Jukka Jalose has the most difficult place in his career

The most difficult World Cup selections of my career. Yes master coach Jukka Jalonen60, characterizes the assembly of this spring’s team.

– A lot of top players were available, Jalonen begins.

– Choosing a team is always challenging, but now it was especially so. There were players at the camp who have been involved in winning Olympic or World Cup gold or both – it didn’t feel good to let them down, he clarifies.

An example can be mentioned Toni Rajala. The winger of two world championships and an Olympic gold medal was one of the last to drop out of the Tampere competition team.

Jalonen says that the formation lived until last Sunday’s last training match.

– The team could have been locked up before last weekend’s Czech EHT tournament. But that lineup would not have been the same that was chosen on Sunday: 2–3 players changed.

The golden trio

Jalonen has achieved two World Cup golds, a silver and an Olympic victory in his head coaching period that started in the 2018–19 season.

– The common factors are good individuals, atmosphere, functional way of playing and discipline. Of course, the kouts have steered the ship in exactly the right direction. In addition, we have earned the necessary luck when there have been overtimes and other near misses, goalkeeper Jussi Olkinuora32, reviews,

Straw rope, defender Atte Ohtamaa35, and winger Marko Anttila, 37, are the only players to have won all of the above medals. They are also in this season’s World Cup group.

– There has been more turnover in this year’s camp than in the past. The competition for playing spots is always fierce, but this has never happened before, Olkinuora says.

Some passionate puck fans have questioned the places of Ohtama and Anttila in this year’s team.

Jalonen has underlined in several interviews that the Lions’ prestigious competition group is not a star team, but the best possible team. Ohtamaa and Anttila are important spiritual leaders.

– They keep up appearances and discipline. When we go, we go. As a good counterbalance, they know how to keep things simple. Their mental age starts with the number two, says Olkinuora.

Three out of four medals during Jalonen’s tenure have been won by defenders Mikko Lehtonen and Ville Pokka and attackers Harri Pesonen, Jere Sallinen, Sakari Manninen and Hannes Björninen.

The “medalless” men in this season’s WC group are the goalkeepers Christian Heljanko and Emil LarmiNHL men Mikko Rantanen and Kasperi Kapanenthe striker who played the season of his life in Sweden Antti Suomelaa striker who excelled in Tappara Walter Merelä as well as the team’s surprise names Nikolas Matipalo (Aces deck) and Ahti Oksanen (Oskarshamn striker).

Camp to glory

The Lions’ preparation camp for the World Cup tournament lasts four weeks on average.

– It is important for us to have shared experiences, Jalonen comments.

Nine players from the first camp group made it to the World Cup home games. Among them are, among others, Matinpalo and Oksanen.

– If there are two equally strong players, it does not have an advantage who has been in the camp longer. Such an advantage can be that if they learn and develop during four weeks the customs of the house. They will be seen in 7-8 games. It has much more sampling compared to playing 2-3 games. It can be more free to play when you don’t have your back against the wall in every match, Jalonen thinks.

We’re still waiting

Finland will not stamp the passports of all players selected for the competition team before Friday’s USA match.

– Let’s see what happens in the NHL.

According to Jalonen, only “world-class” players are expected from the NHL.

– We don’t take everyone who is released. But there are world-class players there. If they fall in the second round, is there health and desire to go to Tampere? Last year we succeeded Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen with.