Mikael Granlund facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mikael Granlund |
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Granlund with the Minnesota Wild in 2019
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| Born | 26 February 1992 Oulunsalo, Finland |
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| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Anaheim Ducks Oulun Kärpät HIFK Minnesota Wild Nashville Predators Pittsburgh Penguins San Jose Sharks Dallas Stars |
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| National team |  Finland |
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| NHL Draft | 9th overall, 2010 Minnesota Wild |
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| Playing career | 2008–present | ||
Mikael Antero Granlund (born 26 February 1992) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player. He plays as a centre for the Anaheim Ducks in the National Hockey League (NHL). Before joining the Ducks, he played for several other teams. These include Oulun Kärpät and HIFK in Finland's top league, and the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, and Dallas Stars in the NHL. The Wild chose him as the ninth overall pick in the 2010 NHL entry draft.
Contents
Mikael Granlund's Hockey Journey
Starting His Hockey Career
Mikael Granlund began playing junior ice hockey with Oulun Kärpät. He played there during the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons. He was very good, often scoring more than one point per game. In 2009, his junior league named him a first-team All-Star.
He got his first chance to play professionally with Kärpät's main team. This happened on his 17th birthday. He only played two games before a disagreement about his contract. Granlund and his agent believed his contract was not valid.
Granlund then signed with HIFK Helsinki for the 2009–10 season. Kärpät tried to stop him from moving teams. But after a court case, they reached an agreement. This allowed Granlund to play for HIFK.
In the 2009–10 season, he scored 13 goals and 27 assists. This gave him 40 points in 43 games. He was the top-scoring rookie in the league. He won the Jarmo Wasama Memorial Trophy as the best rookie. He also won the Raimo Kilpiö trophy for being the most gentlemanly player. Granlund was also named Finland's Young Athlete of the Year for 2009.
Playing for Finland's National Teams
Granlund played for the Finnish national junior team. He played in the Under-18 and Under-20 World Championships in 2009 and 2010. At the 2010 U18 Championship, he led the tournament in assists. He helped Finland win a bronze medal. In the 2010 World Junior Championship, he was Finland's top scorer.
Hockey scouts saw Granlund as a top European player for the 2010 NHL entry draft. Even though he was not very tall, they were impressed by how well he saw the game. The Minnesota Wild chose him as the ninth player overall in the Draft.
Granlund returned to HIFK for the 2010–11 season. He helped HIFK win the SM-liiga championship. He was a key player, especially in the playoffs.
After that season, Granlund joined the senior Finnish national team. He played in the 2011 World Championship. In a semifinal game against Russia, he scored a famous "lacrosse-style" goal. This helped Finland win the gold medal. Another league tried to claim his playing rights. However, Granlund said he wanted to play in the NHL.
Time with the Minnesota Wild
In 2012, Granlund signed a three-year contract with the Minnesota Wild. Because of a lockout in the NHL, he first played for the Houston Aeros. This team was the Wild's minor league affiliate. When the NHL season started, Granlund joined the Wild. He made his NHL debut and scored his first NHL goal on January 19, 2013.
Granlund's playing got better in his second year. He scored 8 goals and 33 assists. He often played on Minnesota's top line. In 2014, he scored an overtime goal in the playoffs. This helped the Wild win a game against the Colorado Avalanche.
He continued to play on the top line in the 2014–15 season. He recorded 8 goals and 31 assists. In the 2015–16 season, he played as a centre on the second line. Later, he moved to the first line wing. This helped him score more points. He played well in the Wild's short playoff run.
On August 1, 2017, the Wild signed Granlund to a new three-year contract.
Moving to Other NHL Teams
During the 2018–19 season, Granlund was traded to the Nashville Predators. This happened on February 25, 2019. He had scored 49 points in 63 games for the Wild. He found it a bit hard to score goals in his first games with the Predators.
On September 29, 2020, Granlund decided to look for a new team. However, he ended up re-signing with Nashville on December 23, 2020. On July 28, 2021, he signed another four-year contract with the Predators.
On March 1, 2023, Granlund was traded again. He moved from Nashville to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played 21 games for the Penguins that season.
On August 6, 2023, before the 2023–24 season, Pittsburgh traded Granlund to the San Jose Sharks. This was part of a three-team trade.
On February 1, 2025, Granlund was traded to the Dallas Stars. He quickly fit in with the Stars. He scored 7 goals and 21 points in 31 regular season games. He also helped the Stars reach the Western Conference finals in the playoffs.
As a free agent, Granlund signed a three-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks on July 1, 2025.
Mikael Granlund's Life Outside Hockey
Mikael Granlund has an older brother named Markus Granlund. Markus also played in the NHL for several seasons. He now plays for Genève-Servette HC. Mikael Granlund is a fan of the football club Liverpool FC.
Career statistics
 Granlund at the 2010 World Junior Championships |
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| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Finland |
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| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Winter Olympics | ||
| Bronze | 2014 Sochi | |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2011 Slovakia | |
| Gold | 2022 Finland | |
| Silver | 2016 Russia | |
| World U18 Championship | ||
| Bronze | 2009 United States | |
| Bronze | 2010 Belarus | |
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | Kärpät | FIN U18 | 22 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Kärpät | FIN U20 | 35 | 21 | 36 | 57 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Kärpät | SM-l | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Kärpät | FIN U18 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | HIFK | SM-l | 43 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | HIFK | SM-l | 39 | 8 | 28 | 36 | 14 | 15 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 4 | ||
| 2011–12 | HIFK | SM-l | 45 | 20 | 31 | 51 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Houston Aeros | AHL | 29 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 27 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 63 | 8 | 33 | 41 | 22 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 68 | 8 | 31 | 39 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 82 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 81 | 26 | 43 | 69 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 77 | 21 | 46 | 67 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 63 | 15 | 34 | 49 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 63 | 17 | 13 | 30 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 51 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 80 | 11 | 53 | 64 | 33 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 58 | 9 | 27 | 36 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 21 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 69 | 12 | 48 | 60 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 52 | 15 | 30 | 45 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2024–25 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 31 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 8 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 8 | ||
| Liiga totals | 129 | 41 | 86 | 127 | 34 | 23 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 4 | ||||
| NHL totals | 902 | 179 | 431 | 610 | 277 | 77 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 18 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Finland | U17 | 6th | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2009 | Finland | WJC | 7th | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2009 | Finland | WJC18 |  |
6 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2010 | Finland | WJC | 5th | 6 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | |
| 2010 | Finland | WJC18 | |
6 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 4 | |
| 2011 | Finland | WC |  |
9 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2012 | Finland | WJC | 4th | 7 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2012 | Finland | WC | 4th | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2013 | Finland | WC | 4th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | Finland | OG | |
6 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 4 | |
| 2016 | Finland | WC |  |
10 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2016 | Finland | WCH | 8th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | Finland | WC | 5th | 8 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2022 | Finland | WC | |
9 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 2 | |
| 2024 | Finland | WC | 8th | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 27 | |
| Junior totals | 31 | 11 | 36 | 47 | 8 | ||||
| Senior totals | 66 | 18 | 43 | 61 | 39 | ||||
Awards and Honours
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Liiga | ||
| Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy | 2009–10 | |
| Raimo Kilpiö trophy | 2009–10 | |
| Kanada-malja champion | 2010–11 | |
| Finnish ice hockey player of the year | 2011 | |
| International | ||
| WJC First Team All-Star | 2012 | |
| Olympic All-Star Team | 2014 | |
| WC All-Star Team | 2016 | |
