(Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images)

Team Finland—Where will they finish?

With Canada, Russia, and Sweden all poised to kick butt and take names at the 2010 Olympics, it’s time to take a look at the also-rans.

Finland is a talented team in the nets and, to a certain degree, down the middle. However, they will likely struggle on the wings and at defense. Let’s take a closer look at the team.


Center

Olli Jokinen: Jokinen has had a miserable season in Phoenix, but he’s still the best Finland has to offer at this position. Look, Jokinen is “No Joke”, but he will struggle against the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Mats Sundin/ Nicklas Backstrom.

Mikko Koivu: Having a good season with the Minnesota Wild should help him continue to develop into a good scorer. Finland will be relying on Koivu to step his game up a notch, but he could be over his head against the likes of Canada, Russia and Sweden—especially considering that he may go up against, Joe Thornton, Pavol Datsyuk, and Henrik Sedin.

Saku Koivu: You just never know what you are getting with Saku; one minute he looks unstoppable, the other he’s broken down and ineffective. His 10 goals in 40 games is unimpressive; don’t expect him to be all that effective at the Olympics.

Valtteri Filppula: This guy is going to get hammered by team Canada, I mean, Filppula is a decent player, but, in this checking role, he will get stomped on!

Left Wing

Niklas Hagman: One of the few bright spots on the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, Hagman is another member of this team that will struggle against the top squads.

Hagman has the task of facing the likes of Patrick Elias, Henrik Zetterberg, Bobby Ryan, Alex Ovechkin, and Simon Gagne. That sounds like a fun tournament, doesn’t it? Hagman is going to have one hell of a headache in 2010!

Ville Peltonen: A nice find for the Florida Panthers, but he will be clearly over his head at the Olympics. Simon Gagne, Daniel Sedin and Ilya Kovalchuk will eat this guy up.

Jussi Jokinen: He’s “Juicy” alright; the opposition is salivating over facing this guy for three periods. His assignment? Containing the likes of Johan Franzen, Brenden Morrow (Who I left off my list and shouldn’t have!), Alex Semin/Frolov, and perhaps a guy like Bobby Ryan. Yeah...Good luck with that!

Jarkko Ruutu: One thing a team can ill-afford to do at the Olympics is give the other team a man advantage. Ruutu’s game will be neutralized by his coach, as Finland simply can’t afford to let Ruutu run rampant at the games.

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