Sanni Hakala

Sanni Hakala
Born (1997-10-31) 31 October 1997 (age 27)
Jyväskylä, Finland
Height 1.54 m (5 ft 1 in)
Weight 55 kg (121 lb; 8 st 9 lb)
Position Winger
Shot Left
Played for JYP Jyväskylä
Oulun Kärpät
HV71
National team  Finland
Playing career 2012–2023
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Pyeongchang Ice hockey
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Beijing Ice hockey
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2019 Finland
Bronze medal – third place 2017 United States
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Canada

Sanni Hakala (born 31 October 1997) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and former member of the Finnish national team.

She played more than seven seasons with HV71 in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) after beginning her career in the Finnish Naisten SM-sarja (renamed Naisten Liiga in 2017) with JYP Jyväskylä and Oulun Kärpät.[1]

In 2023, Hakala suffered a serious injury during a SDHL match that left her paralyzed from the chest down, ending her career at the age of 26.[2]

Playing career

As a youth player, Hakala played on boys' teams until she was 15, at which point she signed with JYP Jyväskylä in the Naisten SM-sarja, the top flight of Finnish women's hockey.[3] She won the Emma Laaksonen Award for Fair Play in the 2015–16 season.

In November 2016, she left Finland to sign with HV71 in the SDHL.[4] She was named HV71's fan player of the year for the 2019–20 season.[5]

After missing the first third of the 2020–21 SDHL season, she scored a hat-trick in her first game back, a 6–1 victory over Brynäs IF in November 2020.[6]

Hakala sustained severe neck injuries in a headfirst collision with a goal post during an HV71 match versus Djurgården IF on 24 November 2023. She was "conscious, talking and in pain" when medical personnel stretchered her from the ice.[7] After being rushed to Ryhov County Hospital [sv] by ambulance, it was reported that she was able to move her arms but "didn't seem to have any feeling in her legs."[8] The following day, she underwent surgery at Linköping University Hospital and the surgeons shared that the operation went well but emphasized that Hakala would have a long period of rehabilitation ahead. In a press release on 26 November 2023, HV71 made clear that further information about Hakala's condition would not be provided and asked that the public respect her need for peace and quiet during rehabilitation.[9] On 30 November 2023, Hakala announced that she had been paralyzed, ending her career.[2]

International play

She made her senior national team debut at the 2016 IIHF Women's World Championship.[10] She has represented the Finnish national team at the World Championships every year since including the team's first-ever silver medal at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship. She scored one goal in six games as Finland won bronze at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Personal life

Hakala is in a relationship with Canadian female ice hockey player and former HV71 teammate Danielle Stone.[11][12][13]

Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2012-13 JYP NSMs 12 7 2 9 2 8 0 0 0 6
2013-14 JYP NSMs 25 11 13 24 22 8 6 3 9 6
2014-15 JYP NSMs 25 20 21 41 24 3 0 0 0 0
2015-16 JYP NSMs 23 17 19 36 4 6 0 1 1 2
2016-17 Kärpät NSMs 13 7 2 9 10 – – – – –
2016-17 HV71 SDHL 18 4 3 7 0 6 1 1 2 4
2017-18 HV71 SDHL 35 15 21 36 12 2 0 2 2 0
2018-19 HV71 SDHL 35 22 20 42 10 7 2 1 3 6
2019-20 HV71 SDHL 34 20 18 38 6 6 6 6 12 2
2020-21 HV71 SDHL 23 8 10 18 2 5 1 1 2 0
2021-22 HV71 SDHL 35 12 11 23 8 3 0 0 0 0
2022-23 HV71 SDHL 30 11 6 17 10 2 2 0 2 2
2023-24 HV71 SDHL 16 6 7 13 6 – – – – —
Naisten SM-sarja totals 98 62 57 119 62 25 6 4 10 14
SDHL totals 226 98 96 194 54 31 12 11 23 14

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Finland U18 WW18 5th 5 3 2 5 0
2014 Finland U18 WW18 5th 5 1 0 1 6
2015 Finland U18 WW18 5th 5 5 0 5 4
2016 Finland WW 4th 4 0 0 0 4
2017 Finland WW 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 0 1 6
2018 Finland OG 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 1 0 1 0
2019 Finland WW 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 1 2 3 0
2021 Finland WW 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 0 0 0 0
2022 Finland OG 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 7 1 0 1 4
Junior totals 15 9 2 11 10
Senior totals 34 4 2 6 14

See also

References

  1. ^ "IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship – Team Roster: FIN - Finland" (PDF). IIHF. 5 April 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b Niemistö, Juho (30 November 2023). "Sanni Hakala kertoo halvaantuneensa". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  3. ^ Rönnkvist, Ronnie (2 July 2018). "Finländske talangen hyllar SDHL – kritiserar landslaget: "Bra att byta coach"". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  4. ^ Ranta, Pekka (8 December 2016). "Uusi haaste toi Sanni Hakalan Ruotsin jääkiekon naisliiga SDHL:ään". Sveriges Radio (in Finnish). Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Damhockey är under uppbyggnad". damhockey.se (in Swedish). 26 March 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Hakala gjorde hattrick i comebacken – när HV71 vann". 14 November 2020.
  7. ^ Johansson, Anton (24 November 2023). "SDHL-match avbröts efter otäck skada på Sanni Hakala". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  8. ^ Sandström, Donald (24 November 2023). "HV:s kapten har opererats efter otäcka skadan". Jönköpings-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  9. ^ Freijd, Johan (26 November 2023). "Information angående skadan på Sanni Hakala". HV71 (Press release) (in Swedish). Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  10. ^ 2016 World Championship roster Archived 20 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Hakala, Sanni [@sanniihakala] (15 November 2021). "My cheerleaders! 🥰". Turku, Finland. Retrieved 18 December 2023 – via Instagram.
  12. ^ Hakala, Sanni [@sanniihakala] (10 September 2023). "Hakalat 2023 🤍". Retrieved 18 December 2023 – via Instagram.
  13. ^ Stone, Danielle [@dannystone17] (13 September 2023). "3 years sober. Fun story. 1.5 years ago Sanni had just won an Olympic medal and I asked her why she wasn't going to have some drinks with her teammates to celebrate..." Retrieved 18 December 2023 – via Instagram.