2028 World Cup of Hockey: Early Team Finland roster projections
With Scott Maxwell
It wasn’t long ago that the exercise of constructing best-on-best rosters was pure fantasy, as we went 11 years between seeing NHLers compete for undisputed international hockey supremacy. Today? We’re spoiled. We had the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 and the Olympics in 2026, and we’ll get a World Cup in 2028 before another Olympic tournament in 2030.
We no longer have to operate in the theoretical; we’ve seen the world’s most elite men’s hockey nations clash. We know which players flourished and which didn’t. When we project rosters going forward, we do so making educated guesses this time around.
This summer at Daily Faceoff, we’ll kick tires on what the top World Cup rosters might look like. The eight participating nations aren’t confirmed, but we know what the top half dozen countries will be at least.
A few rules to know for this exercise:
1. Just as the 4 Nations did, we’ll use NHL-sized rosters rather than the Olympic-sized ones in these projections. That means 20 skaters and three goalies rather than the 22 and three that teams brought to Milan this winter – until or unless the NHL confirms a roster-size change.
2. The tournament is 19 months away, and teams will likely be finalized around 17 months from now, so we’ll do a fair amount of age-based projection here, whether that means the ascension and best-on-best debuts of certain youngsters or the aging out of some players from 2026 Olympic squads.
We began with Canada and USA earlier this month. Next, we look at the always-proud Finland, fresh off snagging bronze at the Milan Winter Games. If the Finns could do that without top center Aleksander Barkov, could they threaten for the crown at the 2028 World Cup with him back?
FORWARDS (13) – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Artturi Lehkonen | Aleksander Barkov | Oliver Kapanen |
| Mikael Granlund | Roope Hintz | Mikko Rantanen |
| Patrik Laine | Sebastian Aho | Konsta Helenius |
| Eetu Luostarinen | Anton Lundell | Kaapo Kakko |
| Erik Haula |
Assuming most guys play their natural positions, the Finns have incredible center depth and can function as a true four-line team. I’ve tried to carry over some pre-established chemistry, with the former all-Dallas-Stars trio of Granlund, Hintz and Rantanen intact while Florida Panthers teammates Luostarinen and Lundell remain linemates. All four forward trios have strong two-way acumen.
Biggest flex: Laine was injured and missed the 2026 Olympics. He feels like a ghost, as we’ve barely seen him in NHL action for a year and a half. But his ability to score on the power-play remains elite. I’m expecting a bounce-back campaign between now and 2028, which will put Laine back on the international radar. He might feel like a flex now, but perhaps he won’t by 2028 if he gets his career on track.
Toughest cut: Joel Armia, a good soldier who can play in many situations, actually co-led the team in scoring at the Olympics this past winter. But I wanted to fit some new blood on the roster, most notably the promising Helenius, and Armia will almost be 35 when the World Cup arrives, so he might get nudged off the roster.
Also considered: Joel Armia, Eeli Tolvanen, Teuvo Teravainen, Matias Maccelli, Jesse Puljujarvi, Aatu Raty
FORWARDS (13) – Scott Maxwell’s picks
| Sebastian Aho | Aleksander Barkov | Konsta Helenius |
| Artturi Lehkonen | Roope Hintz | Mikko Rantanen |
| Eetu Luostarinen | Anton Lundell | Kaapo Kakko |
| Teuvo Teravainen | Oliver Kapanen | Patrik Laine |
| Mikael Granlund |
The Finnish forward group was relatively easy to put together, even when projecting out two years. Save for Helenius, there don’t appear to be any notable players coming up the pipeline in Finland who will be capable of making this team come early 2028, so projecting age didn’t have to come into play too much. Like Matt, I went with a chemistry combination in the top six, but not the Stars connection. Instead, I went with the Rantanen connection, giving him his current Stars teammate in Hintz and his former Colorado Avalanche teammate in Lehkonen, while Barkov and Aho will insulate the less-experienced Helenius on the other line. I continued the chemistry with the Panthers connection in Lundell and Luostarinen, and Kakko’s underrated play since moving to the Seattle Kraken has earned him the spot alongside those two. Granlund could easily slot in that spot of the lineup as well, and probably will due to experience, but should probably be on the fringes of making the roster considering he’ll be 36 at the time of the World Cup. If I were running the team, I would probably leave him off, but realistically, I don’t see Finland turning down their Olympic captain, especially with the options after him not being clear-cut improvements. Kapanen’s development could move him up the lineup as well, but for now, I have him on a sheltered offense-first fourth line with Teravainen and Laine.
Biggest flex: It’s certainly not a flex to have Helenius on my roster, but it might be a flex including him in my top six. There’s some heavy projection there, but he’s already displayed his talent in his limited NHL action, and should be well established by the time the World Cup comes around. And let’s be realistic, is there anyone else in this Finnish bottom-six forward group that has the potential to be as high-end as Helenius?
Toughest cut: I always enjoy watching Eeli Tolvanen play, and think he’s a very efficient scorer, but it was hard to find a spot for him on this roster, save for Finland not trusting Laine or not wanting to go with a 36-year-old Granlund. He has the talent to be in this lineup, but he lacks the upside and consistency. He’ll definitely be a consideration if injuries come about.
Also considered: Joel Armia, Kasperi Kapanen, Matias Maccelli, Eeli Tolvanen
DEFENSEMEN (7) – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Esa Lindell | Miro Heiskanen |
| Niko Mikkola | Rasmus Ristolainen |
| Olli Maatta | Henri Jokiharju |
| Nikolas Matinpalo |
The Finnish defense pipeline is in a strange place. It’s extremely shallow, and the next wave of potential NHLers hasn’t graduated yet, so we might see the same D-corps that went to Milan, even two years later. It lacks flash aside from Heiskanen, but this is a big, strong, mobile group, and the Lindell-Heiskanen pair can chew up monster minutes again.
Biggest flex: None. These are the same pairs that Finland trotted out for the bronze-medal game against Slovakia in February.
Toughest cut: None. No one below the cut line feels like a threat to the current seven, though Mikko Lehtonen has been an international fixture for many years and made the Milan squad since it could take eight blueliners.
Also considered: Mikko Lehtonen, Urho Vaakanainen, Aaron Kiviharju, Juho Piiparinen
DEFENSEMEN (7) – Scott Maxwell’s picks
| Esa Lindell | Miro Heiskanen |
| Niko Mikkola | Rasmus Ristolainen |
| Urho Vaakanainen | Olli Maatta |
| Nikolas Matinpalo |
You shouldn’t be surprised by the Finnish defense corps at this point. They have one elite defenseman in Heiskanen who will eat every minute possible; four solid, experienced defensemen to fill out most of the depth; and then everybody else. I obviously kept the Stars pair together for the top unit, but the other three locks are relatively interchangeable, as are the options beyond them. Expect some solid defense, but maybe some shaky puck movement at times. Save for a young Finnish blueliner coming out of nowhere to add some much-needed dynamism to this group, this is probably what they’ll run out in 2025-26.
Biggest flex: Maybe it’s putting Vaakanainen in here instead of Jokiharju, who was on the Olympic squad. I just find Vaakanainen to be more solid defensively than Jokiharju, but I wouldn’t lose my mind if it went the other way around. This is less a decision about which defenseman is better and more about which defenseman is less bad.
Toughest cut: Again, Jokiharju, but I’m not losing sleep over it.
Also considered: Henri Jokiharju, Mikko Lehtonen, Juuso Valimaki
GOALIES (3) – Matt Larkin’s picks
| Juuse Saros |
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
| Kevin Lankinen |
After a shaky 4 Nations, Saros reasserted himself as Finland’s top goalie with an excellent Olympics, posting a .940 save percentage. He should maintain control of a reasonably deep Finnish battery.
Biggest flex: I’ve leapfrogged Luukkonen ahead of Lankinen for No. 2 duties but, remember, ‘UPL’ did originally make the Milan team and had to pull out due to injury.
Toughest cut: None, as Korpisalo only made the Olympic squad as Luukkonen’s replacement. I do wonder if an upstart such as Merilainen can push for a spot by 2028, however.
Also considered: Joonas Korpisalo, Justus Annunen, Leevi Merilainen, Joel Blomqvist
GOALIES (3) – Scott Maxwell’s picks
| Juuse Saros |
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
| Justus Annunen |
The days of Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne and Miikka Kiprusoff these are not, but this is still a relatively solid goalie trio. While Saros still has the potential to play at an elite caliber (which he did at the Olympics), we’re now three years removed from his last dominant NHL season. Maybe that’s a product of the Nashville Predators’ lack of success, but there’s plenty of reasons to be cautious about handing Saros the starting role outright, especially since he’ll be 33 at the time of the World Cup. Still, the options aren’t spectacular behind him, with the only other truly consistent option being Luukkonen. He could challenge Saros for the starting gig, but it’s still Saros’ to lose.
Biggest flex: Annunen may come as a big surprise for the final slot, but you’d be surprised to learn that in the last five seasons, only Saros has a higher 5v5 goals saved above expected than Annunen among Finnish goalies. He had a quietly solid season last year and will still be just 27 during the World Cup while most of Finland’s options will be in their late 30s. Save for the younger Merilainen bouncing back from a disastrous 2025-26 season and showing more promise, I think Annunen might be the best goalie for the third slot.
Toughest cut: Lankinen’s been a good soldier for Finland, logging some minutes at the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Olympics in the past couple seasons, but he’s seen his play decline recently and will be 33 when the World Cup comes around. With a couple younger options with potential in the aforementioned Annunen and Merilainen to consider, it might make sense to go young with the third goalie slot just to give them the experience.
Also considered: Joonas Korpisalo, Kevin Lankinen, Leevi Merilainen
_____