Granlund’s former teammate Roope Hintz agrees. The two played together last season with the Stars and on the 4 Nations Face-Off stage.
“You know how many games he has played in the national team jersey,” Hintz said. “It’s what he has gone through and seen in the past years and then how he is playing and then how he is as a guy. He’s a great guy and everyone respects him.”
In this case, production drives respect.
Since Granlund joined the national team for the 2009 World Junior Championship, he has been a fixture. He has 95 games with the Three Lions and he has won the two World Championships (2011, 2022) referenced by Rantanen. He also won silver in the 2016 World Championship. Two years earlier, he was part of the iconic 2014 Olympic team that won a bronze medal, one of the proudest moments in the history of this hockey-mad country.
In eight of his 13 national team tournaments since the World Juniors, he has averaged a point or more per game, including a four-point (three goals, one assist) effort last season at 4 Nations.
“When he puts the Finland jersey on, it feels like he gets another step in his game,” Rantanen said.
Granlund knows he has a tough task. The Finns are not as fancied as Team USA or Team Canada. Rival Sweden is also considered a better side by many observers. But, long odds have never bothered Finland.
They have an identity that has been developed since the core of the roster started playing together in World Championships. They know who they are and what their roles are. They accept it and embrace it.
It’s always been a trademark of the team. It’s a perfect template for this tournament, which lasts 12 days.
“That’s the biggest challenge in this tournament, it’s a quick one,” Granlund said. “Whoever can kind of find their game and togetherness the fastest, they are going to be in good shape. That’s one of the challenges here.”