Quote:
Originally Posted by Taxman
It is funny how everyone keeps on talking about the decline of Finnish Hockey. They are not even realistic. How a country that has five million people could has as any many NHL players as Sweden or Russia?
Also hockey is so expensive hobby that nowadays it's hard even for a middle-class family to afford it.
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I don't think Finnish hockey is declining, it's just that they're in a clear transitional phase when it comes to elite talent. The guys that have carried them for years are retired or nearly retired (Selanne, Kiprusoff, Timonen, Saku Koivu, etc.), and their top prospects might be a bit too young to make an impact at the highest level right now (Barkov, Granlund, Maatta, Ristolainen, etc.).
If you look at their elite players that are currently in their primes (who aren't goalies), you have Mikko Koivu and that's about it. Guys like Filppula, Ruutu, J. Jokinen are solid, but hardly elite.