QHA Player Called To Finland’s U17 National Team

What an exciting time in the young life and career of Finnish-born goaltender Jooa Sammalniemi. He has been selected to the U17 Finnish National team to play in the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge taking place in Charlottetown & Summerside, P.E.I., Canada, from Nov. 2-11, 2023. Jooa’s club team is Lukko U18 in the U18 SM-sarja league in Finland where he is having an excellent start to his season. We caught up with him and asked him about making the National Team and his thoughts on the tournament.

Hello Jooa, congratulations on making the National team, and thank you for your time.

Please tell us how it felt to be selected for the National  team roster

“It felt so good to get the call to the national team once again. I have played and trained very hard for the entire autumn to get to this point, so it was a well-appreciated invitation.”

What was your preparation going into the tournament?

“Things have not changed; I have continued the same hard training and preparation for the event. I think I’m ready to play against North American stars in a smaller rink. I want to be the best goalkeeper in my age group in the whole world, and I believe that I can show it there.”

What are your expectations going into the tournament?

“I expect that we will be able to win with a strong team game. I think we are underdogs; from the last event, we had three defeats against Sweden, which has been left in the past. I believe that we also have the best pair of goalkeepers in the world; we help each other in every situation, and when one plays well, usually the other responds to the challenge at least as well.”

His Player Agent Tobias Johansson adds:

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