefly played for the Anaheim Ducks, and Saku Mäenalanen, who played for the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets. Mäenalanen and Hannes Bjorninen were both members of Finland’s 2022 Olympic gold-medal team.
Defenseman Atro Leppänen, who at 26 has never represented Finland at a major tournament, is second in Liiga scoring with 51 points in 47 games.
Note the roster includes a few updates from what was originally named.
Goaltenders
Lehtinen Lassi, MoDo Hockey (SWE)
Salminen Oskari, JYP**
Defensemen
Almari Niclas, Lukko
Laaksonen Oskari, Luleå HF (SWE)
Leppänen Atro, Sport
Pulli Valtteri, HC Lugano (SUI)
Sund Tony, HIFK
Viitasalo Nuutti, Lukko
Vittasmäki Veli-Matti, Kölner Haie (GER)
Winberg Tobias, MoDo Hockey (SWE)
Forwards
Björninen Hannes, Örebro HK (SWE)
Borgström Henrik, HV71 (SWE)
Erholtz Eemil, Ässät
Kapanen Oliver, Timrå IK (SWE)
Keskinen Oiva, Tappara**
Kossila Kalle, Örebro HK (SWE)
Leino Robert, Örebro HK (SWE)
Mäenalanen Saku, SCL Tigers (SUI)
Mäntykivi Matias, Ilves
Nurmi Markus, Luleå HF (SWE)
Nättinen Julius, HC Ajoie (SUI)**
Oksanen Ahti, Lausanne HC (SUI)
Repo Sebastian, Lukko
Ruohomaa Mikael, Frölunda HC (SWE)
**UPDATED Feb. 2, 2025:
Goaltender Heljanko Christian (ERC Ingolstadt) unable to participate, replaced by Oskari Salminen (JYP)
Defenseman Vili Saarijärvi (SCL Tigers) unable to participate.
Forwards Anton Levtchi (Luleå HF), Joona Luoto (HV71) and Niko Ojamäki (EHC Kloten) unable to participate, replaced by Oiva Keskinen (Tappara) and Julius Nättinen (HC Ajoie).