Finnish goalie Petteri Rimpinen has delivered an outstanding performance to carry his team into the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal game against the United States.
photo: PHOTO: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
The last European team to win the IIHF World Junior Championship was Finland (2019). Six years later, the Finns – who lost the 2022 final to Canada 3-2 in overtime – have a chance to top the podium once again under head coach Lauri Mikkola.
It’ll be a stiff test against the defending champion Americans. But nobody in the hockey world is discounting the possibility that the Finns could celebrate their sixth World Junior title (1987, 1998, 2014, 2016, 2019) at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre.
Here are five reasons Finland could win gold on Sunday.
1. Great goaltending
Juuse Saros did it in 2014. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did it in 2019. Based on current trends, Petteri Rimpinen has an excellent chance to become the next Finnish goalie named to the World Junior all-star team as part of a gold medal win.
Rimpinen, 18, remains undrafted, but NHL teams will surely give him a second look come June after his outstanding performance in Ottawa. Playing every game for Finland, the Kiekko-Espoo product has made 202 saves – more than any netminder besides Latvian hero Linards Feldbergs (210) – and posted a tournament-leading 93.9 save percentage to go with his 2.12 GAA.
His structure and coolness have carried Finland forward since the 4-0 loss on Day One to host Canada. When the Finns were getting tossed around as if they were in a washing machine in the third period of the semi-finals against Sweden, Rimpinen stopped 19 of 20 shots to keep them alive for a 4-3 overtime win.
2. Potent penalty-killing
With just two goals surrendered on 22 disadvantages, Finland’s penalty kill is clicking at 90.4 percent, well ahead of the U.S. (four goals surrendered on 24 disadvantages, 81.8 percent).
From the gritty shot-blocking of defenceman Mitja Jokinen to the speed and positional savvy of forward Heikki Ruohonen, the PK unit has been cohesive and hard-working from Day One. Of course, having Rimpinen in net has been the best guarantee of success while shorthanded.
3. Big guns finding their game
It’s all about delivering in the biggest moments. Despite having a relatively quiet 2010 Olympics overall in Vancouver, Sidney Crosby gained immortality when he scored Canada’s 3-2 gold-medal winner against the United States. Likewise, David Pastrnark picked a perfect time to end his goal-scoring drought at the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, getting the go-ahead goal in the 2-0 final victory over Switzerland.
So Mikkola is hoping that a similar pattern emerges with Finland’s key scoring forwards in Ottawa.
Emil Hemming got off the schneid with a goal and an assist in the semi-finals. Kasper Halttunen extended his point streak to four games with an assist in that overtime win – and nearly became the hero himself when he hit the cross bar on the power play. While Konsta Helenius has yet to light the red lamp, the top Buffalo Sabres prospect showed off his smarts and vision with three assists against the Juniorkronorna. (Helenius, interestingly, has zero goals and seven helpers: could he possibly become the first player to top the World Junior scoring race with only assists?)
4. They’ve already beaten the best
Nothing builds confidence like success. And the Finns have a track record now. After all, in ending Sweden’s gold medal hopes, they defeated the only team with a perfect record through five games in Ottawa. Before that, Finland edged the defending champion U.S. 4-3 in overtime and outshot them 44-33 to boot. That’s the cream of the crop right there. They just need to pull it off once more in the gold medal game.
5. Recent history is on their side
Fun fact: the U.S.’s population is 334 million to Finland’s 5.5 million, and yet the two nations have identical all-time head-to-head World Junior records with 19 wins, one tie, and 19 losses apiece.
There is no reason for the Finns to be intimidated on Sunday.
Sure, the U.S. has some future NHL stars, including the flashy top line of James Hagens, Gabe Perreault, and captain Ryan Leonard. Finland respects its opponents. But the Finns have knocked off the U.S. several times in recent junior competitions, including the 2018 U18 Worlds final and the 2019 World Junior final – both loaded squads headlined by now-New Jersey superstar Jack Hughes. Moreover, the Finnish men won the Worlds in 2019 and 2022 and are reigning Olympic champions from Beijing.
All of that provides confidence that Suomi could step up to stop the States from winning back-to-back World Junior titles for the first time ever.
It’ll be a stiff test against the defending champion Americans. But nobody in the hockey world is discounting the possibility that the Finns could celebrate their sixth World Junior title (1987, 1998, 2014, 2016, 2019) at Ottawa’s Canadian Tire Centre.
Here are five reasons Finland could win gold on Sunday.
1. Great goaltending
Juuse Saros did it in 2014. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did it in 2019. Based on current trends, Petteri Rimpinen has an excellent chance to become the next Finnish goalie named to the World Junior all-star team as part of a gold medal win.
Rimpinen, 18, remains undrafted, but NHL teams will surely give him a second look come June after his outstanding performance in Ottawa. Playing every game for Finland, the Kiekko-Espoo product has made 202 saves – more than any netminder besides Latvian hero Linards Feldbergs (210) – and posted a tournament-leading 93.9 save percentage to go with his 2.12 GAA.
His structure and coolness have carried Finland forward since the 4-0 loss on Day One to host Canada. When the Finns were getting tossed around as if they were in a washing machine in the third period of the semi-finals against Sweden, Rimpinen stopped 19 of 20 shots to keep them alive for a 4-3 overtime win.
2. Potent penalty-killing
With just two goals surrendered on 22 disadvantages, Finland’s penalty kill is clicking at 90.4 percent, well ahead of the U.S. (four goals surrendered on 24 disadvantages, 81.8 percent).
From the gritty shot-blocking of defenceman Mitja Jokinen to the speed and positional savvy of forward Heikki Ruohonen, the PK unit has been cohesive and hard-working from Day One. Of course, having Rimpinen in net has been the best guarantee of success while shorthanded.
3. Big guns finding their game
It’s all about delivering in the biggest moments. Despite having a relatively quiet 2010 Olympics overall in Vancouver, Sidney Crosby gained immortality when he scored Canada’s 3-2 gold-medal winner against the United States. Likewise, David Pastrnark picked a perfect time to end his goal-scoring drought at the 2024 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, getting the go-ahead goal in the 2-0 final victory over Switzerland.
So Mikkola is hoping that a similar pattern emerges with Finland’s key scoring forwards in Ottawa.
Emil Hemming got off the schneid with a goal and an assist in the semi-finals. Kasper Halttunen extended his point streak to four games with an assist in that overtime win – and nearly became the hero himself when he hit the cross bar on the power play. While Konsta Helenius has yet to light the red lamp, the top Buffalo Sabres prospect showed off his smarts and vision with three assists against the Juniorkronorna. (Helenius, interestingly, has zero goals and seven helpers: could he possibly become the first player to top the World Junior scoring race with only assists?)
4. They’ve already beaten the best
Nothing builds confidence like success. And the Finns have a track record now. After all, in ending Sweden’s gold medal hopes, they defeated the only team with a perfect record through five games in Ottawa. Before that, Finland edged the defending champion U.S. 4-3 in overtime and outshot them 44-33 to boot. That’s the cream of the crop right there. They just need to pull it off once more in the gold medal game.
5. Recent history is on their side
Fun fact: the U.S.’s population is 334 million to Finland’s 5.5 million, and yet the two nations have identical all-time head-to-head World Junior records with 19 wins, one tie, and 19 losses apiece.
There is no reason for the Finns to be intimidated on Sunday.
Sure, the U.S. has some future NHL stars, including the flashy top line of James Hagens, Gabe Perreault, and captain Ryan Leonard. Finland respects its opponents. But the Finns have knocked off the U.S. several times in recent junior competitions, including the 2018 U18 Worlds final and the 2019 World Junior final – both loaded squads headlined by now-New Jersey superstar Jack Hughes. Moreover, the Finnish men won the Worlds in 2019 and 2022 and are reigning Olympic champions from Beijing.
All of that provides confidence that Suomi could step up to stop the States from winning back-to-back World Junior titles for the first time ever.