Mikael Granlund
Encyclopedia
Mikael Antero Granlund is a Finnish
professional ice hockey
centre
who currently plays for HIFK
of the Finnish SM-Liiga
. He was the ninth overall pick, selected by the Minnesota Wild
, in the 2010 NHL Draft
.
in 2007–08 and 2008–09, averaging greater than a point per game in both seasons, and was named a first-team All-Star by his junior A league in 2009. He gained his first professional experience late that season, making his debut with Kärpät's team in the SM-liiga
on his 17th birthday. He played only two games before he became embroiled in a contract dispute with the team. Granlund and his agent alleged that the four year junior contract he signed with Kärpät in 2007 was invalid, because it failed to define what compensation he would get from the team, and that the team had altered the end date on his SM-liiga insurance application from April 2009 to April 2011 without his approval. The team admitted that mistakes were made, but that they were made in good faith as both the team and player wished to get him in their top team immediately.
Arguing his contracts to be void, and considering himself to be a free agent, Granlund signed a contract with HIFK Helsinki
for the 2009–10 season; Kärpät challenged his attempts to transfer to HIFK. Granlund sued his old team in July 2009 after Kärpät failed to relent, asking a court to cancel his contracts with them and clear the way for him to play with HIFK. The two sides reached an out of court settlement a month later, allowing Granlund to transfer to his new team. He scored 13 goals and 27 assists in 43 games with HIFK in 2009–10, and was the top rookie scoring 40 points. He was named the winner of the Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy
as the SM-liiga's top rookie, and with only two penalty minutes
in the whole the season, he also won the Raimo Kilpiö trophy
as the league's most gentlemanly player. Additionally, Granlund was voted Finland's young Athlete of the Year for 2009.
He has played with the Finnish national junior team
at both the Under-18 and Under-20 World Championships in 2009 and 2010. At 2010 U18 Championship Granlund scored most assists with nine, and his total thirteen points was the third best in the tournament, as he helped Finland win its second consecutive bronze medal. At the 2010 World Junior Championship he was Finland's top scorer with seven points as the team finished fifth overall.
Among skaters Granlund was considered the top European prospect for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft
by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau
. While scouts have noted his small size at five feet, ten inches, they are impressed with his vision on the ice. Granlund was selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, drafted ninth overall by the Minnesota Wild
.
As Granlund's contract ran through the 2010-11 season, he returned to HIFK for one more season. Suffering a concussion in mid-October, Granlund was sidelined for over two months, missing the 2011 World Junior Championship as a result. Acting primarily as a playmaker, Granlund was a key player in helping HIFK win the SM-liiga title. Granlund was second in playoff scoring (5-11--16), behind team-mate Juha-Pekka Haataja
(8-8--16).
Following the 2010-11 SM-liiga season, Granlund made his debut with the senior Finnish national team for the 2011 IIHF World Championship. Using the Mike Legg
Michigan style scoop in a full-speed variation, Granlund scored a lacrosse
style highlight reel goal at the 2011 IIHF World Championship semifinal versus Russia, helping Finland win gold.
In May 2011, Dynamo Minsk from the KHL has been publicly claiming him since the team drafted him one year prior to the NHL draft . However, because of Finland's mandatory military service requirements
, Granlund will remain with HIFK through the 2011-12 SM-liiga season. Granlund himself has stated he's not interested in playing in the KHL but plans to aim for the NHL.
International
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
centre
Centre (ice hockey)
The centre in ice hockey is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play is the middle of the ice, away from the side boards. Centres have more flexibility in their positioning and are expected to cover more ice surface than any other player...
who currently plays for HIFK
HIFK (ice hockey)
HIFK is an ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall. It was founded in 1897...
of the Finnish SM-Liiga
SM-liiga
The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice...
. He was the ninth overall pick, selected by the Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
, in the 2010 NHL Draft
2010 NHL Entry Draft
The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial record of 11 American-trained players were selected in...
.
Playing career
Granlund played junior ice hockey with KärpätKärpät
Oulun Kärpät is an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga based in Oulu, Finland. Their logo features a stoat ; "kärpät" is Finnish for stoats or ermines. The team has won five league championships .-History:...
in 2007–08 and 2008–09, averaging greater than a point per game in both seasons, and was named a first-team All-Star by his junior A league in 2009. He gained his first professional experience late that season, making his debut with Kärpät's team in the SM-liiga
SM-liiga
The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice...
on his 17th birthday. He played only two games before he became embroiled in a contract dispute with the team. Granlund and his agent alleged that the four year junior contract he signed with Kärpät in 2007 was invalid, because it failed to define what compensation he would get from the team, and that the team had altered the end date on his SM-liiga insurance application from April 2009 to April 2011 without his approval. The team admitted that mistakes were made, but that they were made in good faith as both the team and player wished to get him in their top team immediately.
Arguing his contracts to be void, and considering himself to be a free agent, Granlund signed a contract with HIFK Helsinki
HIFK (ice hockey)
HIFK is an ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall. It was founded in 1897...
for the 2009–10 season; Kärpät challenged his attempts to transfer to HIFK. Granlund sued his old team in July 2009 after Kärpät failed to relent, asking a court to cancel his contracts with them and clear the way for him to play with HIFK. The two sides reached an out of court settlement a month later, allowing Granlund to transfer to his new team. He scored 13 goals and 27 assists in 43 games with HIFK in 2009–10, and was the top rookie scoring 40 points. He was named the winner of the Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy
Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy
The Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy is an ice hockey award given by the Finnish SM-liiga to the best rookie of the season. The trophy is named in honor of Jarmo Wasama, a young Finnish defenseman who was killed in an automobile accident in 1966Trophy Winners:...
as the SM-liiga's top rookie, and with only two penalty minutes
Penalty (ice hockey)
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...
in the whole the season, he also won the Raimo Kilpiö trophy
Raimo Kilpiö trophy
The Raimo Kilpiö trophy is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish SM-liiga to the "gentleman player" of the season.-Trophy winners:1953–54: Esko Rekomaa 1954–55: Seppo Liitsola 1955–56: Teppo Rastio 1956–57: Aki Salonen...
as the league's most gentlemanly player. Additionally, Granlund was voted Finland's young Athlete of the Year for 2009.
He has played with the Finnish national junior team
Finland men's national junior ice hockey team
The Finnish men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Finland. The team represents Finland at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World U20 Championship.-2011 WJC roster:...
at both the Under-18 and Under-20 World Championships in 2009 and 2010. At 2010 U18 Championship Granlund scored most assists with nine, and his total thirteen points was the third best in the tournament, as he helped Finland win its second consecutive bronze medal. At the 2010 World Junior Championship he was Finland's top scorer with seven points as the team finished fifth overall.
Among skaters Granlund was considered the top European prospect for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft
2010 NHL Entry Draft
The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial record of 11 American-trained players were selected in...
by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau
NHL Central Scouting Bureau
The NHL Central Scouting Bureau or NHL Central Scouting Services is a department within the National Hockey League that ranks prospects for the NHL Entry Draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate to the professional game in the...
. While scouts have noted his small size at five feet, ten inches, they are impressed with his vision on the ice. Granlund was selected in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, drafted ninth overall by the Minnesota Wild
Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
.
As Granlund's contract ran through the 2010-11 season, he returned to HIFK for one more season. Suffering a concussion in mid-October, Granlund was sidelined for over two months, missing the 2011 World Junior Championship as a result. Acting primarily as a playmaker, Granlund was a key player in helping HIFK win the SM-liiga title. Granlund was second in playoff scoring (5-11--16), behind team-mate Juha-Pekka Haataja
Juha-Pekka Haataja
Juha-Pekka Haataja is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who currently plays for Kärpät of the SM-liiga.-External links:...
(8-8--16).
Following the 2010-11 SM-liiga season, Granlund made his debut with the senior Finnish national team for the 2011 IIHF World Championship. Using the Mike Legg
Mike Legg
Mike Legg is a Canadian former ice hockey player. He is most famous for a goal he scored while playing for the University of Michigan, in a 1996 NCAA Tournament game against the University of Minnesota, in which he picked the puck up onto his stick behind the net and wrapped it around into the top...
Michigan style scoop in a full-speed variation, Granlund scored a lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
style highlight reel goal at the 2011 IIHF World Championship semifinal versus Russia, helping Finland win gold.
In May 2011, Dynamo Minsk from the KHL has been publicly claiming him since the team drafted him one year prior to the NHL draft . However, because of Finland's mandatory military service requirements
Conscription in Finland
Conscription in Finland is part of a wider, general "national defense duty" defined in the 127§ of the Constitution of Finland.Conscription can take the form of military or of civilian service. Currently, c.66% of males reaching military age do their military service, while a growing number of ...
, Granlund will remain with HIFK through the 2011-12 SM-liiga season. Granlund himself has stated he's not interested in playing in the KHL but plans to aim for the NHL.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | Kärpät Kärpät Oulun Kärpät is an ice hockey team in the SM-liiga based in Oulu, Finland. Their logo features a stoat ; "kärpät" is Finnish for stoats or ermines. The team has won five league championships .-History:... |
Fin-Jr B | 31 | 22 | 27 | 49 | 20 | |||||||
| 2008–09 | Kärpät | Fin-Jr A | 35 | 21 | 36 | 57 | 45 | |||||||
| 2008–09 | Kärpät | SM-liiga SM-liiga The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice... |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | HIFK HIFK (ice hockey) HIFK is an ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall. It was founded in 1897... |
SM-liiga | 43 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | HIFK | SM-liiga | 39 | 8 | 28 | 36 | 14 | 15 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 4 | ||
| 2011–12 | HIFK | SM-liiga | 24 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 6 | |||||||
| Sm-liiga totals | 108 | 31 | 75 | 106 | 22 | 21 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 4 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Team result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships - Group B :-Relegation round:-Results:Note: The following matches from the preliminary round carry forward to the relegation round:*April 10, 2009: 5-2 *April 14, 2009: 8–3 -Final round:-Quarterfinals:-Semifinals:-Fifth place game:... |
Finland Finland men's national junior ice hockey team The Finnish men's national under 20 ice hockey team is the national under-20 ice hockey team in Finland. The team represents Finland at the International Ice Hockey Federation's IIHF World U20 Championship.-2011 WJC roster:... |
WJC-U18 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 0 | Bronze medal |
| 2009 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships - Group B :ScheduleAll times local - Relegation round :The results from matches between teams from the same group in the preliminary round are carried forward to this round.-Schedule:... |
Finland | WJC | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Seventh place |
| 2010 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships The 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships was the 12th edition of the IIHF World U18 Championship. The tournament was held in Minsk and Babruysk, Belarus between April 13 and April 23, 2010. Tournament games were played at the Minsk Sports Palace in Minsk and the Babruysk Arena in Babruysk... |
Finland | WJC-U18 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 4 | Bronze medal |
| 2010 2010 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2010 IIHF World U20 Championship, commonly referred to as the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championships , was the 34th edition of World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. The tournament was hosted in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, from December 26, 2009 to January 5, 2010... |
Finland | WJC | 6 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | Fifth place |
| 2011 | Finland | WC | 9 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | Gold medal |
| Junior totals | 24 | 9 | 27 | 36 | 8 | |||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| SM-liiga | ||
| Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy The Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy is an ice hockey award given by the Finnish SM-liiga to the best rookie of the season. The trophy is named in honor of Jarmo Wasama, a young Finnish defenseman who was killed in an automobile accident in 1966Trophy Winners:... |
2009–10 | |
| Raimo Kilpiö trophy Raimo Kilpiö trophy The Raimo Kilpiö trophy is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish SM-liiga to the "gentleman player" of the season.-Trophy winners:1953–54: Esko Rekomaa 1954–55: Seppo Liitsola 1955–56: Teppo Rastio 1956–57: Aki Salonen... |
2009–10 | |
| Kanada-malja Kanada-malja The Kanada-malja is an ice hockey club championship trophy, awarded annually to the SM-liiga playoffs champion. Kanada-malja is Finnish for "Canada Cup", and is so named because it was donated by Canada's Finnish community in 1951.... |
2010–11 | |