Coming into the 2017 World Junior Hockey Championship as the defending gold medalists, Team Finland’s squad wasn’t quite as potent as the group that claimed the trophy last year, but was still expected to do fairly well.
After failing to register even a single point in their first three game of group-stage play, the young club watched on as Switzerland defeated Denmark in a shootout to force them into fifth place, and make them participate in the three-game relegation round for the right to stay in the IIHF’s Top Division.
With their fate sealed, becoming the first team to miss out on the medal round after claiming the gold the previous year, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association wasted no time in making some drastic changes in an attempt to salvage what they could from the tournament and keep Finland among the top teams in the world.