4 Nations Face-Off: Three Final Roster Projections For Team Finland

The NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off roster announcements are nigh, and we cap off our final projections with Team Finland.

Editor in chief Ryan Kennedy, managing editor of digital media Michael Traikos and senior digital correspondent Adam Proteau each submitted a projected roster for Finland as they did for Canada, the U.S. and Sweden.

As with every team, the Finns had six players named during the summer. Those players are:

F: Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes)
F: Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers)
F: Mikko Rantanen (Colorado Avalanche)
D: Miro Heiskanen, (Dallas Stars)
D: Esa Lindell (Dallas Stars)
G: Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators)

The Finns should have two above-average goalies in Saros and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, a defense corps that has a star in Miro Heiskanen, and other consensus picks, including defensemen Olli Maatta, Rasmus Ristolainen and Niko Mikkola on defense. That gives them the skill and dependability to serve them well in these showdowns.

At forward, the Finns aren't full of superstars, but they do have hard workers who won’t hurt their team with their two-way play.

Laine has a ton of talent, but veterans Teuvo Teravainen, Artturi Lehkonen and Mikael Granlund also have much to contribute with offensive production and smart, safe play.

Of course, Finland’s initial picks give them incredible scoring with Mikko Rantanen (34 points), Sebastian Aho (25) and Aleksander Barkov (24 points), the latter of whom is one of the top two-way forwards on the planet.

Here are the three final projections for Team Finland.

Adam Proteau's Projected Team Finland

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This Team Finland is built around hard-nosed players who aren’t going to let their team down with high-risk, high-danger moves in their own zone. For this reason, worker-bee competitors, including Valimaki and Kotkaniemi, have something to offer the team beyond being depth picks.

The 30-year-old netminder Joonas Korpisalo slots in as the third netminder on the team, but let’s be honest – if he's playing, something has gone terribly wrong with Saros and Luukkonen’s performances. Still, he can provide goaltending insurance, with a 2.45 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in nine games for the Boston Bruins this season.

Finland is a pesky group that can play without the pressure of being a favorite to win it all at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The underdog status could mean they don't have much to lose and everything to gain.

They’ve got elite talent at all three key positions, and they have players at every position who’ve won championships at the highest levels. That could be enough to make Finland a group that will upset Canada, the USA and Sweden. - Adam Proteau

Related: 4 Nations Face-Off: Three Final Roster Projections For Team Canada

Ryan Kennedy's Projected Team Finland

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There are only so many Finnish players in the NHL, so this squad will pretty much be going with the best available - and there is a lot of talent in that cohort.

But not everyone can make the final cut, and New York's Kaapo Kakko may be the odd man out when all is said and done. Though he's off to a nice offensive start with the Rangers, the 23-year-old has experienced a very up-and-down NHL career to date.

While the same can be said for Kotkaniemi, at least he can play center, giving Finland options for its bottom six. Elsewhere, a utility player such as Luostarinen would be valuable on the penalty kill but also in general, thanks to his championship experience with the Florida Panthers.

Similarly, Joel Armia has seen it all in his career and would bring veteran savvy and size to the lineup. The Finns are famous for being more than the sum of their parts internationally, and a strong group of diverse forwards would give them a chance to do so again. - Ryan Kennedy

Related: 4 Nations Face-Off: Three Final Roster Projections For Team USA

Michael Traikos' Projected Team Finland

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Take away Miro Heiskanen, and suddenly, Finland’s defense doesn’t look like it has the same star power as the other three countries. But what it lacks in name recognition, it more than makes up for in size and strength, thanks to 6-foot-7 Jani Hakanpaa and 6-foot-6 Niko Mikkola, as well as 6-foot-4 Rasmus Ristolainen.

Up front, there are not many top-end scoring options after you get past Barkov, Rantanen and Aho. Maybe that’s why Laine, who’s been out of the lineup all year in Montreal until Tuesday, will get a look. The same goes for Utah’s Matias Maccelli, who isn’t off to the same start he was a year ago.

After all, when you’ve got a goaltending situation that might be even worse than Canada’s — sorry, Saros — you’re going to need all the depth scoring that you can get. - Michael Traikos

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Related: 4 Nations Face-Off: Three Final Roster Projections For Team Sweden