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Mikael Granlund
Mikael Granlund at Minnesota Wild open practice at Tria Rink in St Paul, MN.jpg
Granlund with the Minnesota Wild in 2019
Born (1992-02-26) 26 February 1992 (age 33)
Oulunsalo, Finland
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre / Right wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams
San Jose Sharks
Oulun Kärpät
HIFK
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
Pittsburgh Penguins
National team Flag of Finland.svg Finland
NHL Draft 9th overall, 2010
Minnesota Wild
Playing career 2008–present

Mikael Antero Granlund (born 26 February 1992) is a professional ice hockey player from Finland. He plays as a centre and is an alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks in the National Hockey League (NHL). Before joining the Sharks, he played for teams like Oulun Kärpät and HIFK in Finland, and the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, and Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL. The Wild picked him as the ninth player overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Granlund's Hockey Journey

Starting Out in Hockey

Mikael Granlund started playing junior ice hockey with Oulun Kärpät in 2007. He was really good, often scoring more than one point per game. In 2009, he was even named a first-team All-Star in his junior league. He got his first chance to play professionally with Kärpät's main team when he was just 17 years old.

Mikaelgranlund
Granlund playing for HIFK.

After a disagreement about his contract with Kärpät, Granlund decided to sign with HIFK Helsinki for the 2009–10 season. Kärpät tried to stop him from moving, but they eventually worked things out. With HIFK, he had an amazing season, scoring 13 goals and 27 assists in 43 games. He was the top-scoring rookie with 40 points! Because of his great play, he won the Jarmo Wasama Memorial Trophy as the best rookie in the SM-liiga (Finland's top league). He also won the Raimo Kilpiö trophy for being the most gentlemanly player, as he only had two penalty minutes all season. In 2009, he was even voted Finland's Young Athlete of the Year.

Granlund also played for the Finnish national junior team in big tournaments like the Under-18 and Under-20 World Championships in 2009 and 2010. At the 2010 U18 Championship, he led the tournament in assists and helped Finland win a bronze medal.

Experts thought Granlund was the best European player for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Even though he wasn't the tallest player, scouts were very impressed with how well he saw the game on the ice. The Minnesota Wild chose him as the ninth overall pick in the draft.

He played one more season with HIFK, helping them win the SM-liiga title. He was a key player, especially in the playoffs. After that season, Granlund joined the senior Finnish national team for the 2011 IIHF World Championship. He scored a famous "lacrosse-style" goal in the semifinal game against Russia, which helped Finland win the gold medal!

Joining the Minnesota Wild

In 2012, Granlund signed a three-year contract with the Minnesota Wild. Because of a player lockout in the NHL, he started the 2012–13 season playing for the Wild's minor league team, the Houston Aeros. When the lockout ended, he joined the Wild and made his NHL debut on January 19, 2013, scoring his first NHL goal against the Colorado Avalanche.

Granlund got even better in his second year, scoring 8 goals and 33 assists. He often played on Minnesota's top line with star players like Jason Pominville and Zach Parise. In the 2014 playoffs, he scored an overtime goal that helped the Wild win a game against Colorado. He continued to play well for the Wild in the following seasons, often playing on the top lines. In the 2015–16 season, his coach moved him to the first line as a winger, which helped him score even more points.

In 2017, the Wild signed Granlund to a new three-year contract worth $17.25 million.

Moving to Other NHL Teams

During the 2018–19 season, Granlund was traded from the Wild to the Nashville Predators. He had scored 49 points in 63 games for the Wild before the trade. He played 16 games for the Predators that season.

After his contract with Nashville ended, Granlund decided to try playing for another team. However, he ended up re-signing with the Predators for one year in December 2020. In July 2021, he signed another four-year contract with Nashville.

On March 1, 2023, Granlund was traded again, this time to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played 21 games for the Penguins, scoring 5 points.

Then, on August 6, 2023, before the new season started, Pittsburgh traded Granlund to the San Jose Sharks as part of a big trade involving three teams.

Personal Life

Mikael Granlund has a younger brother named Markus Granlund, who also played in the NHL for several seasons and now plays in Switzerland. Mikael is a big fan of the English soccer team Liverpool FC.

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 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
Liiga totals 129 41 86 127 34 23 6 17 23 4
NHL totals 819 157 387 544 249 59 11 21 32 10
Mikael Granlund 2010 WJC.jpg
Granlund at the 2010 World Junior Championships
Medal record
Representing Finland Finland
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
Bronze 2014 Sochi
World Championships
Gold 2011 Slovakia
Gold 2022 Finland
Silver 2016 Russia
IIHF World U18 Championship
Bronze 2009 United States
Bronze 2010 Belarus

International Games

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 3 6 2 11 13 0
2010 Finland WJC 5th 6 1 6 7 4
2010 Finland WJC18 3 6 4 9 13 4
2011 Finland WC 1 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 3 6 3 4 7 4
2016 Finland WC 2 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 1 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
Liiga
Jarmo Wasama memorial trophy (Best Rookie) 2009–10
Raimo Kilpiö trophy (Most Gentlemanly Player) 2009–10
Kanada-malja champion (League 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

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