HELSINKI – Team Finland’s head coach Jukka Jalonen announced his roster for the World Championship in Cologne and Mannheim. The team combines the enthusiasm of the youth with some veteran experience.

The oldest player on the team is Petteri Nummelin, a second-generation Team Finland defenceman, who will also pass Jiri Holik and Sven Tumba on the all-time list, as the only player to appear in 15 top division IIHF World Championships.

Nummelin will turn 38 in October, but his wrist shot still has the same snap as before, as he demonstrated in the final game of the LG Hockey Games, the last leg of the Euro Hockey Tour that was played in Stockholm last weekend when he sent one past Sweden’s goaltender Jonas Gustavsson.

Finland won the tournament, and the overall Euro Hockey Tour competition.
With several veteran NHLers either having retired from national team duty - such as Teemu Selänne and Olli Jokinen - or injured - like Mikko Koivu and Tuomo Ruutu - coach Jalonen has turned to youth and European-based players in his selections.

One of the next generation stars on the Finnish team is defenceman Sami Vatanen. The 18-year-old was the SM-liiga phenomenon of the year, breaking the rookie defencemen record, and getting top pair billing in JYP Jyväskylä, the regular season winners.

Mikael Granlund was looking to add a third World Championship to his schedule for the season, having already played in the U20 and U18 tournaments this year. Granlund scored the game winner in a penalty shootout against Russia last Thursday, but was invisible in the two games played in Stockholm over the weekend, and in the end, didn’t make the World Championship team.

Nummelin is not quite alone in his 1980s music references in the locker room. Sami Kapanen, 36, returned to the national team last season after a seven-year absence, and is back as the team captain.

RISTO PAKARINEN

Roster Finnish national team

Goalkeepers: Iiro Tarkki (Espoo Blues), Petri Vehanen (Ak Bars Kazan, RUS), Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators, NHL).

Defencemen: Petteri Nummelin (HC Lugano, SUI), Lasse Kukkonen (Avangard Omsk, RUS), Topi Jaakola (Södertälje SK, SWE), Mikko Mäenpää (HPK Hämeenlinna), Juuso Hietanen (Brynäs Gävle, SWE), Janne Niskala (Frölunda Gothenburg), Pasi Puistola (HV71 Jönköping, SWE), Sami Vatanen (JYP Jyväskylä).

Forwards: Juha-Pekka Hytönen (JYP Jyväskylä), Antti Miettinen (Minnesota Wild, NLA), Tommi Santala (Kloten Flyers, SUI), Riku Hahl (Frölunda Gothenburg, SWE), Sami Kapanen (KalPa Kuopio), Jarkko Immonen (Ak Bars Kazan, RUS), Petri Kontiola (Metallurg Magnitogorsk, RUS), Lauri Korpikoski (Phoenix Coyotes, NHL), Jussi Jokinen (Carolina Hurricanes), Antti Pihlström (JYP Jyväskylä), Oskar Osala (Albany River Rats, AHL), Juhamatti Aaltonen (Pelicans Lahti), Jori Lehterä (Tappara Tampere), Leo Komarov (Dynamo Moscow, RUS).