The NHL’s official Instagram account gave a taste of what the Finnish team could look like in next year’s national team tournament.
Roope Hintz is one of Finland’s star centers in the NHL. AOP / USA TODAY Sports
Next year, instead of the star weekend, the NHL will organize a top tournament of four countries, which will include Finland, Sweden, Canada and the USA.
Now, on the NHL’s official Instagram account, we are already getting a feel for what the Finnish team could look like in next year’s tournament.
There are no big surprises in the team, if it doesn’t count as such Patrik Laine being left out of the lineup. Laine is currently in a treatment program organized by the NHL players’ association due to mental health problems, but many hockey fans still wonder in the comment section of the publication, “where is Patrik Laine?”.
One special feature of the team assembled by the NHL was: at least eight of Finland’s 13 forwards have received center training or play as a center in the NHL.
Montreal and Boston will be the host cities for the national team tournament to be played in February next year. Only players who have an NHL contract can participate.
The NHL’s view of the Lions’ team
Attackers:
Roope Hintz, Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho, Aleksander Barkov, Matias Maccelli, Teuvo Teräväinen, Mikael Granlund, Eeli Tolvanen, Erik Haula, Anton Lundell, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Artturi Lehkonen, Eetu Luostarinen
Defenders:
Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, Henri Jokiharju, Niko Mikkola, Jani Hakanpää, Rasmus Ristolainen, Juuso Välimäki
Goalkeepers:
Juuse Saros, Antti Raanta, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
If the images do not appear on your device, you can view them from here.