Forwards (13)
Tuomo Ruutu – Olli Jokinen – Sami Kapanen
Antti Laaksonen – Saku Koivu – Teemu Selanne
Niklas Hagman – Esa Pirnes – Jere Lehtinen
Ville Nieminen – Niko Kapanen – Antti Miettinen
Jarkko Ruutu
Only 20 Finnish forwards made NHL rosters in 2003-04, prior to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, but that would have been enough to put together two scoring lines and two lines with grit. Jokinen of the Florida Panthers blossomed in 2002-03 under the coaching of Mike Keenan. He scored 36 goals, one more than he'd scored in his previous four seasons combined, and finished with 65 points, followed by 26 goals and 58 points in 2003-04. Chicago Blackhawks rookie Ruutu played all 82 regular-season games and finished with 23 goals, 44 points, 10 power-play goals and 17 power-play points. The Carolina Hurricanes traded Kapanen to the Philadelphia Flyers on February 8, 2003, and in Philadelphia his style of play changed. Kapanen, one of the fastest skaters in the NHL, was still a scorer, but there was a new, more defensive element to his game. Kapanen finished 2003-04 with 30 points (12, 18 assists). Jokinen, Ruutu and Kapanen would have been Finland’s top line.
Laaksonen of the Minnesota Wild, known for his excellent stick-handling and two-way play, finished with 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 2003-04. Montreal Canadiens captain Koivu finished with 55 points (14 goals, 41 assists), even though he missed 14 games because of a knee injury. Calder Trophy winner of NHL rookie of the year (1993), inaugural winner of Maurice ”Rocket” Richard Trophy (1999) and future Hockey Hall of Famer Selanne carried had 32 points (16 goals, 16 assists) for the Colorado Avalanche in 2003-04, just a season after getting 64 points for the Sharks.
Hagman of the Panthers, Pirnes of the Los Angeles Kings and Lehtinen of the Dallas Stars would’ve made up the third line. At the time, Lehtinen had already won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999 and was a three-time Selke Trophy winner (1998, 1999, 2003). 2001 Stanley Cup winner Nieminen started 2003-04 with the Avalanche, but he was traded to the Calgary Flames and missed his second Cup by one win. He finished the season with five goals and 21 points. The fourth line would have featured Nieminen, Kapanen of the Stars and Jarkko Ruutu of the Vancouver Canucks. Dallas rookie Miettinen would have been the 13th forward.