FINLAND – Team Finland Head Coach, Jukka Jalonen has named his roster for the up and coming IIHF World Championships in Slovakia. The final roster was selected after the European Hockey Tour tournament in Brno, Czech Republic. Icing for Finland in the Czech leg of the tour were NHL players Mikko Koivu (Minnesota Wild), Tuomo Ruutu (Carolina Hurricanes), Sami Lepisto (Columbus Blue Jackets), Anssi Salmela (New Jersey Devils) and Jesse Joensuu (New York Islanders). After the tournament, Joensuu was the only NHL based player to be cut from the current slew of available NHLers that had indicated that they were available. New additions announced to the roster were freshly crowned Finnish champions Mikael Granlund and Finnish hockey icon, Ville Peltonen. Additionally Blues’ forward Jani Lajunen was selected to the overall roster for the World Championships. Interestingly the names of Jere Karalahti and Teemu Pulkkinen were not on the list of players selected. Karalahti, an experienced D-man had a strong season anchoring the surprise team Blues’ blue line, while Jokerit forward Teemu Pulkkinen had a breakout season, nearly setting the SM-Liiga record for most points by a rookie. In the mean time Jalonen admitted in a radio interview for YleX that Team Finland’s General Manager Jari Kurri has tried to reach Teemu Selanne to gauge his interest in playing in the World Championships. Selanne, along with Saku Koivu, Jarkko Ruutu and Toni Lydman, became available for Team Finland after Anaheim was knocked out of the NHL Stanley Cup Play Offs. However, Selanne announced after the 2010 Olympics that his international career was over and Lydman has announced that he is unavailable due to a shoulder injury that requires surgery. The Finnish coaching and managerial staff will know for definite on Wednesday morning which Finnish players would potentially be available from the NHL. Finland will start the World Championships on the 29th of April with a game against Denmark. The full roster is:
Goalies:
Niko Hovinen (Pelicans, SM-Liiga)
Teemu Lassila (HPK, SM-Liiga)
Petri Vehanen (Ak Bars Kazan, KHL)
Defence:
Topi Jaakkola (Lulea, Elit Serien)
Lasse Kukkonen (Magnitogorsk, KHL)
Sami Lepisto (Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL)
Janne Niskala (Magnitogorsk, KHL)
Pasi Puistola (HV-71, Elit Serien)
Anssi Salmela (New Jersey Devils, NHL)
Jyrky Valivaara (JYP, SM-Liiga)
Ossi Vaananen (Jokerit, SM-Liiga)
Forwards
Juhamatti Aaltonen (Magnitogorsk, KHL)
Mikael Granlund (HIFK, SM-Liiga)
Jarkko Immonen (Ak Bars Kazan, KHL)
Niko Kapanen (Ak Bars Kazan, KHL)
Mikko Koivu (Minnesota Wild, NHL)
Leo Komarov (OHK Dynamo, KHL)
Janne Lahti (Jokerit, SM-Liiga)
Jani Lajunen (Blues, SM-Liiga)
Petteri Nokelainen (Jokerit, SM-Liiga)
Ville Peltonen (HIFK, SM-Liiga)
Janne Pesonen (Ak Bars Kazan, KHL)
Antti Philstrom (JYP, SM-Liiga)
Mika Pyorala (Frolunda, Elit Serien)
Tuomo Ruutu (Carolina Hurricanes, NHL)
Contact Janne.Virtanen@prohockeynews.com
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