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Niko Kapanen
Born (1978-04-29) 29 April 1978 (age 45)
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
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Vancouver
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Bratislava
Silver medal – second place 2001 Cologne
Silver medal – second place 2007 Moscow
Bronze medal – third place 2000 St Petersburg
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Quebec City
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2004 Canada
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 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. 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

Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Niko_Kapanen&oldid=1190596726"