Indeed, the team had a fusion of veterans who returned from the NHL - Virta, Helminen, and future stars - Koivu, Lehtinen, Kappanen who played to Vancouver 2010 and also bronze.
Then everyone was surprised by the Finnish rise of skill. Until the early 90s, the Finns had the image of "forever fifth". The individual successes of Kurri and Tikkanen in the NHL did not affect the success of the national team. However, Hannu Aravirta and Vladimir Yurzinov (Viktor Tikhonov's former assistant) created a classic Finnish hockey style that is still in effect - Soviet pack control and Czechoslovakian pragmatics in defense.
Hienoja pätkiä! Mahtaisko JYPin kaudelta 96-97 löytyä mitään? Se oli kausi kun itse aloin käymään matseissa 8 vuotiaana. Toki Jussilla ollu silloin parempaakin tekemistä kuten maalivahtina nostaa diskos 1 divariin..
