Jyrki Jokipakka
Jokipakka with the Adler Mannheim in 2023
Born (1991-08-20) 20 August 1991 (age 32)
Tampere, Finland
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
DEL team
Former teams		 Adler Mannheim
Ilves
Dallas Stars
Calgary Flames
Ottawa Senators
HC Sochi
Sibir Novosibirsk
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 195th overall, 2011
Dallas Stars
Playing career 2010–present

Jyrki Jokipakka (English: /ˈjɜːrki joʊkɪˈpækə/ YUR-kee yoh-ki-PAK-ə, born 20 August 1991) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who is under contract to Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He was selected by the Dallas Stars in the seventh round (195th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Jokipakka made his professional debut in his native Finland with Ilves Tampere of the Finnish Liiga after playing with his hometown club as a youth. On 14 June 2012, Jokipakka was signed to a three-year entry level contract with the Dallas Stars.[1] He was then loaned back to his original club Ilves for the 2012–13 season.

In his first North American season in 2013–14, Jokipakka was assigned to American Hockey League affiliate, the Texas Stars.[2] He remained with Texas for the duration of the campaign posting 5 goals and 21 points in 68 games from the blueline. He also contributed with 5 assists in 21 post-season games in helping Texas claim their first Calder Cup championship.

During the 2014–15 season, Jokipakka made his NHL debut with the Stars on 24 October 2014, against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center.

In the following 2015–16 season, Jokipakka made his first opening night roster and appeared in 40 games with the Stars before he was dealt at the trade deadline, along with prospect Brett Pollock and a conditional second round pick in 2016 to the Calgary Flames in exchange for Kris Russell on 29 February 2016.[3]

In the 2016–17 season, for a second consecutive year, Jokipakka was dealt by the Flames on the day of the trade deadline to the Ottawa Senators along with a conditional second-round pick in exchange for Curtis Lazar and Michael Kostka.[4] Jokipakka made his Senators' debut on 30 March 2017 versus the Minnesota Wild.

The Senators opted not to re-sign Jokipakka, making him an unrestricted free agent. On 5 September 2017, the Washington Capitals signed Jokipakka to a professional try-out (PTO), where he would attend the team's training camp.[5]

Jokipakka signed a one-year deal with the HC Sochi Leopards of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in October 2017. He re-signed with Sochi for a second season in 2018.

As a free agent, Jokipakka left Sochi following the 2018–19 season and signed an initial one-year deal with Sibir Novosibirsk of the KHL on 27 August 2019.[6] In March 2022, Jokipakka left Sibir Novosibirsk during playoffs due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[7][8][9]

On 1 May 2022, Jokipakka was announced to have signed a two-year contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the KHL.[10] However, with the signing previously agreed before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Jokipakka rejected returning to the KHL and on 23 June 2022, he returned to his original Finnish club, Ilves of the Liiga, on a one-year contract.[11]

On 21 April 2023, Jokipakka agreed to a two-year contract beginning in the 2023–24 season in joining German club, Adler Mannheim of the DEL.[12]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 Ilves FIN U17 Q 12 2 10 12 14 — — — — —
2007–08 Ilves FIN U17 12 4 5 9 12 — — — — —
2008–09 Ilves FIN U18 Q 9 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
2008–09 Ilves FIN U18 24 3 6 9 10 — — — — —
2008–09 Ilves FIN U20 4 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2009–10 Ilves FIN U20 38 3 12 15 77 5 1 0 1 2
2010–11 Ilves FIN U20 3 0 0 0 6 — — — — —
2010–11 Ilves SM-l 48 1 8 9 18 5 0 0 0 2
2010–11 LeKi Mestis 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2011–12 Ilves FIN U20 1 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2011–12 Ilves SM-l 52 9 8 17 18 — — — — —
2011–12 LeKi Mestis 3 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2012–13 Ilves SM-l 59 5 13 18 20 — — — — —
2013–14 Texas Stars AHL 68 5 16 21 32 21 0 5 5 8
2014–15 Texas Stars AHL 19 3 2 5 4 — — — — —
2014–15 Dallas Stars NHL 51 0 10 10 8 — — — — —
2015–16 Dallas Stars NHL 40 2 4 6 6 — — — — —
2015–16 Calgary Flames NHL 18 0 6 6 8 — — — — —
2016–17 Calgary Flames NHL 38 1 5 6 12 — — — — —
2016–17 Ottawa Senators NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2017–18 HC Sochi KHL 35 2 9 11 42 5 1 1 2 4
2018–19 HC Sochi KHL 59 10 14 24 10 5 1 1 2 16
2019–20 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 58 4 28 32 16 5 0 4 4 2
2020–21 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 59 5 19 24 12 — — — — —
2021–22 Sibir Novosibirsk KHL 31 3 11 14 10 1 0 0 0 0
2022–23 Ilves Liiga 50 5 14 19 16 12 1 4 5 4
Liiga totals 209 20 43 63 72 17 1 4 5 6
NHL totals 150 3 25 28 34 — — — — —
KHL totals 242 24 81 105 90 16 2 6 8 22

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Finland WJC 6th 6 1 2 3 4
2015 Finland WC 6th 8 2 0 2 2
2016 Finland WCH 8th 2 0 0 0 2
Junior totals 6 1 2 3 4
Senior totals 10 2 0 2 4

References

  1. ^ "Stars sign Jyrki Jokipakka to three-year contract". Dallas Stars. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
  2. ^ "Texas stars roster". Eliteprospects.com. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Flames deal Kris Russell to Stars". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Senators trade Lazar to Flames for Jokipakka". TSN. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  5. ^ El-Bashir, Tarik (5 September 2017). "Capitals sign veteran defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka to a PTO". NBC Sports Washington. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Sibir add Finnish defenseman Jokipakka" (in Russian). HC Sibir Novosibirsk. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Suomalaispelaajien joukkopako KHL:stä kuohuttaa venäläismediassa – maasta vaikea päästä pois: "Pelaajayhdistys on ollut yhteydessä ulkoministeriöön"" (in Finnish). Yle. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  8. ^ Schram, Carol. "NHL Suspends Dealings With KHL As Russia's Ukraine Invasion Impacts Hockey World". Forbes.
  9. ^ "Snapshots: KHL Departures, AHL Signings, NHL Trade Market". Pro Hockey Rumors. 5 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Avtomobilist sign four to contracts" (in Russian). Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Ilves announce six player contracts" (in Finnish). Ilves. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Gilmour and Jokipakka join the Eagles" (in German). Adler Mannheim. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.

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