Finland
Is Finland poised to bounce back after underachieving in 2023 with a seventh-place finish on home ice? Returning to the medals would be a nice swan song for coach Jukka Jalonen, even if his legendary legacy is already secure with an Olympic gold medal (2022) and three world titles (2011, 2019, 2022).
None of those triumphs relied heavily on NHL talent, and Jalonen is sticking with the Europe-first approach that has served him well before. Mikael Granlund (San Jose), who scored twice in the gold medal game versus Canada in 2022, is a notable exception. It will also be interesting to track how Jesse Puljujarvi (Pittsburgh Penguins) progresses on his redemption tour, having struggled since his World Junior MVP glory days of 2016.
Overall, it’s familiar faces galore, from 2022 Olympic starting goalie Harri Sateri (EHC Biel) to perennial power-play quarterback Mikko Lehtonen (ZSC Lions) to Beijing winning goal-scorer Hannes Bjorninen. Monitoring what 17-year-old phenom Konsta Helenius (Jukurit) can do here after already playing at the World Juniors and U18 Worlds this year will be fascinating. It’s a workmanlike group in most ways, but with the traditional Finnish cohesion, a top-four finish is still in reach.
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