4 Nations Face-Off 2025: Early Team Finland roster projections
In recent weeks, we’ve begun looking ahead to the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, in which the top NHL talents from Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland will compete in a eight-day tournament next February featuring a round-robin and a one-game final.
The rosters will be comprised of 20 skaters and three goalies. A year before the event begins, let’s project how each roster will look. The breakdowns so far:
Team Canada
Team USA
Team Sweden
Next up: Team Finland. In the field of four, the Finns might lag slightly behind the other three nations in terms of their depth, but we know better than to ever underestimate this perennially plucky squad.
Here’s how colleague Steven Ellis and I envision the team, with bonus input from our friend, Finnish broadcaster Antti Makinen.
FORWARDS – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Artturi Lehkonen | Aleksander Barkov | Mikko Rantanen |
| Roope Hintz | Sebastian Aho | Teuvo Teravainen |
| Matias Maccelli | Mikael Granlund | Patrik Laine |
| Anton Lundell | Erik Haula | Eeli Tolvanen |
| Jesperi Kotkaniemi |
Given Patrik Laine’s regression during his time in Columbus, the Finns’ forward depth feels like it’s in a bit of a down cycle. That said, there’s no questioning the top-end star power. I’ve chosen to split the four best weapons across two lines, with Barkov and Rantanen driving one and Hintz and Aho driving another. Rantanen gets to play with occasional Colorado linemate Lehkonen, and Aho rekindles his chemistry with longtime teammate Teravainen. The bottom six forward group brings some two-way sensibility while still offering goal-scoring threats from Laine and Tolvanen.
Biggest flex: It felt strange dropping Laine to the third line. But I like the idea of giving him some easier matchups at 5-on-5 and using him on the power play.
Toughest cut: It’s been a while since I projected a Finnish roster without Kakko on it, but his game simply hasn’t evolved the way I thought it would by this stage of his career.
Also considered: Eetu Luostarinen, Kasperi Kapanen, Joel Armia, Juuso Parssinen, Kaapo Kakko, Jesse Puljujarvi
FORWARDS – Steven Ellis’ picks
| Artturi Lehkonen | Roope Hintz | Mikko Rantanen |
| Matias Maccelli | Aleksander Barkov | Eeli Tolvanen |
| Mikael Granlund | Sebastian Aho | Teuvo Teravainen |
| Anton Lundell | Erik Haula | Patrik Laine |
| Jesperi Kotkaniemi |
The Finns are missing some high-end starpower, a la Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Elias Pettersson. But that hasn’t slowed them down at pretty much any other level because they play strong, systematic hockey will full commitment from everyone.
Biggest flex: Yeah, I’m valuing Tolvanen more than the others. But he’s playing at just under a 50-point pace in Seattle – so imagine what he could do with Barkov and Maccelli as linemates. He’s dangerous in open ice and he has an excellent record with the Finns in international play. I also just don’t trust Laine much anymore.
Toughest cut: I think Kakko is better than his production suggests, even if it’s far below what most expected of him when he was drafted second overall in 2019. I just couldn’t figure a way to shoehorn him into a lineup with good, hard-working scoring depth throughout.
Also considered: Eetu Luostarinen, Kasperi Kapanen, Joel Armia, Juuso Parssinen, Kaapo Kakko
FORWARDS – Antti Makinen’s picks
| Artturi Lehkonen | Roope Hintz | Mikko Rantanen |
| Mikael Granlund | Aleksander Barkov | Patrik Laine |
| Matias Maccelli | Sebastian Aho | Teuvo Teravainen |
| Eetu Luostarinen | Erik Haula | Anton Lundell |
| Jesperi Kotkaniemi |
By far the best part is the strength up in the middle. Hintz, Barkov, Aho & Haula can score, check and make life miserable for opponents in so many ways. Overall there’s enough talent to score and at the same time all the hockey IQ to handle all the challenges.
Biggest flex: There are a lot of household names in this group, but Arizona Coyotes forward Maccelli will open some sleepy eyes. His talent to produce high-danger scoring chances is through the roof.
Toughest cut: Leaving out big bodied Joel Armia is tough. Also Laine is the only forward shooting from the right side, so Joel Armia is hard to leave out.
Also considered: Joel Armia, Kaapo Kakko, Eeli Tolvanen, Kasperi Kapanen, Juuso Pärssinen, Valtteri Puustinen, Jesse Ylönen
DEFENSE – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Juuso Valimaki | Miro Heiskanen |
| Esa Lindell | Jani Hakanpaa |
| Niko Mikkola | Henri Jokiharju |
| Olli Maatta |
A solid but unspectacular group here. Heiskanen is obviously worlds better than his teammates and will play in all situations. But this D-corps does have a little bit of everything: mobility from Valimaki, penalty killing expertise from Lindell and physicality from Hakanpaa and Mikkola.
Biggest flex: I could’ve loaded up the top pair with Lindell and Heiskanen, but I dropped Lindell to the second pair to keep him with his usual real-life partner in Hakanpaa.
Toughest cut: I typically put the big, rangy Rasmus Ristolainen on my projected teams, but his output never quite matches his talent.
Also considered: Urho Vaakanainen, Rasmus Ristolainen
DEFENSE – Steven Ellis’ picks
| Juuso Valimaki | Miro Heiskanen |
| Esa Lindell | Jani Hakanpaa |
| Niko Mikkola | Henri Jokiharju |
| Olli Maatta |
While this group is versatile, it lacks pure star power behind Heiskanen. I do think they’ll be exceptionally strong on the penalty kill and should play some decent shutdown hockey, but this doesn’t match the level of the other three teams in this tournament.
But if we’ve learned anything from other international competitions, it’s that they make you pay when you doubt the Finns.
Biggest flex: I think this is the best chance for Valimaki to show how capable of a two-way defender he can be. But beyond that, this group feels quite standard.
Toughest cut: For me, it came down to Maatta and Ristolainen, and I’d just rather have Maatta’s mobility and defensive play.
Also considered: Rasmus Ristolainen, Urho Vaakanainen, Santeri Hatakka
DEFENSE – Antti Makinen’s picks
| Niko Mikkola | Miro Heiskanen |
| Esa Lindell | Jani Hakanpaa |
| Olli Maatta | Henri Jokiharju |
| Rasmus Ristolainen |
Team Finland’s defense is considered the weak link of this team. With these seven names, I’m sure it can hold its ground. All of them are logging big minutes for their teams.
Biggest flex: Using Heiskanen with the first power play offers world-class skill on the blueline. All the players are capable playing with the puck. But the most important thing, they know how to defend.
Toughest cut: Arizona’s Välimäki has been knocking the door for a while and he is close.
Also considered: Juuso Valimaki, Urho Vaakanainen, Santeri Hatakka
GOALIES – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Juuse Saros |
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
| Joonas Korpisalo |
As a No. 1 option, Saros holds a candle to what the other nations can offer. Luukkonen’s breakout this season makes me feel confident in his upside as a No. 2, especially with another year of development in the NHL before this tournament.
Biggest flex: Korpisalo has struggled this season, but he has a history of excelling in short sample sizes, so I don’t mind him tucked away as a third option. I chose him over a few netminders who have been better of late, most notably Kahkonen.
Toughest cut: Raanta has been such a reliable player for his whole career. Am I showing too much recency bias in cutting him based on this season’s results?
Also considered: Kaapo Kahkonen, Antti Raanta, Ville Husso, Kevin Lankinen
GOALIES – Steven Ellis’ picks
| Juuse Saros |
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
| Kevin Lankinen |
Finland used to be known for its non-stop river of goalie talent, but it has started to slow down in recent years. Saros has taken a step back in 20223-24, but he’s still one of the better overall goaltenders in the NHL. UPL, meanwhile, has been one of the most improved young keepers in the game today, while Lankinen has been a solid backup for over half a decade now. It’s not the deepest group ever, but it’s solid.
Biggest flex: As long as Saros can play like we know he’s capable of, I think he’s in good shape as the No. 1. But Luukkonen has been better this season – so much so that I think the fight to be the starter here is closer than people would have expected months ago.
Toughest cut: From an advanced analytics standpoint, Kahkonen hasn’t been too bad this year. Better than most other Finnish goalies, in fact. But he’s inconsistent and has struggled mightily over the past few years, while Lankinen has been a solid backup in Nashville.
Also considered: Kaapo Kahkonen, Ville Husso, Joonas Korpisalo, Anttii Raanta, Emil Larmi
GOALIES – Antti Makinen’s picks
| Juuse Saros |
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
| Kevin Lankinen |
With Saros, there’s no competition for the starting goalie position. Luukkonen is a future name for the national team and Lankinen secures the trio.
Biggest flex: Finland used to be the goalie factory. This is the first tournament for Saros as a No. 1. He’s the torch bearer at this point. Luukkonen is next in line.
Toughest cut: Raanta is a great guy and everybody loves him for that reason. This time I need to cut him out.
Also considered: Antti Raanta, Ville Husso, Joonas Korpisalo, Justus Annunen
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