Teemu Selänne and Teppo Numminen will join the Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame in November.
Teemu Selänne started his wonderful NHL career in Winnipeg. PDO
The NHL club Winnipeg Jets invited two Finnish ice hockey greats Teemu Selänten and Teppo Numminen for their mid-November home game. The reason for this is clear: former Jets players are inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame.
Slänne is remembered in Winnipeg especially for his rookie season dominance. In the 1992-1993 season, the young man from Helsinki set the goal record for rookies with 76 hits, and that limit is considered almost insurmountable in today’s NHL.
Finland’s most effective NHL player of all time played for the Jets in four different seasons before his transfer to Anaheim. The Finn has always received a warm welcome in Winnipeg, even though the years have passed. He recalled the early years of his NHL career in an interview with Winnipeg’s Power97 radio channel.
– When I arrived there for the first time, I was really excited. It was like I was their own son. That’s why my relationship with my fans has always remained special. Everyone remembers their first kiss, their first relationship… Winnipeg was the same for me.
In the province of Manitoba, hockey is by far the most followed sport, so the players are treated like movie stars there. During one season, Selänne became the team’s golden rod, but the forward tried to keep his feet on the ground.
– I always try to remind myself that I’m just a hockey player. I’m not better than anyone outside the rink. It only matters how you treat people, Selänne states.
Teppo Numminen guided Selännet to adapt to the whirlwinds of the NHL. PDO
It was Selänte’s luck that the start of his NHL career was facilitated by another Finnish player, Teppo Numminen. The defender had time to represent the Jets for four seasons before the newcomer’s arrival and was happy to help Selännett adapt to an unfamiliar environment. Numminen had a good time, because he received adaptation help, among other things Hannu from Järvenpää.
Swedish players also played in the Jets.
– There were players in the Jets who had experienced the same changes as me. The team must have those good guys who show others the direction, says Numminen.
Numminen continued on the Jets’ roster when the team moved from Winnipeg to Phoenix, USA. Although Numminen also played successfully for the Coyotes and had his game number frozen there, leaving his first NHL club at home was hard. The departure was prepared for two years.
– It was a crushing hope that a way would be found to stay in Winnipeg – so that we could still see the passion of the supporters.
Numminen ended his career in 2009 as the Finn who played the most NHL games of all time. That record was later changed to Seläntee, who played his last game five years later.
The Finns will be celebrated on November 17, when the Jets face another important team for Selänte, the Anaheim Ducks.