After Friday’s practice, Jani Hakanpaa discussed his progress toward potentially suiting up again for NHL game action and the experience of spending most of the 2024-25 season rehabbing/ practicing instead of playing games.
How are you feeling with your progress toward a hopeful return?
Hakanpaa: I’m in a pretty good spot right now. We have been making some good improvements. Getting back out there with the guys (in practice) has been [positive]. We are slowly working our way toward playing again here.
What are the odds we see you available for the playoffs?
Hakanpaa: It is a tough one to say anything on, really. It has been trending really well in the gym, on the ice, and off the ice. Hopefully, we’ll get there. We’ll see.
What has the season been like for you, only appearing in the two games? It has to be mentally trying.
Hakanpaa: It has been up and down with highs and lows. It has the good parts to it, too. I guess you just have to enjoy those. There are victories. Every day, something feels really good. You can improve on something. I take a lot of joy in that.
It is a nice place to come to every morning, even though you are not where you wanted to be. Coming in here, there are some great people around you who you can work with every single day. You come in, get a nice cup of coffee, and have a good laugh. There are a lot of worse things you can do in life.
Obviously, it has been trying, but I am just trying to keep the positive mindset and cheer the boys on as much as I can when I’ve been here. I am just enjoying the ride, I guess. Even though it might sound really weird, I’m just doing the work and enjoying everything else that still comes with being able to play hockey, get out there, and have a good time with your teammates.
Are there still hurdles you are looking to overcome, or are you at the point where you are stringing together good day after good day?
Hakanpaa: It is a little bit of both. There are a few things still there where I would like to be feeling a little better on the ice. Other than that, it is stringing good days together, adding a little more load every day, and adding a little more here and there. I am trying to string together those good days and make them good weeks into good months. That is the plan.
There is a chance the team might have to play the next game with five defensemen, depending on Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s status. How challenging would that be for a group of defensemen?
Hakanpaa: It is always different to go down to five, but I think everyone here has been in a spot where you lose a guy early in a game, and you end up playing with five for long stretches of time. I don’t think it’s anything they haven’t seen. It is a little strange going into the game, but I think they have all been there before. I think they’re going to handle it [well].
What stands out about the way this Leafs team is playing down the stretch?
Hakanpaa: Just the commitment to the team game, really, and how hard the guys battle and work out there. It has been good to see the good defense, obviously. As a defenseman, you always love it when your goaltenders are playing really well. That gives you a big boost, even though you are not on the ice. Those things have stuck out for me.
Mitch Marner is approaching 100 points but plays so hard on the defensive side of the game. What have you learned about him in the season you’ve spent around him?
Hakanpaa: With him and a lot of the other guys, too, you know they are good when you play against them, and then you see them every day. You’re like, “Okay, they are better than I thought they would be.”
When you look at them closely in the games, you see them playing the right way all of the time and still putting up the amount of points they do. It’s really spectacular. It is an honour just to watch them every day. You can maybe learn something; even though they are very different players, you can maybe learn a little something from them, too.
It has been great to watch.
