Observations:

February 2014 – Hakanpaa has not been much of a factor this year with a mere two points in 32 games. His slow start may have a lot to do with larger players taking longer to develop but in this case it is concerning because he had a chance to rise up a weak prospect depth chart quickly. Eric Daoust

September 2013 – Hakanpaa will begin the 2013-14 campaign with Chicago of the AHL. Eric Daoust

August 2013 – Jay Bouwmeester just signed a five-year extension. With Alex Pietrangelo expected to sign a multi-year extension soon, the Blues will have seven defensemen signed to one-way deals for the next two years. While he may be the first defenseman called up for injury it is very unlikely that he is able to establish himself full-time in St. Louis anytime soon barring a trade. Eric Daoust

June 2013 – Hakanpaa finished the campaign with Peoria of the AHL where he posted four points in 14 contests. With Mark Cundari traded and Cade Fairchild stumbling, it appears that Hakanpaa is rising up the depth chart quickly. Eric Daoust

December 2012 – Hakanpää has established his role as a second-pairing D-man with Espoo Blues. He has four points in 26 games. Miika Arponen

October 2012 – Despite signing with the Blues in the summer Hakanpää decided to spend another year with Espoo Blues (coincidentally) in SM-liiga. Hakanpää has gathered praises in the first games of the season as being a defensive stud. He will probably make his first appearances in adults' international games this season. Miika Arponen

August 2012 – Hakanpaa’s North American journey will begin this fall as St. Louis has made a three year commitment to him and will see him in camp. It is likely that he competes in Peoria this upcoming season as his size and ability to use it will be closely monitored. He will be one of the tallest players in the AHL if he competes there, and will get quality, productive minutes as it appears Ian Cole will be jumping into the Blues lineup. Jason Banks

April, 2012 – Jani Hakanpaa has the impressive size that is both an asset and a potential detriment to any defender around his stature. Hakanpaa still has times when his foot speed and ability to turn quickly cost him defensively. However, in general he has really grown in his own end during the last year. Consequently, Hakanpaa is slowly finding an offensive game in Finland’s top league, SM-liiga with the Espoo Blues. In fantasy hockey, Hakanpaa looks to develop into a two-way defender who will likely never put up big offensive numbers, especially considering St. Louis’ wealth of young defenders in their system. However there is a small possibility with his size that his offensive game could take a big leap, in the Zdeno Chara mold. If that is to ever happen, defense responsibilities will have to become second nature so he does not have to think as much about when he can and cannot join an offensive rush. However, his trajectory has been steadily trending upward and in league’s will hits and block shots, he may be a valuable source of those stats and a small possibility of better than average offensive numbers for a two-way defender. Yas Guthe

Fantasy Outlook: C+

Modest offensive upside. Two-way game is key to any further offensive success. St. Louis defensive ranks may be tough to crack.

Footage:

A good pinch offensively by Hakanpaa leads to a goal against Denmark in the 2012 U20 WJC.

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