Niko Kapanen

Niko Kapanen
Born	(1978-04-29) 29 April 1978 (age 47) Hattula, Finland
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	HPK TPS Dallas Stars EV Zug Atlanta Thrashers Phoenix Coyotes Ak Bars Kazan HC Lev Praha Jokerit
National team	Finland
NHL draft	173rd overall, 1998 Dallas Stars
Playing career	1996–2017

Niko Klaus Petteri Kapanen (born 29 April 1978) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey centre, who last played for HPK of the Finnish Liiga.

Playing career

Kapanen was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the 6th round as the 173rd overall pick in the 1998 NHL entry draft. During the 2005–06 season, Kapanen recorded a career high in goals (14) and points (35). He scored his first career hat-trick on February 9, 2006, against the Phoenix Coyotes in a 5–1 victory. ^[1]

On June 24, 2006, Kapanen was traded by the Stars to the Atlanta Thrashers, along with 7th round draft pick in 2006, for defenceman Jaroslav Modrý and centerman Patrik Štefan. During his first season with the Thrashers, Kapanen was picked up off the waiver list by the Phoenix Coyotes. ^[2]

On June 9, 2008, Kapanen left the NHL and signed for Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League. ^[3]

After five seasons with Ak Bars, Kapanen left as a free agent to sign a multi-year contract with Czech club HC Lev Praha of the KHL on August 11, 2013. ^[4] Hampered by injury, Kapanen had a less than successful regular 2013–14 season with Praha, but redeemed himself in playoffs to post 11 points in 21 games as Lev reached the Gagarin Cup finals.

Kapanen association with Lev was ended after one-year upon the club announcing financial bankruptcy. On July 10, 2014, Kapanen signed a one-year contract with new Finnish KHL entrant, Jokerit. ^[5]

International play

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing   Finland
Olympic Games
	2006 Turin
	2010 Vancouver
World Championships
	2011 Bratislava
	2001 Cologne
	2007 Moscow
	2000 St Petersburg
	2008 Quebec City
World Cup
	2004 Canada
World Junior Championships
	1998 Finland

Kapanen had a highly decorated international career with Finland in collecting a medal at every level played. He made his debut as a junior in the 1997 World Junior Championships, claiming a gold medal at the following junior Championships in 1998. At the senior men's level Kapanen competed in 9 World Championships in capturing 5 medals, including a gold at the 2011 World Championships. He twice represented Finland at the Winter Olympics claiming a Silver and Bronze at the 2006 and 2010 tournaments respectively.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1994–95	HPK	FIN U18		31	16	19	35	40		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	HPK	FIN-2 U20		6	3	5	8	0		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	HPK	FIN U18		10	6	6	12	8		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	HPK	FIN-2 U20		13	8	15	23	18		13	7	7	14	16
1995–96	HPK	SM-l		7	1	0	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	HPK	FIN U20		5	1	7	8	2		2	0	1	1	2
1996–97	HPK	SM-l		41	6	9	15	12		10	4	5	9	2
1997–98	HPK	FIN U20		2	1	1	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	HPK	SM-l		48	8	18	26	44		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	HPK	SM-l		53	14	29	43	49		8	3	4	7	4
1999–00	HPK	SM-l		53	20	28	48	40		8	1	9	10	4
2000–01	TPS	SM-l		56	11	22	33	20		10	2	1	3	0
2001–02	Dallas Stars	NHL		9	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Utah Grizzlies	AHL		59	13	28	41	40		5	2	1	3	0
2002–03	Dallas Stars	NHL		82	5	29	34	55		12	4	3	7	12
2003–04	Dallas Stars	NHL		67	1	5	6	16		1	1	0	1	0
2004–05	EV Zug	NLA		44	10	33	43	24		9	2	5	7	35
2005–06	Dallas Stars	NHL		81	14	21	35	36		5	0	1	1	10
2006–07	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		60	4	9	13	20		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		19	2	7	9	8		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		79	10	18	28	34		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Ak Bars Kazan	KHL		53	12	19	31	22		21	1	9	10	16
2009–10	Ak Bars Kazan	KHL		54	12	15	27	44		22	8	9	17	6
2010–11	Ak Bars Kazan	KHL		53	7	31	38	24		9	2	3	5	12
2011–12	Ak Bars Kazan	KHL		54	12	27	39	24		12	2	4	6	2
2012–13	Ak Bars Kazan	KHL		50	10	18	28	26		18	4	6	10	2
2013–14	HC Lev Praha	KHL		22	8	|12	14	21		2	9	11	29
2013–14	HC Stadion Litoměřice	CZE-2		2	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Jokerit	KHL		60	9	24	33	55		4	0	2	2	0
2015–16	Jokerit	KHL		53	11	15	26	38		4	1	2	3	8
2016–17	HPK	FIN		49	7	21	28	20		7	0	5	5	4
SM-l/FIN totals				307	67	126	193	185		45	10	24	34	18
KHL totals				399	81	153	234	247		111	20	44	64	75
NHL totals				397	36	90	126	160		18	5	4	9	22

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996	Finland	EJC		5	0	0	0	6
1997	Finland	WJC		6	4	4	8	0
1998	Finland	WJC		7	2	5	7	2
2000	Finland	WC		9	4	3	7	4
2001	Finland	WC		9	3	1	4	8
2002	Finland	WC		9	0	4	4	10
2004	Finland	WC		7	| 2	5	14
2004	Finland	WCH		6	1	2	3	0
2005	Finland	WC		7	1	4	5	8
2006	Finland	OLY		8	2	1	3	2
2007	Finland	WC		9	0	7	7	6
2008	Finland	WC		9	2	5	7	0
2009	Finland	WC		7	7	3	10	0
2010	Finland	OLY		6	0	2	2	0
2011	Finland	WC		9	2	1	3	2
2012	Finland	WC		10	1	1	2	2
Junior totals				18	6	9	15	8
Senior totals				105	26	36	62	58

Awards and honours

Award	Year
NHL
NHL YoungStars Game	2003
KHL
Gagarin Cup (Ak Bars Kazan)	2009, 2010

References

1. "Kapanen scores first Hat-trick". ESPN. 2006-02-09. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
2. "Thrashers lose Kapanen". Atlanta Thrashers. 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
3. "Kapanen sign with Ak Bars Kazan". Ak Bars Kazan. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
4. "Collector of international medals, Kapanen comes to Prague". HC Lev Praha (in Czech). 2013-08-11. Archived from the original on 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
5. "Niko Kapanen agreement" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 2014-07-10. Retrieved 2014-07-10.

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