Everything seemed so cut and dried for Finland as it prepared for the World Cup of Hockey. But the final roster selections could become more difficult than expected for general manager Jere Lehtinen thanks to the emergence, at the world championships, of 18-year-old prospects Patrik Laine and Jesse Puljujarvi.
Laine and Puljujarvi are expected to be among the top five players selected in the entry draft in June; it will also be interesting to see if they each earn a spot on Finland's World Cup roster. When the final lineup is announced, the Finns could be not-so-surprisingly good.