Henrik Haapala

Henrik Haapala (born 28 February 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for Ilves in the Liiga. He has previously played with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Henrik Haapala
Born (1994-02-28) 28 February 1994
Lempäälä, Finland
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
Liiga team
Former teams		 Ilves
Tappara
Florida Panthers
HC Lugano
Jokerit
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2012–present

Playing career

He is a skilled offensive forward whose biggest asset is his ability to change his skating direction very rapidly along with his clever passes. He is rather small for a professional hockey player which might be an issue when the play gets physical, though.[1]

Haapala first played as a 14-year old youth within the Tappara system in 2008. He played his first professional game with Tappara in the 2011–12 season. Early in the 2012–13 season he formed a great line with NHL-veteran Ville Nieminen and Aleksander Barkov as his linemates. Haapala had 13 points in 12 games counting from the start of the season, but after an injury, he lost the pace. He played most of spring 2013 for Tappara's junior team.

In the 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons, he was a regular in Tappara's professional squad, but injuries were holding his development back. There was notable progress in each season however. Haapala agreed to his third contract extension to remain in Tappara by signing a 3-year deal on 12 May 2016.[2]

In the 2016–17 season, Haapala finally made his breakthrough to international level. He scored 15 goals and had 45 assists in 51 regular season games and was awarded the Veli-Pekka Ketola trophy for leading the league in total points at the end of the regular season.[3] In the postseason, he had 2 goals and 7 assists in 16 games as Haapala's team Tappara marched to their second consecutive championship.[4] Haapala represented the men's national team in six games in which he had two goals and an assist.

On 1 June 2017, Haapala was signed as a free agent by the Florida Panthers to a two-year, entry-level contract.[5] He began the 2017–18 season with the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League, but was later called up by the Panthers and made his NHL debut on 22 November 2017 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, assisting on a goal by Nick Bjugstad in a 2–1 victory. Haapala appeared in 5 games with the Panthers before returning to Springfield. On 16 February 2018, the Panthers assigned Haapala on loan to his former team, Tappara of the Finnish Liiga.[6]

After returning to attend the Panthers 2018 training camp, Haapala upon failing to make the opening night roster for the 2018–19 season, was reassigned to Europe on loan, joining Swiss outfit, HC Lugano of the NL, on 5 October 2018.[7] In 21 regular season appearances with Lugano, Haapala posted 3 goals and 15 points adding a further 5 points in 3 playoff contests.

As an impending restricted free agent from the Panthers, Haapala opted to continue his career in Europe, signing a two-year contract with Finnish club, Jokerit of the KHL, on 17 May 2019.[8]

Haapala missed the entirety of his final season under contract with Jokerit in 2021–22 through injury, leaving the club after their withdrawal from the KHL and signing a long-term contract with Finnish club, Ilves of the Liiga, on 1 March 2022.[9]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Tappara FIN U17 1 1 0 1 0 4 2 4 6 0
2010–11 Tappara FIN U18 Q 11 3 8 11 8 — — — — —
2010–11 Tappara FIN U18 15 5 7 12 10 — — — — —
2010–11 Tappara FIN U20 18 2 3 5 6 — — — — —
2011–12 Tappara FIN U18 Q 7 2 10 12 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Tappara FIN U20 46 16 29 45 18 — — — — —
2011–12 Tappara SM-l 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2012–13 Tappara FIN U20 7 2 5 7 0 8 3 4 7 4
2012–13 Tappara SM-l 32 3 10 13 12 — — — — —
2012–13 LeKi Mestis 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Tappara FIN U20 2 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 1 0
2013–14 Tappara Liiga 36 1 3 4 2 15 2 1 3 4
2014–15 Tappara Liiga 25 4 6 10 14 20 3 7 10 8
2015–16 Tappara Liiga 47 12 18 30 20 18 3 3 6 10
2016–17 Tappara Liiga 51 15 45 60 18 16 2 7 9 6
2017–18 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 20 3 5 8 4 — — — — —
2017–18 Florida Panthers NHL 5 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2017–18 Tappara Liiga 5 2 5 7 0 14 4 6 10 29
2018–19 HC Lugano NL 21 3 12 15 10 3 1 4 5 2
2019–20 Jokerit KHL 56 6 23 29 16 6 2 2 4 0
2020–21 Jokerit KHL 50 8 18 26 24 2 0 0 0 0
2021–22 Ilves Liiga 9 3 3 6 2 11 2 7 9 0
Liiga totals 206 40 90 130 68 94 16 31 47 57
NHL totals 5 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
KHL totals 106 14 41 55 40 8 2 2 4 0
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2014 Sweden

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2012 Finland U18 4th 7 4 6 10 2
2014 Finland WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 1 2 3 8
Junior totals 14 5 8 13 10

References
  1. "NHL:ään siirtyvä Haapala epäilijöille: "Minulle sanottiin jo vuosia sitten, että olen liian pieni"". Aamulehti.fi (in Finnish). Aamulehti. Retrieved 2 June 2017. Nopeus ja pyörähdykset ovat minun juttuni, mutta voimaa, painoa ja lihasta tarvitsee lisätä. Miehen pitäisi jämäköityä. Kaukalo on pienempi, joten tilannenopeutta pitää kehittää.
  2. "Tappara release next seasons contract situation" (in Finnish). Tappara. 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  3. "Florida Panthers Recall Forward Henrik Haapala from Springfield (AHL)". FloridaPanthers.com. NHL.com. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound native of Lempaala, Finland was awarded the Veli-Pekka Ketola Trophy as Liiga's points leader.
  4. Gulitti, Tom (20 September 2017). "Haapala 'ready as I can be' for jump to NHL". NHL.com. NHL. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  5. "Panthers Sign Henrik Haapala and Maxim Mamin to Entry-Level Contracts". Florida Panthers. 1 June 2017.
  6. DeFranks, Matthew (16 February 2018). "With Panthers goalies now healthy, AHL affiliate Springfield now has logjam in net". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  7. "Henrik Haapala joins Lugano" (in German). HC Lugano. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  8. "Henrik Haapala to bring expertise to attack" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  9. "Henrik Haapala reinforces Ilves" (in Finnish). Ilves. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
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