Selanne, Numminen savouring special visit to Jetsville

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/11/2022 (1072 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They felt the love from the community during their time as Winnipeg Jets. And they’re feeling it once again today as their numbers are set to be hoisted into the rafters at Canada Life Centre.

Teemu Selanne and Teppo Numminen are back in town to be inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame prior to tonight’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.

“It’s a humble feeling to be here …it’s a big honour for sure,” Selanne said, during a late-morning news conference at the downtown rink. “I always said I’m very proud and thankful that I started here. The hockey means so much for this city and when you realize that, you just really appreciate what you do. I always said if you treat people well here, and you play well as a hockey player, you’re going to be a king here.”

Added Numminen: “It’s a big honour and a lot of memories and for sure it’s going to be an emotional time. It’s nice, we can share it together and with our families. I’m kind of nervous about it but excited.”

Selanne was selected 10th overall by the Jets in the 1988 NHL Draft. The “Finnish Flash” had 306 points (147G and 159A) in 231 games over four seasons before he was traded to Anaheim near the end of the 1995-96 season. Numminen was picked 29th overall by Winnipeg in 1986, playing eight seasons in the city before the Jets relocated to Phoenix in 1996.

He spent seven more seasons in the desert, then finished his career with stops in Dallas and Buffalo. Numminen had 637 points (117G, 520A) in 1,372 career games.

“To be honest, we both never would have imagined what kind of career we would have,” said Selanne. “But at the time when you play, you don’t think about this kind of stuff. What could happen and how far it could go and what kind of things will happen afterwards. You just want to play as well as you can and either good things happen or they don’t. But if someone would have told me what will happen with my career and what kind of career I would have, all these Hall of Fame things, I would probably tell the guy you’re crazy.”

There were plenty of laughs at the media availability, with Selanne referring to Numminen as a “big brother” during their time as teammates, who would always keep him on track by ensuring he didn’t miss flights and bus rides.

“With his help, you don’t have to worry about anything else,” said Selanne. “We were talking about it yesterday, that not many times I even knew what time we had practice. But he knew. I was just following him. Sometimes I asked him on the plane: Which city we are going? I was just very focused on hockey and didn’t have to worry about anything else. He did a great job.”

They also reminisced about things like the Palomino Club, a regular haunt for players back in the days.

“The one thing here is it’s a small city and when it’s getting cold, there’s not too much things to do. Which is a good thing because you can focus on hockey,” said Selanne.

“We were young guys and we wanted to stay active. That’s why the team was so close to each other. Almost every practice we went to lunch together after. Then later went to play pool or bowling or whatever. We didn’t have so many friends out of the team. All our buddies were actually our teammates. Then I was super active. I can’t stay still. So, I’d see kids playing street hockey and would say, ‘Can I join?’ And they’re like, ‘Sure!’ It was a great time, such great memories.”

Selanne and Numminen join a Hall of Fame that first recognized The Hot Line — consisting of Swedish forwards Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson, as well as Bobby Hull — as the inaugural class in 2016-17, and includes Thomas Steen and Randy Carlyle (2019-2020); Ab McDonald and Lars-Erik Sjoberg (2018-19); and Dale Hawerchuk (2017-18).

Speaking of “Ducky”, Numminen had a chance to check out the Hawerchuk statue in True North Square, which was unveiled last month.

“Just overwhelmed,” said Numminen. “Coming here as a 20-year-old, I learned so much from the veteran players we had. We had Dale, we had Randy Carlyle, Laurie Boschman, and Thomas Steen on our team. I think those players really, I learned so much from them on the ice and off the ice in how to prepare and how to be a professional, and how to behave on the ice and off the ice. That really helped my career and so on. Dale deserved all the credit. He was a great captain, a great leader, and just a fantastic person. I’m really happy glad that Dale gets the recognition he deserves.”

Selanne says he loves the way the organization continues to connect the past with the present.

“I think hockey is for everybody here. It’s amazing how much power hockey can give people, the fans, and the team,” he said.

“The team has done a great job. Mark Chipman with all the True North charity stuff, hockey is one side, but giving back to the community, the fans, and the people who need help, they’ve done that very well. I think the people appreciate that. I always said there is a reason they call it Friendly Manitoba. People really look after each other here and want to make sure everybody is doing well. When everyone pitches in, that’s Winnipeg. People can be very proud of what they’ve done here and how they live the life, and how they look after each other here.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg