4 Nations Roster Remix: 1995 Finland team

The top NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States will go head-to-head at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament that will be held from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

Though this is the first tournament of its kind to feature these four countries, NHL.com and NHL.com International have put together what the rosters and line combinations for each country would have looked like in the past, going backwards in five-year intervals. The rosters will follow the same format as the current 4 Nations teams: 13 forwards, seven defensemen and three goalies.

The stories will run each Sunday through Feb. 9.

Today, NHL.com/fi writer Varpu Sihvonen reveals what her Team Finland roster would've looked like in 1995.

Forwards (13)

Esa Tikkanen -- Christian Ruuttu -- Teemu Selanne

Petri Skriko -- Janne Ojanen -- Jari Kurri

Ville Peltonen -- Saku Koivu -- Jere Lehtinen

Vesa Viitakoski -- Jarmo Kekalainen -- Mikko Makela

Jarkko Varvio

There were only 11 Finnish skaters in the NHL in 1994-95, so we had to reach a bit back and forward to assemble this roster. Tikkanen won his fifth Stanley Cup title with the New York Rangers in 1994 and had 12 goals and 35 points during the 1994-95 season with the St. Louis Blues. He would have been on the top line with Ruuttu, who played for the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks in 1994-95, and future Stanley Cup winner and Hockey Hall of Famer Selanne, who had 22 goals and 48 points (22 goals, 26 assists) in 45 games for the Winnipeg Jets that season.

The second line would have featured Skriko on left wing, who played for the San Jose Sharks in 1992-93 before moving back to Europe to play six more seasons. Ojanen played for the New Jersey Devils in 1992-93, then returned to Europe. Kurri, a five-time Stanley Cup champion and future Hall of Famer, would’ve rounded out the line; he had 10 goals and 29 points in 38 games for the Los Angeles Kings in 1994-95.

Peltonen, Koivu and Lehtinen earned their nickname as “Huey, Dewey and Louie” in 1995. They were young, but their line had a huge role that year when Finland won the IIHF World Championship for the first time, defeating host country Sweden. They played together for the first time at the IIHF World Junior Championship in 1993, followed by Olympics (1994) and IIHF World Championship (1994). They all joined the NHL in 1995-96 -- Peltonen with the Sharks, Koivu the Montreal Canadiens and Lehtinen the Dallas Stars.

The fourth line would have featured Viitakoski (Calgary Flames), Makela (Boston Bruins) and Kekalainen, who later became the first European general manager in the NHL. Kekalainen played for the Ottawa Senators in 1993-94 and then one season in Sweden before retiring. Varvio (Stars) would have been the 13th forward.

Defensemen (7)

Jyrki Lumme -- Teppo Numminen

Janne Laukkanen -- Reijo Ruotsalainen

Ville Siren -- Jari Gronstrand

Peter Ahola

Three Finnish defensemen played in the NHL in 1994-95 -- Numminen (Jets), Lumme (Canucks) and Laukkanen, a rookie (Quebec Nordiques).

Lumme and Numminen would have been an obvious choice to be the top pair, both experienced players with lots of hockey smarts.

Laukkanen and Ruotsalainen would have formed the second pair. Ruotsalainen, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with Edmonton Oilers, would have been a great mentor for Laukkanen. Ruotsalainen played for the Oilers in 1989-90 before his return to Europe. He retired in 1998.

The third pair would likely have had Siren (Ilves of the Finnish League) and Gronstrand (Tappara of the Finnish League) together. Siren, currently the head amateur scout for the Columbus Blue Jackets, finished his NHL career with the Minnesota North Stars in 1989-90. He then played in Europe before retiring in 1999. Gronstrand’s last NHL season was 1990-91, when he played three games for the New York Islanders. He continued playing in Europe before retiring in 1998. Ahola would have made the team as the seventh defenseman. His last season in the NHL was 1993-94 (Flames), but he played in Europe until 2003.

Goalies (3)

Jarmo Myllys

Kari Takko

Jani Hurme

In 1995, top NHL goalies and Vezina winners were a distant dream in Finland. Myllys was the only Finnish goalie in the NHL in 1991-92 (Sharks), and the next was Hurme in 1999-2000 (Senators).

Myllys played for the Sharks, finishing 3-18-1 with a 5.02 goals-against average and .867 save percentage in 27 games (22 starts). He returned to Europe after the season and continued playing in Finland and Sweden until 2005. He won silver (1988) and two bronze medals (1994, 1998) in the Olympics, and gold (1995) and three silver (1994, 1998, 2001) at the IIHF World Championship. He would have been Finland’s starter.

Takko played for the North Stars (two games) and the Oilers (11 games) in 1990-91. He started nine games, finishing 4-6-0 with a 4.54 goals-against average and .861 save percentage. Takko returned to Europe after that season and retired in 2000. He likely would have been Myllys’ backup.

All other goalies with NHL experience had already retired from European leagues by 1995, so the third goalie would have been Hurme, who later played in the League. He was playing in Finland in 1994-95 before later joining the Senators.