Selänne: hopefully I get some tickets to final

12 Feb 2014 | Davide Tuniz from Sochi

The oldest player of hockey tournament begins his sixth Olympics expecting some surprises.

A quarter-century after he first played hockey in Russia, Teemu Selänne is back again - and still cannot get over how things have changed. Selänne, 43, is the oldest competitor in the men's ice hockey tournament at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, and one of the few old enough to have played hockey in the Soviet Union, having competed at a tournament in Moscow in 1989.

"The city was very different than it is now" Selänne said of the capital during the Finland men's ice hockey team's press conference on Tuesday. "It was kind of scary. It was dark, and there were all the soldiers with the machine guns in the street. It was a little scary. But when we went into the hockey rink, that wasn't scary anymore. It was just a united place to play and enjoy. Then I went back, I think it was 1996, for the World Cup, and that place was like a totally new place. It was like you didn't even know you were in Moscow. It looked more like London. Everything was first class. It was a big change."

Even before Selänne's first trip across the border, Russian hockey had a large impact on his development as a hockey player.

"When I was young, I was always watching the Olympics, and the Russian national team, how good they were, and how they were dominating the game. It was just fun to watch. Obviously at that point I didn't know if I'm going to play in even one Olympics. It's a good feeling that you can also be there and compete in these tournaments."

Selänne made his Olympic debut as an amateur in 1992 in Albertville, and is now in his sixth Olympic Games as a grizzled NHL veteran with more than two decades of professional experience. He remains a top-line player on whom Finland is relying heavily. "Obviously I'm very proud that I've been able to play for so many years, and the passion for the game is the biggest reason I can still play. Of course it's not getting any easier at this age. But I'm still trying to play my best level and help the team. I'm 43, and I play on the same line as guys who are 19 and 20-something, It's a good thing. Obviously they're just numbers. Mentally I think we are the same age.Knowing it's going to be my last Olympics, it's a good thing, you can really enjoy it. You see things differently, and just enjoy it."

Selänne is also hoping to create some surprises in his Olympic swansong - as he emphasized when asked to comment on a projected final between favourites Canada and Russia.

"Well, hopefully I get some tickets to that game" joked. "Obviously everybody has their own dreams, but our dreams are to be in the final, also. You never know. It's a big ice surface, and 10 days, and whoever is going to be hot in the right time is going to have success. I'm expecting that there are going to be some surprises in this tournament, too. Hopefully I'm right."