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Selanne gives his thumbs-up to diminutive Wild prospect Granlund

Russian Alexei Tereshchenko (R) fights f

Russian Alexei Tereshchenko (R) fights for a puck with Finnish Mikael Granlund (C) on May 19, 2012, during a International Ice Hockey World Championship semifinal game in Helsinki. AFP PHOTO / YURI KADOBNOV (Photo credit should read YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/GettyImages)

AFP/Getty Images

While wait to find out if Teemu Selanne will return to the Anaheim Ducks for another season, he’s busy helping pass the torch to an up-and-coming Finnish prospect set to make his debut next season.

Minnesota’s Mikael Granlund will be bringing his highlight reel scoring to the NHL and Selanne tells MTV3 in Finland Granlund’s size won’t be a hindrance. (Kudos to Sampsa at First Round Bust for the translation)

Under 6 ft. Granlund could have had problems with his size before the lockout rule changes, but Selänne reminds that even similar sized Saku Koivu was able to make the break to the NHL.

“Size isn’t as big of a matter as it was before. Saku came in at a challenging time. Hockey today is more skill based, huge colossals (players if this doesn’t translate too well) have disappeared from the game. It’s a win to the sport. Back in the days, small players weren’t even drafted no matter how good they were.”

Standing at anywhere between 5'8" and 5'10" Granlund’s smaller size was an issue for some, but his offensive creativity and goal scoring ability seemed to matter more. After all, Martin St. Louis seems to be a pretty good player.

Getting the “atta boy” from Selanne means big things for a little guy like Granlund. With all sorts of attention being paid to the Wild now, surely there won’t be any pressure to perform. Good luck, kid.