-Personal-
Teemu and his wife Sirpa have one son, Eemil Ilmari Selanne (born 2/23/96). They are expecting their second child in this fall�Teemu's Nicknames include "The Finnish Flash," "Salami," and "The Flying Finn"...named the First Godfather to the Children's Hospital in Finland...has always been supportive of children's charities, including being involved with "Jets' Goals for Kids Foundation" which helped raise money for children's charities in Manitoba...spends his summers near Helsinki, Finland with his family...has a twin brother, Paavo...other brother's name is Panu...loves kids and was a kindergarten teacher in Finland for three years...plays tennis and squash throughout the summer...served in the Finnish Army...his childhood idols were Guy Lafleur, Jari Kurri and Wayne Gretzky...helps fellow Finland native Kurri with his hockey school during summers in Helsinki...wore #8 throughout his hockey career in Finland...enjoys music and has shown some interest in magic tricks...loves animals...recently has taken an interest in auto racing�has two rottweiler dogs named Teddy and Domi...collects antique cars...enjoys fishing, jogging and riding his jet ski at the lake during the summer in Finland.
Teemu Selanne, Hockey�s Finnish Flash, Has Quickly Made an Impact on the NHL and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
The following article is by Doug Ward
The world is a blur for Teemu Selanne. Whether he's streaking up and down the right wing for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim or engaging in his off-season passion of car racing, Selanne has a need for speed
Consequently, things have a way of happening at an accelerated pace in Selanne's warp-speed life.
Take 1993, for example. That's the year Selanne broke into the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets. He quickly earned superstar status with 76 goals, the most-ever by an NHL rookie.
Then there was his Mighty Ducks debut three years later. After the Ducks had obtained the "Finnish Flash" from Winnipeg in exchange for Chad Kilger and Oleg Tverdovsky, it took all of one game before Teemu endeared himself to his new teammates with a pair of goals on Long Island.
Then there was the time in February of 1996, when his wife-to-be Sirpa gave birth to the couple's first child, a boy, Eemil Ilmari. Selanne wanted to do something special for his new son as soon as possible. In his first game as a father, Selanne scored not one, but three goals. A hat trick for Eemil.
"That is a day I will never forget. I was thinking before the game that it would be nice to score just one goal for him. I wasn't thinking about three goals but it was a great moment and I was very excited and pumped."
When the Ducks played their first Stanley Cup Playoff game against the Phoenix Coyotes on April 16, it was Selanne who got the festivities under way with the Ducks' first playoff goal 8:57 into the first period. He added another goal and an assist that night, then went on to pick up a goal and an assist in game two. Five points in two games and Selanne's Mighty Duck playoff career was, well, off to the races.
"I love speed," Selanne says, telling us what we've already figured out. "I love everything that goes fast."
Selanne is also quick to put visitors and teammantes alike at ease in the Ducks' locker room. "I like people," Selanne says with a wink and a smile. He is, as they say, good in the room. But he's even better on the ice. His 76-goal rookie season earned him the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year and an unwanted reputation as more of a finisher than a closer. The truth is he does both with equal aplomb.
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Selanne finished second to Mario Lemieux in the NHL's scoring race this season with 51 goals and 58 assists. That's balance.
"I like to do both," Selanne says, declining to pick his favorite poison. "I think it's better if I can do both instead of just one, and that's a big challenge for me."
Seventy-six goals in his rookie season also meant Selanne would forever be compared to himself. He admits it will be tough to score that many goals again.
"I think those numbers will be hard to match," he says.
But there's more to hockey than numbers, a fact not lost on Selanne.
"It doesn't mean I can't have great seasons. I don't have to score 76 goals to play as well as I did that season."
That's because Selanne is a more wellrounded player now. "I'm getting more assists now," he says. "My role is different now. I'm not really a goal-scorer, I'm more of a playmaker and all-around player."
Selanne was a highlight reel staple in '93, scoring some of the year's most spectacular goals. "Team Teemu," they called the Jets back then. Selanne may never reach those lofty numbers again - 76 goals and 132 points - but he does continue to make regular appearances as one of the week's top goal-scorers. Selanne has dabbled in magic and he makes more than his share of it on the ice. In the blink of an eye, Selanne's sleight of hand can pull rabbits out of hats or put biscuits in baskets. His hands and feet are faster than the eye and that's no illusion. Now, Selanne's artistry is no longer a solo act. Instead he teams with left winger Paul Kariya and they make hockey magic on a regular basis. Performances begin at 7:30 nightly.
"I just love playing with Paul," Selanne says. "He has all the tools. We have a lot of fun together."
The two have been good for one another, going together like Siegfried & Roy. The pair have a way of making opposing defensemen and goalies seem to disappear.
There's no doubt that Kariya has helped Selanne become a better player, but it's been a two-way street. The fact that both possess blazing speed making them extremely compatible.
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With his instincts, vision, and speed, Selanne has a way of pulling something unexpected from up his sleeve.
"I think Teemu's passing skills are unbelievable," Kariya says. "His passing is the most underrated part of his game. He's a great passer in transition and a better passer when it comes to scoring chances around the net. Teemu puts it right where you need it. Many of the goals we score have been the result of an incredible pass from him."
Part of what makes him so dangerous is that, if a defender puts too much emphasis on his world class passing skills, he's likely to let loose his quick, accurate shot.
Before coming to North America to play in the NHL, Selanne fulfilled an 11 month hitch in the Finnish Army during which he became an expert marksman. That shooting eye has translated well to hockey.
"For sure, if I have the chance to shoot the puck, I shoot. But that's not my main role. My main role is to make good passes."
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In addition to precise shooting, Selanne's army stint also taught him much about togetherness. He's brought that camaraderie to the Ducks locker room.
"That's a big thing I can bring to a team," Selanne says. "You have to get along well, even if you don't like someone. When I was in the army, there were 85 guys living in the same house. You had to learn to think about other guys. You couldn't just think about yourself. When you take care of other guys and have fun with them, there is a feeling that develops and you really enjoy it. We have a great bunch of guys here with the Ducks."
Already, Selanne has proven he can also overcome adversity quickly. Three years ago, while still a member of the Winnipeg Jets, he suffered a severed achilles tendon in a game against the Ducks at the Pond. It ended his sophomore season after 25 games. Two years ago he played through tendonitis in his left knee. Today, his medical problems are a thing of the past.
"Those injuries don't bother me anymore," Selanne says. And even when they did, Selanne didn't let the pain dampen his spirits.
Despite suffering from the tendonitis, Selanne played in the Jets' meaningless season finale that concluded the 1994-95 season. Meaningless, that is, to everyone except Jets fans. At the time, it appeared it would be the Jets last game in Winnipeg and Selanne wanted to give them something to remember the team by. "I liked the fans there a lot," he says modestly.
When Selanne isn't playing hockey, he participates in car rallies in Helsinki. Thankfully for Ducks fans, car racing is the one thing Teemu doesn't do all out.
"I love speed, but it's just a hobby for me," he says. "I don't have the pressure to go fast and do well. It's just a hobby so I don't have to go 100 percent and take risks. I want to be smart and I don't want to get injured. I drive as fast as I want, not as fast as I can."
He's only 26 and his best NHL years are still ahead of him, but Selanne is still on a fast track - naturally - toward his post hockey life.
Selanne spent three years as a Helsinki kindergarten teacher. (If you're counting, that's three careers - soldier, teacher and hockey player - in the first quarter century for the fast-moving Selanne.)
He loves kids, and after hockey he would like to be involved in working with them, helping them out early so they can have a better life.
In a way, it's the same thing the Mighty Ducks are asking him to do.
The Ducks want Selanne to help a young organization get to the next level and become a Stanley Cup contender. The question isn't so much whether it will happen as how soon it will happen.
With Selanne, the answer is always the same: Fast.