Anton Lundell (middle) celebrates the gold medal win at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship with his Finnish teammates Kaapo Kakko and Filip Lindberg.
photo: Matt Zambonin / HHOF-IIHF Images
Two years is a long time if you’re an up-and-coming young hockey player. Back in 2018, he had played his first games in the Finnish Liiga and had amassed ten points in 20 games in the top senior league of his country. Now, he’s fourth in league scoring with 12 goals and 20 points in 17 games and he’s been drafted to the NHL in the first round (Florida Panthers in 2020, 12th overall).
Last time Anton Lundell participated in the World Juniors tournament two years ago, Finland went all the way to the gold, beating the U.S. 3-2, and Lundell picking up an assist for Kaapo Kakko’s gold medal winning goal just 86 seconds before the end of regulation time. Last year, Lundell missed the tournament due to an injury, but now he’s back as Finland’s first-line centre and the team captain.
And the 19-year-old Finn is ready to roll.
“I’m looking forward to the tournament, it’s been a while since I last wore the Finland jersey, and it’s always an honour for me to represent my country,” he told IIHF.com in a call.
Like many teenagers, Lundell has taken quick and long strides in his development, a lot of it visible to a spectator in the stands.
“I feel that I’ve taken a few steps forward in my development. I had a great off-season, I worked out really hard. My goal was to get physically more mature and it paid off. I’m stronger and faster, and I think it shows on the ice as well,” he says.
Lundell’s one of those players who, for some reason, always seem to be on winning teams. In the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, he scored four points in seven games as Finland went all the way in the World Juniors. Between 2016 and 2018, Lundell’s Helsinki IFK won the under-16 title twice and the under-18 Finnish championship once.
“Nobody can win games on his own, naturally, but I am competitive and want to do everything I can to help the team. Part of is just chance and good luck that I’ve been on teams that have won titles, but winning is addictive, you always want more,” Lundell told The Hockey News in October.
This season, he’s been a leader on the HIFK team he knows well, having come up through the junior ranks and being the son of the club’s long-time goalie and goaltending coach Jan Lundell. Even when Anton was drafted to the NHL this fall, the Lundells (and agent and friends) followed the event in a suite at the Helsinki arena where has practically grown up, like many Finnish NHLers before him.
According to an oft-told story, Esa Tikkanen, whose father was a manager at the rink when Esa played for HIFK, once persuaded Sami Kapanen – whose father, Hannu, played on the team – to climb to the arena roof with him.
Anton Lundell is much more mature to pull any pranks like that. Even when talking to a reporter, he answers the questions carefully and thoughtfully and avoids clichés – unless you consider refusing to give any praise to himself as one.
“Of course, when the coach trusts me, that boosts my confidence and it’s even more fun to play. Right now, it’s key to me that I get to play a lot in a good league, and practice well,” he says.
While in Edmonton, the teams will be living in a secure bubble which makes the tournament special in another ways. In Finland, Liiga teams have been able to play in front of fans - up to 40-60 per cent of capacity – before the league started a pause in December and Lundell says that the atmosphere has been almost as usual.
“And during the regular season, we’ve been in a bubble of our own, isolating and avoiding contacts and so on, but naturally, the Edmonton bubble is a new experience. For everybody,” he says.
But he’s not in Edmonton to play video games. He’s there to play hockey – and to win.
“I expect a lot, both from myself and the team. We want to win the gold and I’d like to be a leader on the team. I want to be an example for the others, both on the ice and off it,” he says.
That, again, is a sign of his maturity.
“Basically, I just want to do everything I can to help the team win. We have a great team, and in these tournaments some players will always step up,” he concludes.
Last time Anton Lundell participated in the World Juniors tournament two years ago, Finland went all the way to the gold, beating the U.S. 3-2, and Lundell picking up an assist for Kaapo Kakko’s gold medal winning goal just 86 seconds before the end of regulation time. Last year, Lundell missed the tournament due to an injury, but now he’s back as Finland’s first-line centre and the team captain.
And the 19-year-old Finn is ready to roll.
“I’m looking forward to the tournament, it’s been a while since I last wore the Finland jersey, and it’s always an honour for me to represent my country,” he told IIHF.com in a call.
Like many teenagers, Lundell has taken quick and long strides in his development, a lot of it visible to a spectator in the stands.
“I feel that I’ve taken a few steps forward in my development. I had a great off-season, I worked out really hard. My goal was to get physically more mature and it paid off. I’m stronger and faster, and I think it shows on the ice as well,” he says.
Lundell’s one of those players who, for some reason, always seem to be on winning teams. In the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, he scored four points in seven games as Finland went all the way in the World Juniors. Between 2016 and 2018, Lundell’s Helsinki IFK won the under-16 title twice and the under-18 Finnish championship once.
“Nobody can win games on his own, naturally, but I am competitive and want to do everything I can to help the team. Part of is just chance and good luck that I’ve been on teams that have won titles, but winning is addictive, you always want more,” Lundell told The Hockey News in October.
This season, he’s been a leader on the HIFK team he knows well, having come up through the junior ranks and being the son of the club’s long-time goalie and goaltending coach Jan Lundell. Even when Anton was drafted to the NHL this fall, the Lundells (and agent and friends) followed the event in a suite at the Helsinki arena where has practically grown up, like many Finnish NHLers before him.
According to an oft-told story, Esa Tikkanen, whose father was a manager at the rink when Esa played for HIFK, once persuaded Sami Kapanen – whose father, Hannu, played on the team – to climb to the arena roof with him.
Anton Lundell is much more mature to pull any pranks like that. Even when talking to a reporter, he answers the questions carefully and thoughtfully and avoids clichés – unless you consider refusing to give any praise to himself as one.
“Of course, when the coach trusts me, that boosts my confidence and it’s even more fun to play. Right now, it’s key to me that I get to play a lot in a good league, and practice well,” he says.
While in Edmonton, the teams will be living in a secure bubble which makes the tournament special in another ways. In Finland, Liiga teams have been able to play in front of fans - up to 40-60 per cent of capacity – before the league started a pause in December and Lundell says that the atmosphere has been almost as usual.
“And during the regular season, we’ve been in a bubble of our own, isolating and avoiding contacts and so on, but naturally, the Edmonton bubble is a new experience. For everybody,” he says.
But he’s not in Edmonton to play video games. He’s there to play hockey – and to win.
“I expect a lot, both from myself and the team. We want to win the gold and I’d like to be a leader on the team. I want to be an example for the others, both on the ice and off it,” he says.
That, again, is a sign of his maturity.
“Basically, I just want to do everything I can to help the team win. We have a great team, and in these tournaments some players will always step up,” he concludes.