Kari Markus Granlund (born 16 April 1993) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

forward, who most recently played for

Salavat Yulaev Ufa Hockey Club Salavat Yulaev (russian: Хоккейный клуб «Салават Юлаев», Hokkejnyj klub «Salavat Julajev»; ba, «Салауат Юлаев» хоккей клубы, «Salawat Yulayev» xokkey klubı), commonly referred ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL). After the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

, he elected to leave the team. He is a second-round selection of the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, taken 45th overall at the

2011 NHL Entry Draft The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars host ...

. Granlund played two seasons in the

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

for

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK ) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

before moving to North America to join the Flames organization in 2013. His older brother Mikael plays in the NHL for the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

Playing career

A native of Oulu, Finland, Granlund played minor hockey in his hometown before joining

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

-based club

's junior teams in 2009. He made his

debut in the 2010–11 season, appearing in two games with the senior squad, but spent the majority of the year with HIFK's junior team, where he recorded 20 goals and 52 points in 40 games. The

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL)'s

selected him with their second round pick, 45th overall, at the

. Granlund opted to remain in Finland for the 2011–12 season where he joined HIFK's senior team full-time and played on the same line as his brother, Mikael. Markus finished the season with 34 points in 47 games, then recorded 30 points in 50 games for HIFK in

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. Granlund moved to North America following his second year in the SM-liiga as he signed a three-year contract with the Flames on 19 April 2013. He was assigned to Calgary's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Abbotsford Heat The Abbotsford Heat were a professional ice hockey team that played five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat A ...

, to begin the 2013–14 season. He initially struggled to adapt to life in Canada, and while he had a clause in his contract that would allow him to return to Finland, Granlund opted to remain with the Flames organization. He earned a brief recall to Calgary in late December 2013 but did not appear in an NHL game. Granlund was the AHL's leading goal scorer among rookies with 23 at the time of his second recall in late February, and made his NHL debut on 27 February 2014, in a 2–0 loss to the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

. He recorded his first NHL point in his third game, an assist on 3 March against his brother's

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

. On the same day, the AHL named him that league's rookie of the month for February. He recorded 12 points in 10 games and was a +6 over that time. Granlund scored his first goal two nights later in a 4–1 win over the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. In the 2015–16 season, the last season of his entry-level deal, Granlund was reassigned to begin the year with new AHL affiliate, the Stockton Heat. The Flames recalled him after scoring a goal and assist in the Heat's inaugural game on 15 October 2015. After 31 games with the Flames, contributing with 7 points, Granlund was traded by Calgary to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Hunter Shinkaruk on 22 February 2016. On 22 June 2018, the Canucks re-signed Granlund to a one year, 1.475M contract. During the 2019 offseason, the Canucks did not tender a qualifying offer to Granlund, releasing him as a free agent. On 1 July 2019, he agreed to a one-year, $1.3 million contract with his third Western Canadian club, the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. In the 2019–20 season, Granlund struggled to make an impression with the Oilers collecting just three goals and 4 points in 34 regular season games before he was waived and reassigned to AHL affiliate, the

Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Bakersfield, California. The team is owned by and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home ...

. Granlund registered 15 points in 20 games with the Condors before the season was abruptly ended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. As an impending free agent and left off the Oilers' return-to-play roster, Granlund halted his NHL career by agreeing to a two-year contract with Russian club Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the KHL on 17 July 2020. In March 2022, Granlund left Salavat Yulaev Ufa ahead of the playoffs due to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Granlund, Markus 1993 births Living people Abbotsford Heat players Adirondack Flames players Bakersfield Condors players Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Edmonton Oilers players Finnish ice hockey centres HIFK (ice hockey) players Salavat Yulaev Ufa players Sportspeople from Oulu Stockton Heat players Vancouver Canucks players Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players of Finland Medalists at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Finland Olympic medalists in ice hockey