The official roster for Team Finland dropped on Wednesday for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off slated for February 2025.
Each nation’s roster read like an All-Star team, filled with players any NHL team would salivate at the thought of having. The stacked Finnish squad boasts two Colorado Avalanche forwards: Artturi Lehkonen and Mikko Rantanen.
Let’s start by talking about Lehkonen. Lehkonen started the year on the shelf with a shoulder injury. Since coming back, he’s been nothing short of lethal. He’s got five goals and five assists in 14 games, playing predominantly on the top line with Rantanen and Hart Trophy frontrunner Nathan MacKinnon.
Lehkonen is a Swiss army knife of sorts. He can play on any line, providing skill and a mean streak that can rub opponents the wrong way. While he’s not a pest, but it can certainly get annoying to play against Lehkonen.
Considering the stacked forward group for Finland, Lehkonen could draw into the third line with Montreal Canadiens center Joel Armia and perhaps Mikael Granlund. However, I would be surprised if the Finnish squad chooses to play Lehkonen with a center like Sebastian Aho.
What I don’t see is Lehkonen playing anywhere lower than the middle six. He’s too good to be a grinder on the checking line. Although, it’s likely the Finnish coaching staff goes with players who hit it off at their training camp. Chemistry can play a huge role in such a short tournament.
Rantanen a shoo-in for the top line on Team Finland
It’s a no-brainer that Mikko Rantanen will be on the top line for Team Finland. Rantanen is arguably the best pure goal-scorer on the Finnish squad. So, there should be no question about deploying Rantanen on the top line alongside Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov.
Barkov is the best all-around center in the league. He’s the best shutdown center at this point. He’s an improved version of what Patrice Bergeron was for Team Canada back in the day. So, pairing Barkov and Rantanen makes perfect sense.
Now, to throw a bit of a monkey wrench in the opposition’s works, why not mix Patrik Laine on the top line with Barkov and Rantanen? A healthy, focused Laine is another deadly sniper who can give opposing coaches migraines.
Since Barkov can make up for Laine’s defensive shortcomings, the Barkov-Laine-Rantanen trio could be poised to skate around the ice gobbling up pucks. It’s just an initial thought. But such a top line could become the 4 Nations’ best trio.
Of course, there’s always the chance we could see MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, and Mitch Marner suit up on a single line for Team Canada. But we’ll get into that in a minute.