Teemu Selanne
Teemu Selanne
Teemu Ilmari Selänne, nicknamed "The Finnish Flash", is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger. He began his professional career in 1989–90 with Jokerit of the SM-liiga and played 21 seasons in the National Hockey Leaguefor the Winnipeg Jets, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche. Selänne is the highest scoring Finn in NHL history, and one of the highest overall; he retired in 2014 11th all-time with 684 goals and 15th with 1,457 points. He holds numerous team...
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth3 July 1970
CityHelsinki, Finland
I know exactly how he plays. Too bad he knows me. The bottom line is to make sure he doesn't see the puck. You have to have traffic in front of him.
I really believe it's pride. For the guys who are lucky enough to play on the power play, it has to be a bonus for everyone out there. Even one PP goal every day is going to be huge.
I realized he didn't see it and I tried to put my stick behind him. Then I accidentally hit his pads and pushed it more into the goal. It's a tough break, especially when we had so many chances.
But he's very relaxed, too. He's one of the guys who smiles and says, 'Oh, is there a game today?' He puts everybody else at ease.
I'm healthy, I've got all the wheels back. When you don't have your wheels you can't excel at this level. The whole year has been excellent, I'm really happy my knee is good again. I enjoy the game again, I've got my smile back.
I hit a stick or a puck but it's all the same. It doesn't really matter.
But I like our chances. I think it's a good situation to go there again as an underdog. I don't think we have that much pressure. But at the same time, we know how good we can be. The World Cup proved that anything can happen. So we feel pretty good about the whole thing.
He's not noisy. He's always the same. Never high, never low. I think that shows how strong he is mentally.
It's probably going to be my last Olympics, that's why it's a little more special. The national team always has been a happy place for me. I really like our chances. You never know what's going to happen, that's why the tournament is so special. The gap between the No. 1 and No. 5 team is pretty much nothing. You're talking about two weeks of time. Whoever is going to be hot is going to have a great chance to win.
It's tough. We were so close, and we played so good in the tournament.
It's a little easier than it was maybe two or three years ago, but you still have to be good.
It's a jungle out there. I don't know about these new rules.
It wasn't the prettiest (win), but we did a lot of good things. Even when they were up two goals we never gave up.
It's OK. You can always get new teeth.