Henrik Haapala

Henrik Haapala
Born	(1994-02-28) 28 February 1994 (age 30) Lempäälä, Finland
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position	Left wing
Shoots	Left
NLA team Former teams	Lausanne HC Tappara Florida Panthers HC Lugano Jokerit Ilvies
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2012–present

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

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.^{[ citation needed ]} 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.^{[ citation needed ]} He played his first professional game with Tappara in the 2011–12 season.^{[ citation needed ]} Early in the 2012–13 season he formed a great line with NHL-veteran Ville Nieminen and Aleksander Barkov as his linemates.^{[ citation needed ]} 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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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.^{[ citation needed ]} There was notable progress in each season however.^{[ citation needed ]} 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.^{[ citation needed ]} 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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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
	2014 Sweden

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2012	Finland	U18	4th		7	4	6	10	2
2014	Finland	WJC			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.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database