The kid is pretty good. Photo by Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports
Finland's newest prodigy and Winnipeg Jets super rookie Patrik Laine is off to a blazing start to his NHL career.On Thursday, Laine continued his league-leading scoring pace with two goals against the Stars including this powerplay snipe, which he completed with a celebration that was reminiscent of fellow Finn and former Jets great Teemu Selanne.That was a thing of beauty.Sure, it wasn't the "machine gun" celebration that Selanne made famous, but it was good enough to earn praise from the fellow Finn who seems to be keeping a close eye on Laine.
Patrick Laine with the snipe and then this celly— #HockeyFightsCancer (@EHClothing)October 28, 2016
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Laine, 18, is proving to be exactly what the Jets needed—an elite goal scorer with a knack for sniping that only few in the game have. His six goals have him tied at the top of the league leaderboard with Auston Matthews, Richard Panik, and Alex Killorn.Despite Matthews, the top pick in the 2016 draft who went one slot ahead of Laine, garnering most of the attention heading into the season, the Jets' budding star is more than proving his worth. In fact, the Finn even outdid Matthews in their first matchup against each other, which came down to a memorable overtime period that saw Matthews fail to convert on a breakaway and Laine go the other way to finish the game with a snipe over the glove of Frederik Andersen.Of course it's early, as Laine has played just seven career games in the NHL, but he's already earned the approval of Finnish superstar Teemu Selanne. Soon he'll earn yours, too.