It was one example of Selanne's goodwill and genuineness in all things life and hockey.
"It's what my mom and friends say, that I was always in a good mood," Selanne said. "To be honest, I think the advice I got at home, to treat people well and they will treat you well, I think that really works. Life is way easier that way."
That personality was nowhere to be seen after the Jets selected him with the No. 10 pick in the 1988 NHL Draft.
"People don't remember that he had come to Winnipeg's training camp [in 1988], that he was this little Finnish kid sitting on his bed in the hotel and couldn't speak a word of English and was overwhelmed by the language and all the things that were happening to him," said Randy Carlyle, Selanne's teammate with the Jets and later his coach with the Ducks. "In the end, when he was ready for the NHL, he came over at 22 and was more of a seasoned player and dynamic scorer. He had such personality, wholesome and true.
"At first look nobody would have ever expected him to turn out to be the Finnish Flash."
Selanne, 18 when he was drafted, spent four seasons in Finland before coming to the NHL. He had to do a year of mandatory army service, sustained a broken leg and because of his desire to play in the 1992 Albertville Olympics, which was prior to NHL players being allowed to participate, delayed his arrival in Winnipeg.
When he did arrive for the 1992-93 season, he took many by surprise.
"I met him in Moncton [New Brunswick], which was my first training camp (1988)," said former Jets defenseman Teppo Numminen, who is from Tampere, Finland. "So I knew about him. But in '92 when he came over, you just never know how it's going to go.
"I had big expectations because he was from Finland, but I learned [the NHL] is a different game, different style, so even good players from Europe, well, before camp, you couldn't say for sure.
"Then the season started."
With his reputation as an explosive scorer established in Winnipeg (306 points in 231 games for the Jets), Selanne discovered a different high after he was traded to Anaheim on Feb. 7, 1996.