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]

Jani Hakanpää
Hakanpää with Finland in 2017
Born (1992-03-31) 31 March 1992 (age 32)
Kirkkonummi, Finland
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams
Toronto Maple Leafs
Oulun Kärpät
Anaheim Ducks
Carolina Hurricanes
Dallas Stars
National team  Finland
NHL draft 104th overall, 2010
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 2011–present

Playing career

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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 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 season. He featured in 17 playoff contests, registering 4 points as Oulun Kärpät failed to defend the Championship in the finals against HPK.

 
Hakanpää with the Dallas Stars in 2023.

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, 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]

As a free agent following completion of his three year tenure with the Stars, Hakanpää was reported to have signed a two-year, $3 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on 2 July 2024.[10] Although the Maple Leafs later acknowledged the addition to the roster, Hakanpää's agreement was delayed and revealed to be never formally signed due to ongoing knee injury concerns.[11] The club officially signed him to a 1-year contract on 11 September.[12]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Espoo Blues Jr. A 36 3 20 23 61 12 3 2 5 10
2011–12 Espoo Blues Jr. A 5 0 4 4 0
2011–12 Espoo Blues SM-l 41 5 7 12 30
2012–13 Espoo Blues SM-l 34 2 3 5 34
2012–13 Peoria Rivermen AHL 14 1 3 4 6
2013–14 Chicago Wolves AHL 54 4 4 8 33 3 0 1 1 0
2014–15 Chicago Wolves AHL 64 1 7 8 47 4 0 1 1 6
2014–15 Quad City Mallards ECHL 2 1 0 1 0
2015–16 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 60 1 11 12 40 14 1 5 6 8
2016–17 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 53 0 5 5 61 2 0 1 1 2
2017–18 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 58 6 18 24 44 16 3 4 7 18
2018–19 Oulun Kärpät Liiga 52 11 12 23 94 17 1 3 4 6
2019–20 San Diego Gulls AHL 47 1 12 13 24
2019–20 Anaheim Ducks NHL 5 1 0 1 2
2020–21 Anaheim Ducks NHL 42 0 1 1 31
2020–21 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 15 2 1 3 4 11 0 0 0 4
2021–22 Dallas Stars NHL 80 4 8 12 43 7 0 2 2 4
2022–23 Dallas Stars NHL 82 6 10 16 60 15 1 1 2 16
2023–24 Dallas Stars NHL 64 2 10 12 33
Liiga totals 298 25 56 81 303 49 5 13 18 34
NHL totals 288 15 30 45 173 33 1 3 4 24
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing   Finland
World Championships
  2019 Slovakia

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2010 Finland U18   6 1 1 2 6
2012 Finland WJC 4th 7 1 2 3 6
2019 Finland WC   10 1 1 2 4
Junior totals 13 2 3 5 12
Senior totals 10 1 1 2 4

Awards & honors

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Award Year
Liiga
Best P Plus–minus 2018, 2019
Kanada-malja champion 2018

References

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  1. ^ Palomäki, Ilkka (26 October 2011). "Näkökulma: Suomen NHL-taivaalla musta aukko". Yle Urheilu (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Blues sign 2010 draft pick Jani Hakanpaa". St. Louis Blues. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  3. ^ "Blues assign 25 players to Peoria". St. Louis Blues. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  4. ^ "Blues Recall Hakanpaa from Peoria". National Hockey League. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Aittokallio ja Hakanpää täydentävät Kärppien ensi kauden kokoonpanoa" [Aittokallio and Hakanpää will complete the line-up of Karpat] (in Finnish). Oulun Kärpät. 2 July 2015. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Ducks sign Stolarz, Hakanpaa to contracts". Anaheim Ducks. 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Canes Acquire Hakanpaa From Ducks". Carolina Hurricanes. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Stars sign F Raffl, D Hakanpaa to contracts". TSN. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Now settled in Dallas, Jani Hakanpaa is hitting his stride". NHL.com. 5 December 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  10. ^ "Maple Leafs sign D Jani Hakanpaa". The Sports Network. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Injury concerns continue to hold up Jani Hakanpaa signing". The Sports Network. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Maple Leafs Sign Defenceman Jani Hakanpää". NHL.com. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
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