it's no secret that i love scandinavian hockey players [well, i call 'em all scandies but technically finland isn't part of that group.... did you know ??]. i keep yapping about why detroit might pull this off with 7 swedes on their active roster... but in the WHC, both the swedes and finns are into the semis, as they thrive out on the big ice and are so fast and skilled and fun to watch....
SWEDEN:
if you've ever played nhl07 and pitted a swedish club team like frolunda vs. an NHL team, you'll know that there are players (ronnie sundin, for example, no relation to mats) who are outstanding and completely anonymous to the average north american hockey fan. the 07 WHC team is the same -- the roster is full of guys you've never heard of that are hella skilled, to be sure... they are used to the larger ice surface, international rules and, quite frankly, they are used to each other. end of story...
take jorgen jonssen... this guy has played almost three hundred games in the tre kronor blue and gold, he's been to FOUR olympics (winning two gold medals), TEN world championships (winning two gold medals), and the swedish elite league finals EIGHT TIMES in the past TEN YEARS (winning the top prize FOUR TIMES for the håkan loob GM-ed färjestadsBK). dude knows how to win.
note: mats naslund is listed as "team leader," whatever that means...
i'll leave finland for another day, if we end up seeing them in the finals. i have some stuff to say about them, as well (namely "excuse me, finland. where the hell is arto tukio ??").
WAS ANYONE ELSE AWARE THAT JFJ IS LISTED AS ONE OF TWO ASSISTANT GMS FOR THIS CANADIAN SQUAD ???????????
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Well said about Sweden. Naslund is basically team GM, and yes, I knew about JFJ, which makes it even stranger that no Leafs are on the team. But Martin is the other assistant GM and no Panthers are on the team either.
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