Sanni Hakala

{{Infobox ice hockey biography

| image_size =

| caption =

| image =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1997|10|31}}

| birth_place = Jyväskylä, Finland

| height_m = 1.54

| weight_kg = 55

| position = Winger

| shoots = Left

| played_for = JYP Jyväskylä
Oulun Kärpät
HV71

| sex = f

| ntl_team = FIN

| career_start = 2012

| career_end = 2023

| medaltemplates = {{MedalCompetition|Olympic Games}}

}}

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.{{Cite web |date=2019-04-05 |title=IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship – Team Roster: FIN - Finland |url=http://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/510/IHW5100FIN_33_2_0_FIN.pdf |website=IIHF |access-date=2020-09-23}}

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.{{Cite news |last=Niemistö |first=Juho |date=2023-11-30 |title=Sanni Hakala kertoo halvaantuneensa |url=https://www.is.fi/jaakiekko/art-2000010028482.html |access-date=2023-11-30 |work=Ilta-Sanomat |language=fi}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Rönnkvist |first=Ronnie |date=2018-07-02 |title=Finländske talangen hyllar SDHL – kritiserar landslaget: "Bra att byta coach" |url=https://hockeysverige.se/2018/07/02/hyllar-sdhl-kritiserar-landslaget |access-date=2020-09-23 |website=HockeySverige |language=sv}} 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.{{Cite news|last=Ranta|first=Pekka|date=2016-12-08|title=Uusi haaste toi Sanni Hakalan Ruotsin jääkiekon naisliiga SDHL:ään|language=fi|work=Sveriges Radio|url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6582338|access-date=2020-09-23}} She was named HV71's fan player of the year for the 2019–20 season.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-03-26|title=Damhockey är under uppbyggnad|url=https://damhockey.se/2020/03/26/sanni-hakala-prisad/|access-date=2020-09-23|website=damhockey.se|language=sv}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.svt.se/sport/ishockey/hakala-gjorde-hattrick-i-comebacken-nar-hv71-vann|title = Hakala gjorde hattrick i comebacken – när HV71 vann|date = 14 November 2020}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Johansson |first1=Anton |title=SDHL-match avbröts efter otäck skada på Sanni Hakala |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/hockey/a/8Ja86w/sdhl-hv71-s-sanni-hakala-krockade-med-stolpen-matchen-avbruten |access-date=27 November 2023 |work=Aftonbladet |date=24 November 2023 |language=sv}} After being rushed to {{Ill|Ryhov County Hospital|sv|Länssjukhuset Ryhov}} by ambulance, it was reported that she was able to move her arms but "didn't seem to have any feeling in her legs."{{cite news |last1=Sandström |first1=Donald |title=HV:s kapten har opererats efter otäcka skadan |url=https://www.jp.se/2023-11-24/hvs-kapten-har-opererats-efter-otacka-skadan#:~:text=Matchen%20mellan%20HV71%20och%20Djurgården,före%20in%20i%20ena%20stolpen. |access-date=27 November 2023 |work=Jönköpings-Posten |date=24 November 2023 |language=sv}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Freijd |first=Johan |date=2023-11-26 |title=Information angående skadan på Sanni Hakala |url=https://www.hv71.se/article/6uoas4q-3iaijd/view |access-date=2023-11-27 |website=HV71 |language=sv |type=Press release}} On 30 November 2023, Hakala announced that she had been paralyzed, ending her career.

=International play=

She made her senior national team debut at the 2016 IIHF Women's World Championship.[https://stats.iihf.com/Hydra/508/IHW508000_33_13_0_FIN.pdf 2016 World Championship roster] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220104250/http://reports.iihf.hockey/Hydra/508/IHW508000_33_13_0_FIN.pdf |date=20 February 2018}} 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 married to Canadian ice hockey player and former HV71 teammate Danielle Stone.{{Cite Instagram |last=Hakala |first=Sanni |author-link= |user=sanniihakala |postid=CWTiEc1Merr |date=2021-11-15 |title=My cheerleaders! 🥰 |language=en |location=Turku, Finland |access-date=2023-12-18 |link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CWTiEc1Merr/ |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |ref=}}{{Cite Instagram |last=Hakala |first=Sanni |author-link= |user=sanniihakala |postid=CxBQ-VPsmK5 |date=2023-09-10 |title=Hakalat 2023 🤍 |language= |location= |access-date=2023-12-18 |link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CxBQ-VPsmK5/?img_index=3 |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |ref=}}{{Cite Instagram |last=Stone |first=Danielle |author-link=Danielle Stone |user=dannystone17 |postid=CxIjsaJKHst |date=2023-09-13 |title=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... |language=en |access-date=2023-12-18 |link=https://www.instagram.com/p/CxIjsaJKHst/ |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date= |ref=}}

Career statistics

border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:75%"
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" \| ! rowspan="92" bgcolor="#ffffff" \| ! colspan="5" \| Regular Season ! rowspan="92" bgcolor="#ffffff" \| ! colspan="5" \| Playoffs
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season ! Team ! League ! GP ! G ! A ! Pts ! PIM ! GP ! G ! A ! Pts ! PIM
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 2016-17	Kärpät \| NSMs \| 13	7	2	9	10 \| –	–	–	–	–
2016-17	HV71	SDHL \| 18	4	3	7	0 \| 6	1	1	2	4
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 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
bgcolor="#f0f0f0" \| 2023-24	HV71	SDHL \| 16	6	7	13	6 \| –	–	–	–	—
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" \|Naisten SM-sarja totals ! 98!! 62!! 57!! 119!! 62 ! 25!! 6!! 4!! 10!! 14
bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" \| SDHL totals ! 226 !! 98 !! 96 !! 194 !! 54 ! 31 !! 12 !! 11 !! 23 !! 14