Finland is looking to improve on last year's bronze at the men's U18 World Hockey Championship, and they're bringing a young group for the mission. It was to be expected; the 2005-born class is not a strong one for the Finns.

This means half of the defence consists of underagers and there's also a couple more upfront. Arguably two of the best players on this team in Aron Kiviharju and Konsta Helenius are both 2006-born. 

If it was just the '05s, Finland would be in trouble. With the emergence of the underagers, on the right day, this team can compete even for the gold, evident by their 5-2 win over USA in the most recent Four Nations tournament in February. It's going to require big-time performances from the whole team, especially from the goalies. Realistically though, USA, Canada and Sweden should all be at least slightly ahead based on pure roster strength.  {{