Juhamatti Aaltonen saw the Finnish national team's World Championship team on MTV's broadcast - one surprising twist caught the eye

MTV Sports expert Juhamatti Aaltonen assesses that the Finnish national ice hockey team, the Lions, is the strongest favorite for the championship in the World Championships starting on Friday in Switzerland.

According to Aaltonen, the team’s overall composition is unusually balanced, as it includes NHL experience, winning players, and several first-timers in major tournaments. The Finnish World Championship team has 12 players who have played in the NHL, which, according to Aaltonen, raises expectations high from the outset.

– Yes, you can start to protect Havis Amanda little by little. A strong favorite, Aaltonen states about the Lions team on MTV.

The captain of the Lions is Aleksander Barkov, who leads the team as a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Florida Panthers. There have been questions surrounding Barkov due to his injury history from last season, but Aaltonen does not see this as a problem.

– His fundamental game is an overachievement for many. He is such a tough player. He will be the standout player in the World Championships, Aaltonen says about Barkov.

According to Aaltonen, Barkov got a good feel for the game in the Sweden EHT tournament, where he returned to the international level after a long break.

One surprise selection Aaltonen highlighted from the team is HPK forward Sami Päivärinta.

– Generally, it always happens that someone goes through the entire camp process and then gets rewarded for performing well and proving to be a World Championship player. However, I initially guess that Päivärinta’s tournament pass will not be stamped, as we might still expect Oliver Kapanen and Rasmus Ristolainen from the NHL. Nevertheless, Päivärinta is the biggest surprise, Aaltonen said in the broadcast.