Finland

Goaltenders/Gardiens de but
Antero Niittymaki - 0	Philadelphia Flyers
Kari Lehtonen - 0	Atlanta Thrashers
Fredrik Norrena - 0	Linköpings HC
Defence/Défense
Teppo Numminen - 3	Buffalo Sabres
Sami Salo - 1	Vancouver Canucks
Kimmo Timonen - 2	Nashville Predators
Joni Pitkänen - 0	Philadelphia Flyers
Toni Lydman - 0	Buffalo Sabres
Aki-Petteri Berg - 2	Toronto Maple Leafs
Ossi Väänänen - 1	Colorado Avalanche
Forwards/Avants
Saku Koivu - 2	Montreal Canadiens
Olli Jokinen - 1	Florida Panthers
Niko Kapanen - 0	Dallas Stars
Mikko Koivu - 0	Minnesota Wild
Jere Lehtinen - 3	Dallas Stars
Teemu Selänne - 3	Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Jussi Jokinen - 0	Dallas Stars
Ville Peltonen - 2	HC Lugano
Sami Kapanen - 3	Philadelphia Flyers
Antti Laaksonen - 0	Colorado Avalanche
Antti Miettinen - 0	Dallas Stars
Jarkko Ruutu - 1	Vancouver Canucks
Jukka Hentunen - 0	HC Lugano

Goaltenders:

The 21st Century so far has been the time when Finland has superseeded Quebec as the world's premier goalie producers. These three are no exceptions. The loss of Calgary Flame all-star Miikka Kiprusoff was a blow to Finland but unlike many other countries, Finland is very deep in the net moving the grand total of countries with real depth at the spot to 2 (of course Canada being the other). The troika of 2006's version of Team Finland is lead by 25 year old Antero Niittymaki. The Philadelphia Flyer goaltender stepped in between the pipes this year when Robert Esche was facing pro-longed injury and Niittymaki was nothing short of spectacular. 22 year old Kari Lehtonen has been shaky at times though the Thrashers' defence has been quite suspect this year. Fredrik Norrena, who has been playing in Sweden's Elite League since 2002, is the veteran of the group. He was solid last year making Linkoping a very good contender for the Swedish crown. Who the number one will be comming into Turino is up in the air and much will hinge on the last few days before the tournament.

Defencemen:

The Finnish defence in Turino will most likely be the best defensive unit out of all the gold medal contenders. Led by veteran Pheonix Coyote defenceman Teppo Numminen, the Finns are a tight checking, physical and tough group. Youngsters such as Philadelphia Flyer Joni Pitkanen and Buffalo Saber Toni Lydman add offense to an already solid bunch of defencemen while Edmonton Oiler Sami Salo will be a key quarterback on Finnish powerplays. Aki Berg has had a horrendous year for the Toronto Maple Leafs and look for him to be the weak link in the line of excellent Finnish defenders. That being said, the Finns will give up very few goals in Turino and these men will be the reason for it.

Forwards:

Finland's forward crew has a good mix of seasoned veterans and quick youngesters. Teemu Selanne has been having a fantastic year for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and that is very very good news for Finland. Finland will be a media darling as well as two sets of brothers will be playing for Suomi (The Koivus - Mikko and Saku, and the Kapanens - Nico and Sami) while it would have been three had it not been for a Tuomu Ruutu ankle injury and subsequent surgery (Ollie and Jussi Jokinen are not related). The addition of two-way Dallas Star youngster Antti Miettinen will aid Finland very much with the projected numerous amounts of penalties. Look for Vancouver Canuck veteran Jarkko Ruutu to be in the box a lot as he has a habit of taking lots of bad penalties while the veteran core of this Finnish forward squad including Jere Lehtinen, Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu, Sami Kapenen, Ville Peltonen and Jukka Hentunen to provide enough goals for Finland to capture a medal of some sort.

General Comments:

The Finns are a solid team that will play North American style bang and crash hockey. Their large defence will be a force to be reckoned with and don't expect anyone to score a lot on them. Finland's question mark is the inexperience between the pipes as neither Lehtonen or Niittymaki have top level international experience.