Ducks' Teemu Selanne is Finnish, but hardly finished

Teemu Selanne and Ducks teammates Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry were designated co-recipients of the NHL's First Star award for the week ending Nov. 2.

Selanne spoke to reporters via conference call Monday afternoon. Although he's 38, Selanne retains the enthusiasm of a kid -- a key reason he's still productive and climbing rapidly up the NHL all-time scoring charts.

The Finnish winger scored his 560th goal a few days ago to tie Guy Lafleur for 20th place, and with an assist Sunday, he tied Bobby Hull for 45th place on the points list, with 1,170.

"It's amazing to hear that," said Selanne, who had six goals and nine points in the four-game span covered by the award.

"Obviously when I was a young player and somebody would have told me this is going to happen, I would have said, 'Guys, you're crazy.'  I'm very grateful."

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, one of the reporters on the call, asked a very good question, to which Selanne had an equally good response. So many European players have made their NHL debuts when they were 18 or 19, but Selanne didn't make the jump until he was 22. Does he regret that?

"I know for a fact when I was 18 I wasn't ready to come over. That wasn't even in my mind," Selanne said. "In 1989, I turned 19 and broke my leg and missed a whole year. I wanted to play an extra year [in Finland] and get the confidence level where it should be."

He hasn't lost confidence -- or much of his speed.

"I think my speed is still there," said Selanne, who signed a two-year contract during training camp. "Maybe I'm not as fast as when I was 22, but I think speed is key for me and use it to my advantage.

"I like the game and I'm playing with great players, which makes my game easier."

He attributed the Ducks' slow start to overconfidence.

"We had a pretty good preseason and maybe thought it would be a little bit too easy," he said.

A few losses taught them otherwise and changed their attitude.

"The joke is over right now, let's start playing and start working. That road trip that we had, we started playing better," he said of the Ducks' 4-0 trip to Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Columbus.

The Ducks face the Kings on Tuesday at Staples Center. "They have a very young team, and they have lots of hungry young players," Selanne said. "It's always tough to play against the Kings, and it's nice to have a rivalry."

-- Helene Elliott

Photo: Teemu Selanne celebrates after scoring against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 27 in Columbus, Ohio. Credit: Terry Gilliam / Associated Press

Comments

[Larry Walker]

Selanne is a great athlete and an even better person. Can anyone name another pro athlete - much less a 15+ year veteran - who willingly came to training camp without a contract and took out his own insurance policy in order to prove he was ready to go? Just another reason NHL athletes are the best, both on and off the ice.

[callmemo]

I agree with Larry. Teemu shows what great class NHL players are on and off the ice. Sure there are the bad apples, but its people like Teemu who makes the NHL a class act.

I am happy that Teemu, Corey, and Ryan got the recognition they deserved. Its far and few the West Coast players gets any kudos!