While the Canadian and American formations are still not known, Finland made public on Wednesday afternoon the list of 25 players who will represent the European country at the next World Junior Hockey Championship.
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Among these, we find Oliver Kapanen, brother of Kasperi, drafted in the second round in 2021 by the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge. The 6-foot, 178-pound forward was shut out in both games Finland played last December before the tournament was called off. Kapanen will celebrate his 19th birthday this Friday, July 29.
His sidekick Petteri Nurmi is a little older, he who blew 20 candles in January. He will be able to participate in the competition despite his age as he was also part of the Finnish team in December. Nurmi is a left-handed defender that Martin Lapointe and his team claimed at the 194th level at the last amateur auction.
Brad Lambert (Winnipeg Jets) and Joakim Kemell (Nashville Predators), both 2022 first-round picks, will be other names to watch in Antti Pennanen’s squad.
The World Under-20 Hockey Championship will take place from August 9 to 20 only at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Finland will face Canada in the preliminary round on August 15. The two countries are part of Group A, along with Slovakia, Czechia and Latvia, which replaces Russia, banned from IIHF competitions.
