With Olympic participation reportedly included in the NHL and NHLPA's modified collective bargaining agreement, it's time for hockey fans to think about what the tournament may look like. This edition takes a look at Team Finland's squad.

In recent memory, Finland has been one of the deepest, most consistent teams in international tournaments. It's tied with Canada for taking home the most medals of any country in men's hockey over the last four Olympics. While Canada has two gold medals in that time span, Finland managed two bronzes and a silver.

An impressive number of top prospects have come out of Finland over the last several years. Over the last four drafts, five Finnish players were selected inside the top five picks. With a new generation of stars in the mix, Finland will be looking to bring in another medal - and has a shot at taking home the country's first-ever gold.

Others in this series:
Canada
USA
Sweden
Czech Republic - July 10
Russia - July 12

Finland

Head coach: Jukka Jalonen

Jalonen signed a contract with the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to be head coach of the men's national team until May 2022, which means we should see him behind the bench at the Beijing Olympics.

He's had tremendous success in the past, most recently leading his team to a gold medal at the IIHF World Championship in 2019. He took home another gold at the same tournament in 2011. On top of his success at the World Championship, Jalonen managed to reel in a bronze medal for Finland at the 2010 Olympic Games as well.

Forwards

(All player ages as of February 2022)

Extras: Jesse Puljujarvi (23), Kasperi Kapanen (25)

While Finland has undoubtedly had talent throughout its lineups over the years, it always seemed to be missing the star power that other teams have up front. 2022 should be a different story.

Finland is poised to boast a top six comprised of some of the NHL's biggest young stars. The No. 1 line combines dual-threat Barkov with snipers Laine and Rantanen. Meanwhile, Aho and Teravainen's chemistry as Carolina Hurricanes teammates would quickly translate to magic on international ice. The two lines contain immense talent and would be capable of causing headaches for opponents at both ends of the rink.

The bottom six is where things get interesting. Youngsters such as Kotkaniemi and Kakko have yet to truly blossom in the NHL, but they have shown tremendous promise. By 2022, it's plausible that they will have shown why they were both top-three picks.

The second and third lines are rounded out by solid, skilled role players such as Haula and Lehkonen, who have shown that they are reliable and can produce when called upon. As for the team's extra spots, one will go to Puljujarvi. While he hasn't panned out on NHL ice yet, that doesn't mean he can't be an asset in international play. He's also still just 22 years old and coming off an impressive 53-point season in the Finnish Elite League.

Just missed the cut: Mikko Koivu, Leo Komarov, Eeli Tolvanen, Henrik Borgstrom

Defensemen

Extra: Sami Vatanen (30)

The Finnish defensive group will be led by the uber-talented Heiskanen. He's shown flashes of brilliance in the NHL already and has a lot of international experience at a young age.

Lehtonen has yet to play a game in the NHL, but he recently signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs after leading all KHL defensemen in points during the 2019-20 season. He's produced at every level and has represented Finland internationally numerous times, including in the last Olympics.

Having two 22-year-olds in the blue-line corps carries some risk of defensive lapses. But overall, the group is extremely solid, and with veteran Vatanen as a spare, the lineup could be juggled easily.

Just missed the cut: Sami Niku, Markus Nutivaara, Ville Heinola

Goalies

Extra: Joonas Korpisalo (27)

All signs point to Rask manning the crease in Beijing, but with a couple of up-and-coming Finnish stars at the position, that's no guarantee. Though Saros and Korpisalo don't have a ton of experience, they've shown that they have what it takes to be legitimately good goaltenders, and they still have a year and a half to demonstrate their capabilities.

Rask will turn 35 shortly after the 2022 Olympics, so age is the main thing working against him unless his play suddenly declines. It's hard, but not impossible, to envision Saros or Korpisalo getting the nod instead.

Just missed the cut: Antti Raanta, Mikko Koskinen

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Elias Pettersson's first two seasons in the NHL have been nothing short of spectacular, but he believes he has the potential to take his talent to the next level.

"My second season I am very happy with, but I still think - or I know - I can play better," the Vancouver Canucks star said Thursday, according to NHL.com's David Satriano. "First season (2018-19) was very good. I think the end of the last 20-30 games my first season wasn't that good, but it was a good learning point for me."

The 21-year-old was selected by the Canucks fifth overall in the 2017 NHL Draft. He led all rookies in goals (28) and points (66) last campaign, taking home the Calder Trophy in the process.

This season, Pettersson was on pace to improve on his rookie year significantly. At the time of the season's pause on March 12, he had 27 goals and 66 points with a number of games left.

He reflected on what he can do to improve, and ultimately believes it's working on the little things that can help him develop.

"Maturing in the game, like never losing puck battles, never lose (the puck) if I'm going to try and dangle someone," Pettersson said. "Small areas, small details that I can work on to become better."

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With three capable goalies at his disposal, New York Rangers head coach David Quinn isn't sure who he'll start in net if the NHL proceeds with its 24-team postseason.

Igor Shesterkin, Alexandar Georgiev, and Henrik Lundqvist split goaltending duties in New York this season, leaving Quinn with a tough choice.

"You can make a case for all three guys," Quinn said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "There's a lot of reasons to take Shesty, there's a lot of reasons to start Hank, and there's reasons to start Georgie. This is such an uncertain time that that will play out over the course of the two-and-a-half weeks that we're going to have before we drop the puck."

Phase 3 of the NHL's return-to-play plan is expected to begin on July 10 and includes full training camps for teams. The Rangers are set to take on the Carolina Hurricanes in a best-of-five play-in round once the league resumes its season.

Lundqvist had a subpar campaign overall but was tremendous against the Hurricanes. He logged a 3-0-0 record with a 2.33 goals-against average and .947 save percentage versus Carolina in 2019-20. By contrast, he posted a 3.16 goals-against average and .905 save percentage on the season while playing in a career-low 30 games.

Shesterkin, meanwhile, seemed well on his way to taking over as the Rangers' starter after making his NHL debut in January. The 24-year-old went 10-2-0 with a .932 save percentage and 2.52 goals-against average before the league halted play.

Georgiev, also 24, finished the season with a 17-14-2 record alongside a 3.04 goals-against average and .910 save percentage.

"Hank's history factors in, Shesty's season factors in," Quinn said. "Everything factors in. We're going to consider everything when we make that decision. For every player, the time that we have between when we start practicing and the start of the games is going to be pivotal, but none more so than our goalies."

Though Quinn hasn't anointed a starter, Lundqvist has a decided edge over his fellow netminders when it comes to postseason experience. The 38-year-old is a veteran of 128 playoff games, helping lead the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final on two occasions and the Stanley Cup Final once. Neither Shesterkin nor Georgiev has appeared in a single NHL playoff game.

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With the 2019-20 regular season officially in the books, it's time to relive some of the best moments of the campaign. After breaking down the top five goals of the season on Monday, let's take a look at the year's top five saves.

5. Carter Hart robs Mikko Rantanen

A defenseman doesn't have much time to think when two of the most menacing wingers in the league are bearing down on a two-on-one. Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog provided Rantanen the puck on a platter, but Hart showed off his quick glove hand to bail out his Philadelphia Flyers teammates.

4. Devan Dubnyk whips out the windmill

Dubnyk didn't waste any time setting a high bar, making his bid for save of the year in the Minnesota Wild's first game of the campaign. He was clearly dialed all the way in, robbing Nashville Predators forward Mikael Granlund with a superb windmill glove save. It was an early beauty, but it didn't hold up as the best of the season.

3. Tuukka Rask did what?!

Year in and year out, Rask conjures all sorts of magical saves. This season was no different. With a completely wide-open net behind him, the Boston Bruins netminder somehow sprawled to deny the Buffalo Sabres an easy goal, whacking the puck out of midair with his blocker hand. Who needs a glove anyway?

2. Antti Raanta is the scorpion king

If you have the puck on your stick a few feet in front of the net and the opposing goalie is flat on his stomach, there's not much that can stop you from scoring. Unless that goalie is Raanta. The Arizona Coyotes netminder showed off a deadly combination of reflexes and flexibility against the Chicago Blackhawks, unleashing the scorpion to keep the puck out of the net.

1. Marc-Andre Fleury shocks Maple Leafs with incredible diving save

The Toronto Maple Leafs rode a five-game losing streak into this matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. Down by a goal in the dying minutes of regulation, Toronto appeared to be on the verge of a turnaround as Nic Petan found a juicy rebound with a completely empty net in front of him. Fleury had other plans, though. The three-time Stanley Cup champion made this stunning diving grab, securing the win for Vegas and locking down save of the year honors.

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Ryan O'Reilly knows what it takes to win a Stanley Cup. He took home the Conn Smythe Trophy last season after leading the St. Louis Blues on a miracle run to the title. And if the NHL proceeds with its 24-team postseason, he believes it will be a grueling tournament like nothing seen before.

"Every team is starting from scratch. Every team that's involved in this right now is looking that they have an opportunity to win a Stanley Cup, so it's going to be one of the toughest stretches of hockey that any of us will ever be in and the toughest tournament that any of us - it's like nothing else," O'Reilly said Monday.

"It's going to be extremely difficult - I think as a group we know that. We know it's going to be completely different from last year. We're not coming in finishing a season playing very well and having momentum and coming in. We're all starting at the same point."

The Blues looked to have a good chance to repeat as Stanley Cup champions this season, entering the shutdown on March 12 sitting first in the Western Conference. As a result, St. Louis is guaranteed a berth in the 16-team postseason and will play a round-robin tournament against the conference's other top three teams to determine playoff seeding.

O'Reilly, 29, is eager to finish the campaign and ensure the work players have put in to this point doesn't go to waste, though he knows that's easier said than done.

"There's so many things that will be unfortunate - being away from our families, being confined in these small spaces. But I think it's important for our game - the growth of it - to be able to salvage this season and have a winner, not let the whole thing go to waste," he said. "But again, the priority is the safety and the safety of our families, the guys, whether they've had young kids or have kids ... that's definitely the priority.

"But I think the NHL's doing a good job putting in good practices to help us make sure nothing happens. But again, there's still a lot of uncertainty."

O'Reilly was enjoying another strong season before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted his second year with the Blues. He recorded 12 goals and 49 assists in 71 games.

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Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour will have some tough decisions to make about his lineup if play resumes.

When the season was paused March 12, the Hurricanes had a handful of injuries - namely within their defensive group. Blue-liners Dougie Hamilton, Sami Vatanen, and Brett Pesce were all on the shelf, and now all three have a chance to return.

"There's going to be definitely a feeling-out process to see how everyone meshes, but those are pretty good options to be thrown into your team," Brind'Amour said, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen.

He added, "If everybody is healthy then we have extras, so I think it's going to be a question of, really, how do they look by the time this camp is done? It's not like you get too long of a warmup period. When we start, every game counts, so we've got to go with whoever is ready."

Hamilton suffered a fractured fibula in January and is now expected to be ready for training camp. Vatanen - who was acquired at the trade deadline to fill the gap on the blue line - hasn't suited up in a game for the Hurricanes but is also expected to be available.

Meanwhile, Pesce - who had surgery in March - was expected to miss four-to-six months, but Brind'Amour now says that he's a "long shot" to return.

The coach noted that part of the difficulty in making lineup decisions is because he doesn't know how players have been training since the season was paused.

"It's not like we just picked up where we left off," Brind'Amour said. "I know guys are telling me they're doing OK, but I don't know how much training they're doing and where they're going to be at when we get started."

Training camps for all teams are expected to begin July 10.

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The No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft is up for grabs, but Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland has his sights completely set on winning in the playoffs.

"I don't think anybody's thinking of the No. 1 selection now," Holland said, according to the Edmonton Sun's Jim Matheson. "The eight losers will readjust after (the play-in). I want our team to make some noise, go on a playoff run."

Friday's draft lottery awarded the No. 1 selection in the 2020 NHL Draft to a placeholder team. The eight clubs that lose in the play-in round of the league's 24-team postseason will all have a 12.5% chance at securing the top pick in a second lottery at a later date.

The Oilers - who finished the abbreviated 2019-20 regular season in second place in the Pacific Division - are set to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the best-of-five play-in round.

"Anytime you're playing hockey, you're playing to win … we want the Edmonton Oilers to be the last team standing, and if not, we want the playoff experience as far as we go," Holland said. "End of the day, only one play-in loser gets the No. 1 pick, the others are picking later.

"I look at this tournament as being relatively wide-open. Regular season ended about four months ago if we start in August. If a play-in team wins the Stanley Cup, they will have to have won five series - even more difficult than usual. But everybody's dream is to have your name on the Stanley Cup.

The Oilers have had their fair share of top picks over the last several years. They held the No. 1 selection in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015.

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Friday's draft lottery may not have gone as planned for the Detroit Red Wings, but general manager Steve Yzerman isn't fazed by the outcome.

"We're going to get a great prospect, and how good of a player he becomes, time will tell. So we can sit here today and feel sorry for ourselves if we want, it doesn't matter," Yzerman said Friday. "The system is what it is, and it's the same for all the teams. We're going to get a great prospect, we're going to do everything that we can to develop him, and maybe we will get lucky."

Detroit finished the abbreviated 2019-20 regular season with the worst record in the league and owned the best individual odds to win the top pick as a result. This year's lottery format was slightly altered, however, and included eight placeholder teams that will be determined by the results of the play-in round of the league's planned 24-team postseason.

After one of those placeholder teams won the first overall pick of the 2020 draft in Friday's lottery, each of the eight losing play-in clubs will have a 12.5% chance at winning the No. 1 pick in another draw.

Despite entering the lottery with high hopes, Yzerman said the math suggested a placeholder team would come away with the top pick.

"I'm not surprised. Again, we had an 18.5% chance of winning the first pick. So realistically, I'm prepared to be sitting here today not talking about the first pick," Yzerman said. "I'm not really surprised ... the eight playoff teams had a 24.5% chance combined of getting the pick, so the odds were better that the first pick went to the bottom eight than it did to us."

Yzerman then pointed to the Colorado Avalanche as a reason to be optimistic. Like the Red Wings, the Avalanche slid to No. 4 in 2017 despite owning the best individual odds to win the first overall selection. Colorado wound up using the No. 4 pick to select defenseman Cale Makar, who has quickly developed into a premier player.

Alexis Lafreniere is the consensus No. 1 pick heading into the 2020 NHL Draft, with forwards Quinton Byfield and Tim Stuetzle expected to follow. With the top three seemingly set, Yzerman and the Red Wings will face a tough choice with a talented pack of prospects available at No. 4.

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Friday's draft lottery may not have gone as planned for the Detroit Red Wings, but general manager Steve Yzerman isn't fazed by the outcome.

"We're going to get a great prospect, and how good of a player he becomes, time will tell. So we can sit here today and feel sorry for ourselves if we want, it doesn't matter," Yzerman said Friday. "The system is what it is, and it's the same for all the teams. We're going to get a great prospect, we're going to do everything that we can to develop him, and maybe we will get lucky."

Detroit finished the abbreviated 2019-20 regular season with the worst record in the league and owned the best individual odds to win the top pick as a result. This year's lottery format was slightly altered, however, and included eight placeholder teams that will be determined by the results of the play-in round of the league's planned 24-team postseason.

After one of those placeholder teams won the first overall pick of the 2020 draft in Friday's lottery, each of the eight losing play-in clubs will have a 12.5% chance at winning the No. 1 pick in another draw.

Despite entering the lottery with high hopes, Yzerman said the math suggested a placeholder team would come away with the top pick.

"I'm not surprised. Again, we had an 18.5% chance of winning the first pick. So realistically, I'm prepared to be sitting here today not talking about the first pick," Yzerman said. "I'm not really surprised ... the eight playoff teams had a 24.5% chance combined of getting the pick, so the odds were better that the first pick went to the bottom eight than it did to us."

Yzerman then pointed to the Colorado Avalanche as a reason to be optimistic. Like the Red Wings, the Avalanche slid to No. 4 in 2017 despite owning the best individual odds to win the first overall selection. Colorado wound up using the No. 4 pick to select defenseman Cale Makar, who has quickly developed into a premier player.

Alexis Lafreniere is the consensus No. 1 pick heading into the 2020 NHL Draft, with forwards Quinton Byfield and Tim Stuetzle expected to follow. With the top three seemingly set, Yzerman and the Red Wings will face a tough choice with a talented pack of prospects available at No. 4.

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2020 NHL Draft Lottery
When: Friday, June 26, 8 p.m. ET
How to watch: NHL Network, NBSCN, Sportsnet, TVAS

It's finally time for the NHL Draft Lottery.

Nearly everything about this year's lottery will be different. It's taking place months after it was originally supposed to. It will include eight unnamed teams as we await the results of the NHL's play-in rounds. It may have to be conducted in two phases depending on Friday's outcome. Some top prospects and executives will be available - virtually. Even the exact date of the actual draft is still unknown.

But as always, we do know one lucky team will eventually emerge with the No. 1 overall pick.

Let's explore everything you need to know heading into Friday's televised lottery draw.

Odds to win No. 1 pick

The Detroit Red Wings finished the abbreviated regular season with the worst record in the league and thus own the top individual odds of landing the first overall selection. The Ottawa Senators, however, own the San Jose Sharks' first-round pick, giving them the second- and third-best odds, and therefore the best chance to wind up picking first overall.

Though the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils finished the campaign tied in points percentage, the Devils have a better shot at landing the No. 1 selection by virtue of their inferior winning percentage in regulation and overtime.

Format

Fourteen teams are vying for the top picks of the draft. Eight of those teams are currently unidentified; they will be the clubs eliminated from the play-in rounds of the league's 24-team postseason.

Friday night's event is the first phase of the lottery. The eight losing teams from the play-in round will be represented in this phase as unassigned picks, as illustrated above. There will be three draws in Phase 1: The first will determine the team selecting No. 1, the second will decide the team selecting No. 2, and the third will set the team selecting No. 3.

If a team participating in the play-in round wins a top-three pick, a second lottery phase conducted at some point between the end of the qualifiers and the first round of the 16-team playoffs will determine the final draft order.

Should all three top picks go to teams in the bottom seven, a second phase won't be necessary. The remaining bottom-seven teams will be assigned picks No. 4-7 in inverse order of their regular-season points percentage, and picks No. 8-15 will be assigned to teams eliminated from the play-in round in inverse order of points percentage.

Projected top picks

There's not much uncertainty surrounding the No. 1 pick in this year's draft. But what happens after that is far from certain in what many are calling one of the deepest drafts in recent memory. Let's take a look at some of the top prospects expected to join the teams that win the lottery.

Alexis Lafreniere

The native of Quebec is the undisputed top pick of this year's draft. The dynamic winger has dominated the QMJHL with the Rimouski Oceanic over the past three seasons, and he's the only player besides Sidney Crosby to ever win back-to-back CHL Player of the Year awards.

Not only did Lafreniere bolster his case with 35 goals and 112 points in 55 games with Rimouski this season, but he also earned tournament MVP honors while helping Canada win gold at the 2020 world juniors.

Quinton Byfield

Byfield was once seen as a legitimate threat to challenge Lafreniere at No. 1. Although Lafreniere has since widened the gap, Byfield will be a significant prize for another lottery-winning team.

The big-bodied center is nearly a full year younger than Lafreniere, and his raw skills and physicality make him one of the most intriguing players of the class. He amassed 32 goals and 82 points in 45 games in just his second season with the OHL's Sudbury Wolves.

Tim Stuetzle

Playing in Germany's top professional league as a teenager is impressive. Dominating Germany's top professional league as a teenager is even better. Stuetzle, now 18, cracked the Mannheim Eagles' roster at 17 and never looked back.

The winger posted seven goals and 34 points in 41 games this season, showing he can keep up with more developed players. Stuetzle was a top-50 scorer in the league and enters the draft as the top international prospect.

Best of the rest

Anything can happen when the 2020 NHL Draft finally rolls around. With such a strong class, players could easily rise and fall unexpectedly.

The top two defensemen in this selection are Jamie Drysdale and Jake Sanderson. Forwards Cole Perfetti, Marco Rossi, Lucas Raymond, Alexander Holtz, and Jack Quinn round out the top 10 prospects.

Any of the aforementioned players - and many not named here - could become NHL stars, and teams picking at or near the top of the draft will have some tough decisions to make. The NHL's complete prospect rankings can be found here.

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