Head coach Westerlund looking to Jere Lehtinen on eve of Hockey World Championships

26-member squad travelled to Moscow on Wednesday

Erkka Westerlund

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On the eve of the IIHF World Championships, which begin in Moscow tomorrow, Finnish Lions' head coach Erkka Westerlund is relatively satisfied with his squad, which is the usual "Worlds" mix of players from the domestic league, from European club hockey, and from those teams in the NHL who are no longer tied up in the Stanley Cup play-offs.
      Westerlund commands a group of 26 players, comprising three goaltenders, eight defensemen, four centers, and eleven wingers. The final squads for the Championships can include no more than 23 players, with three of them tending goal, so the team will take its final shape only in Moscow.
     
As the team travelled to Moscow on Wednesday after their 4-2 dress rehearsal win against Canada in Tampere, Westerlund nevertheless admitted there was a least one name he would like to see added to the roster: Jere Lehtinen of the Dallas Stars.
      The Dallas Stars went out of the play-offs on Tuesday against Vancouver, and so technically Lehtinen's pro season is at an end, but as with so many of the NHL players, this does not guarantee he will be available for international duty.
      At the end of a long and gruelling campaign, some NHL players are more interested in a little quiet golf than in pulling on the national team's jersey, and even more are really in no fit state to be playing - at least according to the NHL team physicians, who jealously guard their charges and try to ensure that any injuries they are carrying do not get worsened.
     
A good many players are slated for a long rest or even for surgery on ligaments, tendons, and other wearing parts.
      Westerlund has already learned he will not be enjoying the high-profile services of Florida captain Olli Jokinen, or Montreal's Saku Koivu and Nashville's Kimmo Timonen. But if he can get Jere Lehtinen to Moscow it will be a big bonus.
      The Dallas wingman has loads of experience, and was a member of the winning Lions team in 1995, the only occasion when Finland have lifted the World Championships.
      Lehtinen met with the Dallas Stars' doctors on Wednesday. He is said to be keen to come and play, but it is likely the club's requirements will be paramount.
     
In any event, the cavalry will not arrive in time for Finland's opening fixture, which is against Ukraine tomorrow, Friday. Finland's other opponents in Group D of the 16-team tournament are Denmark and the hosts Russia. The match-up with Russia will take place on May Day.
      Finland took a bronze medal at the 2006 Worlds in Riga, breaking a four-year streak where the team finished outside the medals.


Links:
  IIHF World Championships (IIHF)
  World Championships Official Site

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