Anaheim Ducks astonished to witness celebration of Teemu Selanne in Finland -NHL News Update
Teemu Selanne, one of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) most celebrated players and future hall of famer, is back in his hometown of Helsinki, Finland, but this time around, it is not for a vacation or to play with the country’s national team in the world
championships.
This time, the 41-year-old is back in his hometown to play against his old team, Jokerit Helsinki, while being part of his long time NHL team, Anaheim Ducks, as both clubs face off on Tuesday, October 4, at the Hartwall Areena.
"It is really special for us", Selanne said. "I don't think many players have a lot of chances to come play in their own home city with their NHL team, so it is very special for us and we're going to enjoy it".
Upon reaching Helsinki on Sunday, two days in advance for the matchups scheduled throughout the week, it was not hard to see that fans were thrilled to have their national hero back in town and for Ducks head coach, Randy Carlyle, it was more than what he
expected.
"When you have a player of Teemu Selanne's calibre he is famous world-round, but he's very, very famous in his home country and he represents his country very well", Carlyle said.
Teemu Selanne has been representing his home town and country not only in the world championships but also in the Olympics as well ever since his induction into the NHL when he was drafted as Winnipeg Jets 10th overall pick in the 1988 NHL Entry
Draft.
Scoring 80 points (31 goals, 49 assists) last season, Selanne still remains one of the league’s highest scoring players, easily available for another few seasons, but it was only last month when fans everywhere were preparing to hear him announce his retirement.
After the 2010-2011 regular season came to a close, the Finnish player nearly decided to call it quits, but later on kept everyone’s hopes high by announcing to stay for another season.
Anaheim Ducks will play two matchups in Helsinki, Finland, against the local team, Jokerit and then against Buffalo Sabres to kick of their regular season on October 7.
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