Niko Kapanen

	;
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing Finland
Olympic Games
World Championships
World Cup
World Junior Championships

Niko Kapanen
Niko Kapanen
Born	29 April 1978 (age 46); Hattula, Finland
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
Liiga team; Former teams	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–present

Niko Klaus Petteri Kapanen (born 29 April 1978) is a Finnish professional ice hockey centre, currently playing 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

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
1995–96	HPK	SM-liiga	7	1	0	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	HPK	SM-liiga	41	6	9	15	12	10	4	5	9	2
1997–98	HPK	SM-liiga	48	8	18	26	44	—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	HPK	SM-liiga	53	14	29	43	49	8	3	4	7	4
1999–00	HPK	SM-liiga	53	20	28	48	40	8	1	9	10	4
2000–01	TPS	SM-liiga	56	11	22	33	20	10	2	1	3	0
2001–02	Utah Grizzlies	AHL	59	13	28	41	40	5	2	1	3	0
2001–02	Dallas Stars	NHL	9	0	1	1	2	—	—	—	—	—
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	4	12	14	21	2	9	11	29
2013–14	HC Litoměřice	CZE.1	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
NHL totals			397	36	90	126	160	18	5	4	9	22
KHL totals			399	81	153	234	247	111	20	44	64	75

International

Year	Team	Event	Result	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1997	Finland Jr.	WJC	5th	6	4	4	8	0
1998	Finland Jr.	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	4th	9	0	4	4	10
2004	Finland	WC	6th	7	3	2	5	14
2004	Finland	WCH		6	1	2	3	0
2005	Finland	WC	7th	7	1	4	5	8
2006	Finland	OG		8	2	1	3	2
2007	Finland	WC		9	0	7	7	6
2008	Finland	WC		9	2	5	7	0
2009	Finland	WC	5th	7	7	3	10	0
2010	Finland	OG		6	0	2	2	0
2011	Finland	WC		9	2	1	3	2
2012	Finland	WC	4th	10	1	1	2	2
Junior totals				13	6	9	15	2
Senior totals				105	26	36	62	56

Awards and honours

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

References

^ "Kapanen scores first Hat-trick". ESPN. 2006-02-09. Retrieved 2012-05-19. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ "Thrashers lose Kapanen". Atlanta Thrashers. 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2010-06-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ "Kapanen sign with Ak Bars Kazan". Ak Bars Kazan. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-09. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ "Collector of international medals, Kapanen comes to Prague" (in Czech). HC Lev Praha. 2013-08-11. Archived from the original on 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2013-08-11. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ "Niko Kapanen agreement" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 2014-07-10. Retrieved 2014-07-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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

[1] "Kapanen scores first Hat-trick". ESPN. 2006-02-09. Retrieved 2012-05-19. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[2] "Thrashers lose Kapanen". Atlanta Thrashers. 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2010-06-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[3] "Kapanen sign with Ak Bars Kazan". Ak Bars Kazan. 2008-06-09. Retrieved 2008-06-09. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[4] "Collector of international medals, Kapanen comes to Prague" (in Czech). HC Lev Praha. 2013-08-11. Archived from the original on 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2013-08-11. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[5] "Niko Kapanen agreement" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 2014-07-10. Retrieved 2014-07-10. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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