- Mikael Granlund
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Mikael Granlund 
Born February 26, 1992
Oulu, FinlandHeight 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Weight 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb) Position Centre Shoots Left NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teamsMinnesota Wild
Helsingin IFK (SM-liiga)
Oulun KärpätNational team 
FinlandNHL Draft 9th overall, 2010
Minnesota WildPlaying career 2008–present Mikael Antero Granlund (born February 26, 1992) 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.
Contents
Playing career
Granlund in the first game of the 2009–10 SM-liiga season.
Granlund played junior ice hockey with Kärpät in 2007–08 and 2008–09, averaging greater than a point per game in both seasons,[1] and was named a first-team All-Star by his junior A league in 2009.[2] He gained his first professional experience late that season, making his debut with Kärpät's team in the SM-liiga on his 17th birthday.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5] 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.[4] The two sides reached an out of court settlement a month later, allowing Granlund to transfer to his new team.[6] He scored 13 goals and 27 assists in 43 games with HIFK in 2009–10,[7] and was the top rookie scoring 40 points.[8] 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.[9] Additionally, Granlund was voted Finland's young Athlete of the Year for 2009.[10]
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.[8] At the 2010 World Junior Championship he was Finland's top scorer with seven points as the team finished fifth overall.[11]
Among skaters Granlund was considered the top European prospect for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[12] 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.[1]
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).[13]
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. [14][15][16][17][18][19] 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 .[20] However, because of Finland's mandatory military service requirements, Granlund will remain with HIFK through the 2011-12 SM-liiga season.[21] Granlund himself has stated he's not interested in playing in the KHL[22] but plans to aim for the NHL.
Career statistics
- Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2007–08 Kärpät Fin-Jr B 31 22 27 49 20 2008–09 Kärpät Fin-Jr A 35 21 36 57 45 2008–09 Kärpät SM-liiga 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2009–10 HIFK 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 9 6 10 16 2 Sm-liiga totals 93 27 65 92 18 21 6 16 22 4 - International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM Team result 2009 Finland WJC-U18 6 2 11 13 0 Bronze medal 2009 Finland WJC 6 2 1 3 0 Seventh place 2010 Finland WJC-U18 6 4 9 13 4 Bronze medal 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
Medal record 
Granlund at the 2010 World Junior ChampionshipsCompetitor for FinlandIIHF World U18 Championships Bronze 2009 United States Bronze 2010 Belarus World Championships Gold 2011 Slovakia Award Year SM-liiga Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy 2009–10 [9] Raimo Kilpiö trophy 2009–10 [9] Kanada-malja 2010–11 [9] References
- ^ a b Adams, Alan (June 2010). "Top prospects gun for no. 1". The Hockey News: 25. ISSN 0018-3016.
- ^ "A-nuorten SM-liigan palkitut" (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. 2009-03-04. http://www.finhockey.fi/taustasivut/artikkeliarkisto/?num=403261. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
- ^ "Kärppien Mikael Granlund, 17, debytoi tänään" (in Finnish). SM-liiga. 2009-02-26. http://www.sm-liiga.fi/arkisto/karpat/karppien-mikael-granlund-17-debytoi-tanaan.html. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
- ^ a b Pakarinen, Risto (2009-07-12). "Granlund sues old team". International Ice Hockey Federation. http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/club-events/news-singleview-club-events/article/granlund-sues-old-team.html. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
- ^ "Kärpät ei hyväksy Granlundin siirtoa" (in Finnish). jatkoaika.com. 2009-03-09. http://www.jatkoaika.fi/smliiga.php?sivu=uutiset&id=9393. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- ^ Partanen, Joonas (2009-08-26). Näkökulma. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Iltalehti. p. 10. ISSN 0783-0025.
- ^ "Mikael Granlund player card". The Hockey News. http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/hockeynews/hockey/player.cgi?8408. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
- ^ a b "Mikael Granlund Draft Card". National Hockey League. http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectdetail.htm?dpid=2460. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
- ^ a b c d "SM-liigan kausipalkinnot jaettiin Liigagaalassa" (in Finnish). SM-liiga. 2010-05-29. http://www.sm-liiga.fi/arkisto/uutiset/sm-liigan-kausipalkinnot-jaettiin-liigagaalassa.html. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- ^ "Kulta-Aikku ylivoimaisesti Vuoden urheilijaksi" (in Finnish). MTV3. 2010-01-11. http://www.mtv3.fi/urheilu/muutlajit/uutiset.shtml/arkistot/muutlajit/2010/01/1031791?maastohiihto. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- ^ "Finland player scoring at the 2010 World Junior Hockey Championship" (PDF). International Ice Hockey Federation. http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/205/IHM2050FIN_83_6_0.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
- ^ "International Skaters Final Rankings". NHL Central Scouting Bureal. http://centralscouting.nhl.com/link3/sections/cs/resources/2010draft/FinalRankingsInternationalSkaters.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
- ^ "Pistepörssi 2010-11" (in Finnish). SM-liiga. http://www.sm-liiga.fi/tilastot/kokonaan.html?l=k_pisteet&s=10-11. Retrieved 2011-05-01.
- ^ "Eishockey WM 2011 - Mikael Granlund Tor - Finnland vs. Russland 1:0" (in German). youTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PyDe2oZmAc. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ^ "Finnland folgt Schweden ins Finale, Austria" (in German). orf.at. http://sport.orf.at/stories/2058236/2058235/. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ^ "Die Russen von den Finnen entzaubert, Switzerland" (in German). nzz.ch. http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/sport/aktuell/eishockey-wm_in_der_slowakei_die_russen_von_den_finnen_entzaubert_1.10570785.html. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ^ "Schweden und Finnland spielen um Gold, Spiegel" (in German). spiegel.de. http://www.spiegel.de/sport/wintersport/0,1518,762513,00.html. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ^ "Granlunds fräckis fixade drömfinal" (in Swedish). Svenska Dagbladet. http://www.svd.se/sport/granlunds-frackis-fixade-dromfinal_6164383.svd. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ^ Kimelman, Adam (2011-05-13). "Granlund scores goal for the ages at Worlds". NHL.com. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=562747. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ^ "Granlund to Minsk". HS.fi. 2011-05-26. http://uutiset.msn.hs.fi/urheilu/jaakiekko/smliiga/artikkeli/Sovjetski+Sport+-lehti+Mikael+Granlund+Minskiin/1135266441286. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
- ^ "Granlund remains in Finland". wikipedia. 2011-05-27. http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikael_Granlund. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
- ^ "HIFK sports director: Granlund will not go to KHL even for truck full of money". http://www.sports.ru/en/hockey/100080154.html. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
External links
- Mikael Granlund's career stats at Eliteprospects.com
- Mikael Granlund's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
- Mikael Granlund's NHL Draft Prospect Card
Preceded by
Nick LeddyMinnesota Wild first round draft pick
2010Succeeded by
Jonas BrodinCategories:- 1992 births
- Living people
- Finnish ice hockey players
- HIFK players
- Kärpät players
- Minnesota Wild draft picks
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