Finland vs. Czech Republic (5-4) - 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship from IIHF on Vimeo.
Puljujärvi scored two goals, Aho assisted two goals and Laine came up with the game-winning goal in the final preliminary round game against the Czech Republic.
Aho, on the other hand, hasn't raised as much hype. He did break into the playing roster of Oulun Kärpät last year with his very mature, dynamic and high-intensity playing. He is a kind of a player who is often unnoticed on the ice but does a lot of good choices leading into a positive turn in the flow of the game. I was surprised that Jukka Jalonen, the coach of the Finnish U20 team, plays Aho as a centre. He has always played the wing, and this is visible in his play especially defensively. In the game against the Czech Republic, for example, the 4-3 leading goal for Czech was partly caused by Aho's poor playing. He left a player and a passing line open, allowing a cross-ice pass which resulted in a goal. Of course, the goalie should've caught the puck. Aho is much closer to his peak of potential compared to his hulking wingers.
Patrik Laine plays for the team from my current hometown, Tampereen Tappara. Along with Aleksander "Sasha" Barkov, he is the most impressive young player from Tampere. I have had my doubts concerning his maturity earlier, but this season he has been really good. I've noticed him checking if the opponent who blocked his shot was okay, playing more unselfishly and staying in the game a lot better than in the past.
Puljujärvi scored two goals, Aho assisted two goals and Laine came up with the game-winning goal in the final preliminary round game against the Czech Republic.
Young stars shining in beautiful Helsinki
The Finnish team in the World Junior Championships has relied on the young guns, specifically Jesse Puljujärvi, Patrik Laine and Sebastian Aho. Two of them have been under my scope for a long time. Puljujärvi and Aho play for my favourite team in Finland, Oulun Kärpät. Over the course of some 5 years, I have been following Puljujärvi. His performance in the WJC 2016 has impressed me. I didn't expect him to be such a dominant player this early. He has already set a new all-time record for underaged Finnish player in U20 WJC with 5+7=12 in just 4 games. Last year he looked really dangerous all the time but didn't manage to unleash himself on the scoreboard.
Aho, on the other hand, hasn't raised as much hype. He did break into the playing roster of Oulun Kärpät last year with his very mature, dynamic and high-intensity playing. He is a kind of a player who is often unnoticed on the ice but does a lot of good choices leading into a positive turn in the flow of the game. I was surprised that Jukka Jalonen, the coach of the Finnish U20 team, plays Aho as a centre. He has always played the wing, and this is visible in his play especially defensively. In the game against the Czech Republic, for example, the 4-3 leading goal for Czech was partly caused by Aho's poor playing. He left a player and a passing line open, allowing a cross-ice pass which resulted in a goal. Of course, the goalie should've caught the puck. Aho is much closer to his peak of potential compared to his hulking wingers.
Patrik Laine plays for the team from my current hometown, Tampereen Tappara. Along with Aleksander "Sasha" Barkov, he is the most impressive young player from Tampere. I have had my doubts concerning his maturity earlier, but this season he has been really good. I've noticed him checking if the opponent who blocked his shot was okay, playing more unselfishly and staying in the game a lot better than in the past.
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