The Finnishers - Dream Team

[diacope 1,696]

When choosing my dream team I wanted to shoutout some of the best retired VHLers ftom Finland. After looking at all the choices through the player list search page I came up with a list of dominate performers from all walks of VHL and here's the players I want playing for my team and a brief rundown on how they all played during their careers.

 

GOALIE

Name: Pekka Pouta (S65) 

TPE: 557 | 6' 2" | 180 lb. | Age: 17 
VHL Drafted: 27th Overall (S65) 

VHLM Drafted: 52nd Overall (S65)

VHL - 162GP 51W 94L 11OT .906 3.03 7SO

VHLM - 216GP 99W 102L 15OT .876 3.37 13SO

14GP 9W 4L 1OT .908 2.64 1SO

 

Pouta is one of the only goaltenders from Finland to somewhat make a name for himself but he only started 2 seasons and played 5 total in the VHL.

 

Displayed as a must draft prospect we saw Davos take him early in the draft but it took longer than expected to advance to the big leagues for this player as we saw him start in 230 games before getting called up. When he did though his minor league luck dried out and the team cut ties with Pekka, sending him to the Dragons. His career would pick a little as we saw him start for 2 seasons in a row, improving in all areas. After that his career was coming to an end so the starts evaporated and the rust started to build up, in an attempt to get some games in before his retirement the Dragons sent him back to Davos, in the finals games of his career we saw a goaltender who stuck to it and made the best of his career, creating his own path.

 

LEFT DEFENSE 

Name: Alvaro Jokinen (S61)

TPE: 700 | 6' 6" | 240 lb. | Age: 25 

VHL - 432GP 43G 277A 320P | -108 665S

16GP 0G 8A -2 7S

VHLM - 160GP 30G 146A 176P +49 264S

34GP 1G 19A 20P +9 37S

 

A. Jokinen is one of many but his strong build and a 6 foot 6 frame make a great reliable defenseman who'll guard the goalie at all costs, exactly what I need with a weaker and smaller goalie compared to other dream teams.

 

We don't see the best numbers but staying a positive plus minus through your career is remarkable, he also helped create plays with rebounds as we saw him shoot over 2 per game.

 

RiGHT DEFENSE 

Name: Fabio Jokinen (S52) 

TPE: 1224 | 6' 3" | 220 lb. | Age: 25 

VHL - 576GP 151G 489A 640P | +304 2019S

73GP 14G 48A 62P +6 211S

 

1 of 2 threats created by the user JRuutu and if my player can have half the career he had I'll be happy. F. Jokinen is by far the best blueliner to do it coming out of Finland and his hall of fame numbers put him up there with the greats.

 

He won a load of awards through his glamorous career and in Season 51 it started with winning a Founder's Cup, next he won the award for top defender plus a Continental Cup in Season 56. He did it again, winning top defender a couple of seasons after, his determination and training would help him continue being one of the best late in his career. Lastly in Season 59 he took home the Victory Cup plus the best defensive defender award.

 

LEFT WING

Name: Teemu Lehtinen Jr. (S68)

TPE: 469 | 6' 4" | 215 lb. | Age: 21 
VHL Drafted: 7th Overall (S68) 

VHLM Drafted: 18th Overall (S67)

VHL - 477GP 127G 205A 332P -46 1481S

25GP 1G 11A 12P -7 78S

VHLM - 98GP 41G 37A 78P +36 274S

 

My most recent pick was a guy who retired only 7 seasons ago, he was one of the most talked about prospect of recent times and advanced after only 1 full season in the minors. 

 

Coming out of training camp with a lot of pressure to score, we saw Lehtinen Jr. struggle to hit the back of the net like he did in the junior league. Despite coaches and fans frustrated with his game he made good use of his tools and crafted his player into a pretty good support forward, notching 205 assists along the way and gave newer players hope even if they fo the wrong way while training themselves. It took almost a full career without scoring more then 25 goals but Teemu did come out of his shell in S73 with Toronto and scored 37 times. 

 

RIGHT WING

Name: Mikko Aaltonen (S66)

TPE: 1140 | 6' 3" | 200 lb. | Age: 20 
VHL Drafted: 4th Overall (S66)

VHLM Drafted: 15th Overall (S65)

VHL - 576GP 232G 277A 509P -88 2620S

40GP 10G 12A 22P -4 167S

VHLM - 83GP 48G 43A 91P -17 324S

8GP 3G 6A 9P -2 43S

 

Definitley my favorite finnish player I selected and his complete game made Aaltonen a sought after player throughout his career. He advanced early and played a ton of games with some of the best players, teams but retired with zero accolades.

 

Steady is what they called this man his whole career and he scored a hefty amount of points each season even if he wasn't considered one of the best, another player who played a majority of his career with D.C. but definitely got a lot of great advice by the Reign, who drafted and immediately gave minutes to their trusted prospect because they knew he was made for the VHL right away.

 

CENTER

Name: Rauno Palo (S62) 

TPE: 1443 | 6' 5" | 230 lb. | Age: 25  
VHL Drafted: 4th Overall (S62)

VHL - 577GP 233G 336A 569P +113 2459S

86GP 28G 44A 72P -5 347S

VHLM - 72GP 35G 55A 90P +26 276S

10GP 5G 8A 13P +1 43S

 

The second threat created by Ruutu is Palo, the best finnish player to play in the VHL and Canada, his numbers tell a long tale of achievements, outstanding performances and success wherever he went.. Except when he started his career in Quebec where we saw a propect lost and out of control but we almost forget those days because of his numbers after he left Ontario and went out west to join the Wolves were totally different.

 

His best season was when he scored 50 times and had 105 points in 72 games with the Reign. He won a Founder's Cup in the VHLM (S61) and he's also a Continental Cup Champion with the Wolves (S67) where he piled in the awards and took home the awards for most points, most assists, most outstanding and the MVP trophy.

 

LINEUP

Lehtinen PLY Palo SCR Aaltonen TWF

A. Jokinen DFD F. Jokinen QB

P. Pouta HYB

 

That's my theme week dream team and boy is it a strong squad, not knowing how well each player from Finland earned TPE. Would be cool to see everybody's team compared to eachother but that would take a lot of work. Had fun learning about these fella's career, hope you did too, thanks for checking it out!

 

1176 words

 

Edited October 9, 2020 by ZP16

[Ahma 1,428]

The Jokinen dman duo would dominate

[diacope 1,696]

Second claim