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Get used to it. While Puljujarvi and Laine are young enough where they could play in the 2017 world juniors in Toronto and Montreal, as well as in 2018 in Buffalo — if they are not in the NHL, which is more than likely — more talent is reportedly coming. In other words, Canada could be in trouble.

“This is a really good era in Finnish hockey,” said TSN director of scouting Craig Button, who mentioned 16-year-old Eeli Tolvanen, a top scorer in the USHL who could be a top pick in the 2017 draft. “I know from talking to my friends in Finland, they would have loved to have had this tournament next year, because they think they will be favourites again.”

With a sold-out crowd behind them and an offence centred around the tournament’s top scorers, the Finns were the favourites heading into the gold-medal final. But Russia still posed a formidable challenge.

After scoring first, Russia relied on its stingy defence to nurse a 1-0 lead through two periods. But you knew it was not going to hold. Finland’s shooters were just too good, too dangerous. They had averaged about a half-dozen goals per game in this tournament and it was only a matter of time before the dam broke and the offence came.

Twenty-six seconds into the third period, Laine tied the game when he fired a laser beam of a wrist shot that found the top corner. After Russia went up 2-1, Puljujarvi found Sebastian Aho in front for the trio’s 17th goal of the tournament. The Finns looked to have the game secured when captain Mikko Rantanen scored with just over two minutes left to go, but the Russians tied the game with just six seconds remaining when Andrei Svetlakov grabbed his second.

That merely set up the overtime dramatics, with Kasperi Kapanen sealing the victory barely a minute and a half in.

“Of course, that feels good if scouts are talking about me like that,” said Laine. “Now, I will just keep going and play the same as here and hope the results will be just as good.”

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