Hannu Kapanen

Hannu Kapanen
Date of birth	March 13, 1951
place of birth	Kontiolahti , Finland
size	177 cm
Weight	76 kg
position	striker
Career stations
1970-1971	HJK Helsinki
1971-1972	Karhu-Kissat Helsinki
1972-1973	HJK Helsinki
1973-1974	Karhu-Kissat Helsinki
1974-1977	Jokerit Helsinki
1977-1980	HIFK Helsinki
1980-1985	Jokipojat Joensuu

Hannu Kapanen (born March 13, 1951 in Kontiolahti ) is a former Finnish ice hockey player and coach who played in the SM-liiga for Jokerit Helsinki , HIFK Helsinki and Jokipojat Joensuu from 1970 to 1985, among others . His two sons Sami and Kimmo and his grandson Kasperi are also professional ice hockey players.

Career

Hannu Kapanen began his career as an ice hockey player in the 1970/71 season with HJK Helsinki . This was followed by a season at Karhu-Kissat Helsinki before he was alternately on the ice again for HJK and Karhu-Kissat. Before the 1974/75 season Kapanen received a contract with Jokerit Helsinki , for which he was active for the following three seasons, first in the SM-sarja and from 1975 in the SM-liiga . In the summer of 1977 the attacker received a contract with their league rivals HIFK Helsinki , with whom he became Finnish champions in 1980 . He then moved to the second-class I divisioona , in which he played for Jokipojat Joensuu until his retirement in 1985 .

Following his active career, Kapanen became a coach at KalPa Kuopio in the SM-liiga , which he supervised in the 1993/94 season . With his team, however, he missed the playoffs in tenth place, so he left the club after the season. He then signed a contract with their league rivals HIFK Helsinki, which he oversaw the following two seasons before taking over the coaching position at HPK Hämeenlinna , with whom he was third in 1997. For this success he also received the Kalevi Numminen trophy as the best coach of the season. Other positions for Kapanen as head coach were Jokerit Helsinki in the 1998/99 game year and the Espoo Blues between 2001 and 2003.

In 2005 Kapanen was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame .

International

For Finland , Kapanen took part in the 1976 World Cup. Furthermore, he was in Finland's squad at the Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck that same year. In 1998 he won the Junior World Championship as the head coach of the Finnish selection .

Achievements and Awards

• 1980 Finnish champion with HIFK Helsinki
• 1997 Finnish third with HPK Hämeenlinna
• 1997 Kalevi Numminen Trophy

Web links

• Hannu Kapanen at hockeydb.com (English)
• Hannu Kapanen at eurohockey.com
• Hall of Fame biography