Granlund, Koivu impressed with Laine's seamless integration into NHL

ST. PAUL -- There was a time when most young players needed an adjustment period upon reaching the NHL before they became superstars.
Over the last decade or so, however, as the League has become younger, teenagers are making a bigger mark in the NHL than ever before.
Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets is just the latest example.

Laine scored 44 goals this season as a 19-year-old, a feat that was rare in years past but seems to be becoming the norm.
"He's a special player," said Wild forward Mikael Granlund. "His shot ... you don't see that kind of shot that often. That's the biggest thing. With that kind of shot, you're going to get goals."
Laine's lethal shot is most often compared to that of Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, a seven-time 50-goal scorer who led the NHL with 49 goals this season.
At 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, Laine is big and strong like Ovechkin. He'll even camp out in the left circle like Ovechkin.
"Same type of player," said Wild forward Mikko Koivu. "I think he's proven that he can score goals. Both like to shoot, both have great shots. Both can score goals. But he has his own way of playing too."
Laine's ability to make an instant impact in the NHL has been part of a growing trend League-wide of teenagers making an early impact.
His 80 goals as a teenager are third-most in NHL history for a player before their 20th birthday, behind only Jimmy Carson (92) and Dale Howerchuk (87) and ahead of players like Wayne Gretzky (76) and Sidney Crosby (75).
"I think the League is a lot younger overall, so I'm sure that has something to do with it," Koivu said. "But I don't know what it is. Every individual is different; some are ready when they're 18, some are 23 or 24. They all have big roles in Finland already in pro leagues, so I think that helps coming here and adjusting to the game and playing against men."
As recently as 20 years ago, it took players several years before reaching stardom. Joe Thornton was picked first overall by the Boston Bruins in 1997 and scored three goals and seven points in 55 games as a rookie.
It took until his fifth season for the three-time 100-point scorer to reach the century mark.
A year later, Vincent Lecavalier went first and posted 28 points in 82 games.
In the mid-2000s, that trend started to change.
It started with Ovechkin and Crosby in 2005 and 2006, each posting 100-plus point seasons as 18-year-olds.
Steven Stamkos scored 51 goals and 95 points as a 19-year-old second-year player.
John Tavares and Nathan MacKinnon followed over the next few years with big seasons as teens.
Connor McDavid came into the League in 2015-16 as an 18-year-old and scored 48 points in 45 games during an injury-shortened season, but he's posted 100 points or more in each of his two fully healthy seasons.
Auston Matthews scored 40 goals as a rookie for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, often overshadowing Laine, picked one spot behind him but who has actually scored more points over the first two years of his NHL career.
Koivu has never been the bulk scorer that Laine has been in two seasons, but it even took him a year or two to get adjusted to the NHL.
After posting 21 points in 64 games as a 22-year-old rookie in 2005-06, Koivu posted his first 50-plus point season the next year and was on pace for his first 60-plus point season in year three as a 24-year-old.
Granlund, the Wild's other Finnish player, had eight points in his first 27 games in the NHL as a 21-year-old in 2013. He hovered around the 40-point mark in each of the next three seasons before a breakout 69-point campaign last year as a 25-year old and likely would have surpassed 70 points this season had he not missed a handful of games because of injury early on.
In addition to his powerful shot, Granlund said Laine's -- and another Finnish star, Colorado's Mikko Rantanen's -- size has perhaps helped speed the adjustment.
Whatever is working for those guys, it's certainly good for the next generation of Finns, which began with Granlund and continues with players like Rantanen and Laine.
"I think for Finnish hockey, it's huge that we have a bright future ahead. They do a good job over there," Koivu said. "I think if you look at Laine, Rantanen, Granlund ... they've all been over in Finland and the way they've been developing their games and at a young age, they can come over here and be elite players in the League. A lot of credit goes to Finnish hockey and what they do over there. It's great to see."
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