Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen Boldly Calls Out Teammate's Father Over Recent Criticism

Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen delivered a spirited message while speaking to reporters on Monday after registering three points during Colorado’s dramatic comeback win against the Flames.

Rantanen admitted that he’d been given a motivational boost from a rather unusual source, telling reporters that he was fueled by some critical comments made by the father of one of his Finnish teammates.

“It feels go. And there’s actually one thing where I got a lot of extra energy. One of our Finnish NHL player’s dad’s was was talking sh– about me in the media, that I didn’t train last summer like I used to do, and he was just making things up. So, I think that [performance] was for him. If you talk sh– it’s going to come back at you,” said Rantanen. 

Rantanen confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that he was talking about the father of fellow Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen, per Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now. 

Lehkonen’s father, Ismo, is a Finnish journalist, and he expressed criticism over Rantanen’s preparation for the season in a recent interview. In his comments, Ismo, said that the 27-year-old had hit a wall, claiming the forward “didn’t have a very good summer” and that “pain and frustration” were showing in his game, per ESPN. 

Rantanen responded to the criticism with an excellent showing on the ice, scoring a game-tying goal in the third period before assisting Nathan MacKinnon’s winner a couple of minutes later. 

Now in his ninth season in the league, Rantanen, who has 34 points in 28 games, is on pace for more than one point per game. It would mark the fourth consecutive campaign in which he’s achieved that feat, and the sixth time he’s done so in the past seven years.