Michael Keränen was born on January 4, 1990. A product of Ilves of the Finnish Elite League, Keränen was undrafted by an NHL club and signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild on June 5, 2014.
Keränen made his North American debut in the American Hockey League with the Wild's affiliate in Iowa during the 2014-15 season. In 70 games for the club Keränen scored 10 goals and added 27 assists.
Keränen was leading Iowa in goals when on November 17, 2015, he received his first recall to the NHL. He made his NHL debut for the Wild that night in a 4-3 loss against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was soon after returned to the AHL.
On February 29, 2016, Keränen was traded to the to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defenceman Conor Allen and would finish the season with the Binghamton Senators of the AHL.
On April 28, 2016, Keränen's time in North American would come to an end. He signed a two-year contract with Jokerit of the KHL in his native Finald.
