It’s time for another edition of our 4 Nations Face-Off roster preview series here at FlamesNation.

What better way to spend this fine Saturday morning than by speculating about which forwards, defencemen, and goaltenders could play for Team Finland at the NHL’s own best-on-best international tournament this coming February?

Managed by longtime Dallas Stars forward Jere Lehtinen, Team Finland may not have the deepest talent pool available to them, but they shouldn’t have any trouble being competitive. The 4 Nations Face-Off will be held in Montreal and Boston from February 12 to 20.

As with the other three competing national teams, the Finnish ice hockey federation already named the following six players (three forwards, two defencemen, and a goaltender) to its roster back in June:

F – Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes
F – Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
F – Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche
D – Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
D – Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars
G – Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators

With all four national rosters slated to be unveiled on December 2, here’s our projection for what Team Finland could look like in February.

Joel Armia, Montreal Canadiens
Mikael Granlund, San Jose Sharks
Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Carolina Hurricanes
Patrik Laine, Montreal Canadiens
Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado Avalanche
Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers
Eetu Luostarinen, Florida Panthers
Matias Maccelli, Utah Hockey Club
Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks
Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes
Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche

Honourable mentions: Erik Haula, New Jersey Devils; Kaapo Kakko, New York Rangers; Jesse Puljujarvi, Pittsburgh Penguins; Eeli Tolvanen, Seattle Kraken

The biggest question mark out of this group is Laine, who has yet to play a game since being acquired by the Canadiens in the offseason. We’ve all seen what Laine can do at his best, and he was better in Columbus than you might remember, but his health is a major concern. Laine is currently travelling with the Canadiens and his chances of making the team should improve if he plays on Montreal’s current road trip. It would probably make sense for the Finns to name Laine to their initial roster while keeping some of those honourable mentions on speed dial in case he suffers a setback.

The Finns should be able to run with Barkov, Aho, Hintz, and Lundell down the middle. That’s a formidable foursome that could give even Team Canada a run for its money. Don’t be surprised if Lehkonen and Rantanen end up playing on the same line, as well as Luostarinen with Lundell (perhaps with Armia to their right). It’s entirely possible that someone like Kotkaniemi could end up being the odd man out to start the tournament with all the depth Finland has up front.

(Yes, there are three members of the Panthers’ 2024 Stanley Cup championship team on this forward roster. Keep an eye out for another one later on …)

Jani Hakanpaa, Toronto Maple Leafs
Olli Maatta, Utah Hockey Club
Niko Mikkola, Florida Panthers
Rasmus Ristolainen, Philadelphia Flyers
Juuso Valimaki, Utah Hockey Club
Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars

Honourable mentions: Henri Jokiharju, Buffalo Sabres

Oof. While Finland may have strength in numbers at forward, their defensive depth leaves a lot to be desired. Make no mistake: Heiskanen is one of the best defenders in the entire league and makes for a fantastic cornerstone piece, but the lineup behind him is rough.

Lindell is a solid top-four defensive defenceman who should spend most of the tournament playing with Heiskanen. Beyond him, there’s Ristolainen, who has always been a bit of an adventure in his own zone; Mikkola, who is coming off a Stanley Cup win but is more of a No. 5 than a true top-four guy; Maatta, who has been a bottom-pairing mainstay for the last decade; Valimaki, who is just over two years removed from being claimed off waivers; and Hakanpaa, who has only played in two games all season. The only other realistic option for the Finns is Henri Jokiharju, who has really struggled with the Sabres this year. The elite forwards in this tournament are probably going to love playing against Finland’s defence — at least, whenever Heiskanen is on the bench.

Joonas Korpisalo, Boston Bruins
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres
Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators

Honourable mention: Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver Canucks

The one saving grace for Team Finland on the defensive side of the puck is their No. 1 goaltender. Despite Nashville’s struggles early in the season, Saros has posted some of the strongest numbers in the league (aside from his win-loss record).

Barring injury, Saros will shoulder most of the workload for the Finns in February, and it’ll most likely be Luukkonen serving as his primary backup for most of the tournament. The 25-year-old netminder has been a real bright spot for a so-so Sabres team, going 8-5-1 with a .914 save percentage through 15 games thus far.

Beyond Luukkonen, it should come down to Korpisalo and Lankinen for the third goaltending spot. Korpisalo has been solid behind Jeremy Swayman in Boston this year after a disastrous single season in Ottawa; Lankinen has held the fort admirably in Vancouver as Thatcher Demko continues to rehab a nagging lower-body injury. Pick your poison.

Lehtinen and Co. have only a couple more days to fill out their roster before all four teams will be unveiled officially on December 2.