Jani Hakanpää Explained

Jani Hakanpää
Birth Date:31 March 1992
Birth Place:Kirkkonummi, Finland
Height Ft:6
Height In:7
Weight Lb:222
Position:Defence
Shoots:Right
League:NHL
Team:Toronto Maple Leafs
Former Teams:Oulun Kärpät
Anaheim Ducks
Carolina Hurricanes
Dallas Stars
Ntl Team:FIN
Draft:104th overall
Draft Year:2010
Draft Team:St. Louis Blues
Career Start:2011

Jani Hakanpää (born 31 March 1992) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hakanpää was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the fourth round (104th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.[1]

Playing career

Hakanpää played in his native Finland for the Espoo Blues of the SM-liiga during the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons.

On 22 May 2012, Hakanpää was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with draft club, the St. Louis Blues, who had drafted him 104th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.[2]

After attending the Blues training camp, Hakanpää was returned to the Espoo Blues on loan to begin the 2012–13 season.[3] He contributed with 5 points through 34 games on the blueline in Finland before returning to North America to play out the 2012–13 AHL season with the St. Louis Blues' AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. He registered one goal and three assists in fourteen games.[4]

At the completion of his entry-level deal with the Blues, Hakanpää opted to return to Finland signing a two-year contract with the Liiga club Oulun Kärpät on 2 July 2015.[5]

In the 2017–18 season, Hakanpää helped Oulun Kärpät claim the Kanada-malja as Finnish champions, enjoying a career season where he posted 6 goals and 24 points in 58 games. He continued to show a developing two-way game with 7 points in 16 playoff appearances.

Hakanpää led Liiga defensemen in Plus–minus in back-to-back seasons and tied for second among league defensemen with a career best 11 goals while compiling 23 points in 52 games for league leading Kärpät in the 2018–19 Liiga season. He featured in 17 playoff contests, registering 4 points as Oulun Kärpät failed to defend the Championship in the finals against HPK.On 3 July 2019, Hakanpää returned to North America, signing as a free agent to a one-year, $850,000 contract with the Anaheim Ducks.[6]

In his first full season in the NHL, during the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, Hakanpää recorded one assist in 42 regular season games, while leading the Ducks and placing third in the league in hits. On 12 April 2021, Hakanpää, and a sixth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Haydn Fleury.[7]

On 29 July 2021, Hakanpää signed a three-year, $4.5 million contract with the Dallas Stars.[8] In the 2021–22 season, Hakanpää had his first multi-point game, and recorded four goals and eight assists for a 12-point season.[9]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Team League GP GPG A Pts PIM
2010–11Espoo BluesJr. A3632023611232510
2011–12Espoo BluesJr. A50440
2011–12Espoo BluesSM-l41571230
2012–13Espoo BluesSM-l3423534
2012–13Peoria RivermenAHL141346
2013–14Chicago WolvesAHL544483330110
2014–15Chicago WolvesAHL641784740116
2014–15Quad City MallardsECHL21010
2015–16Oulun KärpätLiiga601111240141568
2016–17Oulun KärpätLiiga530556120112
2017–18Oulun KärpätLiiga5861824441634718
2018–19Oulun KärpätLiiga5211122394171346
2019–20San Diego GullsAHL471121324
2019–20Anaheim DucksNHL51012
2020–21Anaheim DucksNHL4201131
2020–21Carolina HurricanesNHL152134110004
2021–22Dallas StarsNHL804 8 124370224
2022–23Dallas StarsNHL8261016601511216
2023–24Dallas StarsNHL642101233
Liiga totals298255681303495131834
NHL totals2881530451733313424

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2010FinlandU1861126
2012FinlandWJC4th71236
2019FinlandWC101124
Junior totals 1323512
Senior totals 101124

Awards & honors

AwardYear
Liiga
Best P Plus–minus2018, 2019
Kanada-malja champion2018

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Palomäki . Ilkka . Näkökulma: Suomen NHL-taivaalla musta aukko . Yle Urheilu . 28 November 2022 . fi-FI . 26 October 2011.
  2. Web site: Blues sign 2010 draft pick Jani Hakanpaa . . 2012-05-22 . 22 May 2012.
  3. Web site: Blues assign 25 players to Peoria . . 2012-09-15 . 2012-09-15.
  4. Web site: Blues Recall Hakanpaa from Peoria . . 2013-04-23 . 2013-04-23.
  5. Web site: Aittokallio ja Hakanpää täydentävät Kärppien ensi kauden kokoonpanoa . Aittokallio and Hakanpää will complete the line-up of Karpat . . 2015-07-02 . 2015-07-02 . Finnish . https://web.archive.org/web/20150703212817/http://www.oulunkarpat.fi/fi/uutiset/artikkeli/aittokallio-ja-hakanpaa-taydentavat-karppien-ensi-kauden-kokoonpanoa.html . 2015-07-03 . dead.
  6. Web site: Ducks sign Stolarz, Hakanpaa to contracts . . 2019-07-03 . 2019-07-03.
  7. Web site: Canes Acquire Hakanpaa From Ducks . . 2021-04-12 . 2021-04-12.
  8. Web site: Stars sign F Raffl, D Hakanpaa to contracts . . 2021-07-29 . 2021-07-29.
  9. Web site: Now settled in Dallas, Jani Hakanpaa is hitting his stride . NHL.com . 2021-12-05 . 2022-10-19.