Inspiring a hit single may not be what most hockey players set out to do, but Mikael Granlund can count that among his accomplishments.
The Oulu, Finland, native's memorable, lacrosse-style, scoop-and-score goal against Russia at the 2011 World Championship helped create a cultural sensation when a Finnish electronic music artist set announcer Antero Mertaranta's call of the play to music. The song, dubbed "Taivas Varjele," which translates to "Good heavens," reached No. 2 on Finland's singles chart.
Inspiring a hit single may not be what most hockey players set out to do, but Mikael Granlund can count that among his accomplishments.
The Oulu, Finland, native's memorable, lacrosse-style, scoop-and-score goal against Russia at the 2011 World Championship helped create a cultural sensation when a Finnish electronic music artist set announcer Antero Mertaranta's call of the play to music. The song, dubbed "Taivas Varjele," which translates to "Good heavens," reached No. 2 on Finland's singles chart.
Of course, Granlund started getting attention for his hockey skills much earlier, soon after he first strapped on skates at the age of 2. A product of Karpat in Finland's club team system, at 16 he earned first-team all-star status in his country's top junior league after scoring 21 goals and 57 points in 35 games. That same season, on his 17th birthday, Granlund made his debut in Finland's top professional league, Liiga.
After a contract dispute with Karpat, Granlund transferred to HIFK Helsinki to start the 2009-10 season. Granlund was named rookie of the year after scoring 13 goals and 40 points in 43 games, and his total of two penalty minutes allowed him to win the honor of the league's most gentlemanly player.
Ranked as the top European skater in the 2010 NHL Draft, Granlund was picked at No. 9 by Minnesota.
Granlund, whose brother, Markus, was drafted at No. 45 by Calgary in 2011, averaged better than a point per game playing two more years in Finland. After a concussion sidelined him for part of the 2010-11 season and forced him to miss that year's World Junior tournament, Granlund returned in peak form for the playoffs.
He finished second in playoff scoring with 16 points in 15 games while helping to lead HIFK to a Liiga championship. That preceded the "Taivas Varjele" goal against Russia in the semifinals of the World Championship on the way to a gold medal for Finland.
Granlund moved to North America following the 2011-12 season, but the NHL lockout meant he began his Wild career with their AHL affiliate in Houston, where the center had 10 goals and 28 points in 29 games. When the lockout ended, he scored his first goal in his first NHL game, against the Colorado Avalanche, on Jan. 19, 2013.
