Teemu Selänne

Teemu Ilmari Selänne (born July 3, 1970) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger.

Selänne was born on July 3, 1970, in Helsinki, Finland.

He has a twin brother, Paavo and another brother, Panu.

Selänne played three years of junior hockey in Jokerit's development program, culminating in 1987–88 with a 43-goal, 66 point season in 33 games and a Finnish Junior A championship.

Selänne was a first-round selection of the Jets, tenth overall, at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, but initially remained in Finland.

His performance prompted the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Winnipeg Jets to select him with their first-round pick, tenth overall, at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft.

Selänne attended training camp with the Jets, but returned to Finland owing to his military service.

After graduating from junior hockey, Selänne joined Jokerit's senior team in the 1. Divisioona in 1988–89 and scored 69 points in 35 games.

He began his professional career in 1989–90 with Jokerit of the SM-liiga and played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Winnipeg Jets, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, and Colorado Avalanche.

Jokerit moved up to the SM-liiga in 1989–90, and while Selänne missed the majority of the season due to a leg injury, he scored 12 points in 11 games played.

Playing a full season in 1990–91, Selänne scored 33 goals and 58 points in 42 games.

He was named the recipient of the Raimo Kilpiö trophy as the league's most gentlemanly player.

He led the SM-liiga in scoring as part of Jokerit's Kanada-malja winning team in 1991–92 before moving to North America.

Selänne's best season in the SM-liiga came in 1991–92 when he recorded 62 points in 44 games.

With 39 goals, he won the Aarne Honkavaara trophy as top goal scorer.

He broke into the NHL by scoring 76 goals and 132 points in the 1992–93.

It remains the league record for most goals and points by a rookie and earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy as the top first-year player in the NHL.

He has scored 50 goals in a season three times and topped 100 points on four occasions.

He played in 10 NHL All-Star Games, was named to four post-season All-Star teams and won the inaugural Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in 1998–99 as the league's leading goal scorer.

He was named recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2005–06 for perseverance and dedication to the game and was a member of the Ducks' 2007 Stanley Cup championship team.

Internationally, Selänne was a long-time member of the Finnish National Team.

He played in five World Championships, winning a silver and bronze medal, and in three Canada Cup/World Cup of Hockey tournaments.

A six-time Olympian, Selänne helped Finland win three bronze medals and, in 2006, a silver medal.

He is the all-time leader in scoring at the Olympic ice hockey tournament with 43 points.

A national star in his native country, Selänne is the subject of a top-grossing biographical documentary in Finland.

Nicknamed "the Finnish Flash", 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 scoring records for both the Winnipeg/Arizona franchise and the Anaheim Ducks.

His jersey number 8 was retired by the Ducks in 2015.

In 2017 Selänne was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.

On June 26, 2017, Selänne was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as the second Finn after Jari Kurri.

He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2017.

He was raised by his mother Liisa Viitanen (died 2018) and father Ilmari Selänne until they divorced in the late 1980s.

The family lived for a time in Rauma before settling in Espoo around the time Teemu was 10 years old.

Selänne played three sports as a youth: hockey, bandy and association football.

He played hockey and football with and against Paavo, though his brother ultimately gave up on both sports in favour of field hockey, where he was a member of numerous Finnish and European championship teams.

Teemu was small as a youth, creating in him a competitive spirit and drive to improve his skills.

Focusing on hockey, he eventually joined the junior squad of Jokerit in Helsinki.

As a young adult, Selänne attended business school for two years and served a mandatory one-year stint with the Finnish Defence Forces.

During his tenure with Jokerit, he also spent three years as a kindergarten teacher.

His experiences visiting kids at Helsinki's children's hospital led to him co-founding the Godfathers' Foundation, an organization that raises money for ill children.