Player Discussion Jani Hakanpää

[bsu]

This guy obviously put massive work in the off season, when he spreads his legs for wide base he takes up so much space its crazy. Really impressed and I was down on him because of his footspeed, proved me wrong thus far.

Click to read more...

 

[Gliff]

As far as I’m concerned he has eared his spot and should not be sitting at all.

I genuinely think him coming into his own is the final straw for Manson. He plays the role Mason is supposed to, and fails to, play.

Him and Cam playing so well together is the cherry on top.

 

[AngelDuck]

Proved me wrong as well. I thought he was nothing more than a boards and out Dman that gets beat wide all the time. He looks like he can be a regular now

 

[Kalv]

In his first exhibition game he looked very bad and not like an NHL defenseman.

Good reminder to not jump a gun, especially in preseason

 

[Kariya 9]

Been very pleased with him.

 

[Static]

Pleasantly surprised. I wish we could find randomly effective forwards like we do dmen.

 

[robbieboy3686]

If he keeps this up, I see no way in hell Manson makes it past the trade deadline with us

 

[ADHB]

He actually has a very small amount of offensive instincts as well. He’s been up on the play when the situation warrants it. And he’s really not that slow. His acceleration is below average but once he gets moving he’s actually reasonably fast.

 

[Paul4587]

His skating style is really strange but he can actually move really well for a big guy. He's clumsy looking but has been really effective so far and his instincts are good. The one time I've seen him shoot he had a pretty heavy shot so there is a bit of offensive upside there, he did put up decent numbers his last two years in Finland so maybe some of that will translate.

 

[Sean Garrity]

Once he gets going he's like a freight train but not a bullet train. He still struggles in tight spaces but that's more of a big man thing than isolated to him. Seems very smart, plays a consistent, simple, physical game that is within his skillset and I think that maximizes Fowler's skillset. He's shown some patience and skills in the offensive zone which is nice to see. The ability to maximize Fowler might be his best attribute as Fowler's mental fortitude seems to be most important within his own game. It appears when Fowler knows what to expect from his partner that he excels. As Manson has gotten older, he's become more erratic which I don't think partners well with Fowler.

Hank is tank, kudos to the development team for helping him adjust, but most of the kudos has to go to Hank for putting in the work. Glad he's getting the praise from his head coach and playing time that he's earned so far.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Very pleasant surprise. I thought based on the end of last season that he had potential as a 3rd pairing guy. The last few games with Fowler seems to have helped both players though. Fowler is using his skills and jumping into the rush significantly more, and Hakanpaa is playing much more confidently than he was with Larsson. With Larsson he seemed to be trying to only outlet it through Larsson, and would be awkward with the puck when he couldn’t. Now he’s moving with it and making confident passes.

 

[McDonald19]

I like his game, if he shows more of a mean streak and drops the gloves I’ll really be sold

 

[Duck Off]

Best surprise of the year so far. Would like to see him get meaner, but he’s earned the right to stay in the lineup for sure.

 

[Dirk316]

Manson plays well with Lindholm
Shattenkirk is a 5-6 specialist

 

[bumperkisser]

Manson plays well with Lindholm
Shattenkirk is a 5-6 specialist

Wrong thread bud. Let's talk about Hank the tank here

 

[Magnus the Duck]

If you want to hear how to pronounce Hakanpää in Finnish it's here at 8 sec.

 

[Frosted Tips]

I like his game, if he shows more of a mean streak and drops the gloves I’ll really be sold

I'm pretty sure he had the nick name Gentle Giant playing in Finland so I wouldn't expect it

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Nice to see Hank get some recognition and rewarding for his good play lately. With Manson out for an extended period of time, Hank will slot into that top-4 well. Big body, leads the team in hits for a d-man, and *could* be the reason that Manson is let go.

I don’t think people realize how good he was for that Finnish team that won the World Championships.

 

[Frosted Tips]

I don’t think people realize how good he was for that Finnish team that won the World Championships.

Me being one of them. I thought he was good, but mostly I was just amazed by how good Lehtonen was.

 

[duxfan1101]

I see a lot of people refer to him as 'Hank,' but I'd like to take this opportunity to endorse his actual nickname: "Hawk."

Thank you for your time.

 

[Dryish]

I just found out Hakanpää is originally from my home town. I wonder if he lives here in the summer, would be interesting to run into the guy.

 

[DigiDuck]

Pleasantly surprised with his steady play. Makes it easier to stomach that Gudbranson trade, especially now that he's playing well with Cam.

Sure there will probably be some mistakes just due to lack of NHL experience, but he's earned his spot in Top 4

 

[Trojans86]

If you want to hear how to pronounce Hakanpää in Finnish it's here at 8 sec.

I catch myself trying to say it like they do and sound like a robot Ha Ka Pa

 

[Trojans86]

I see a lot of people refer to him as 'Hank,' but I'd like to take this opportunity to endorse his actual nickname: "Hawk."

Thank you for your time.

With how they pronounce it in that video I think I can endorse hawk

 

[ADHB]

With how they pronounce it in that video I think I can endorse hawk

I'm curious where anyone got Hank from anyway. His name doesn't have an N before the K.

I'm also curious how anyone thought his name was pronounced. Watching that video doesn't make it sound any different than it looks. I was expecting to hear something goofy, like how Silfverberg sounds like "silver berry" or something in Swedish.