Finnish hockey is at an all-time high.
When Vegas Golden Knights forward Erik Haula scored a goal Friday against the Minnesota Wild, he became the seventh Finnish player to reach the 50-point plateau this season - the highest number in the country's history, per Reddit user Tazavoo.
| Player | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mikko Rantanen (COL) | 25 | 50 | 75 |
| Aleksander Barkov (FLA) | 25 | 45 | 70 |
| Patrik Laine (WPG) | 41 | 25 | 66 |
| Mikael Granlund (MIN) | 19 | 39 | 58 |
| Teuvo Teravainen (CAR) | 21 | 35 | 56 |
| Sebastian Aho (CAR) | 25 | 30 | 55 |
| Erik Haula (VEG) | 28 | 23 | 51 |
(Stats courtesy: Hockey Reference)
It's hard to argue this isn't the best-ever crop of Finnish players in the NHL. Given that the country has always had a stable of elite netminders, the Finns likely would've been a force to be reckoned with had the NHL participated in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics.
However, the average age of the seven players is just 22.3, so it's safe to say Finland will be in good shape for the next international best-on-best tournament, whenever that may be.
Copyright © 2018 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.