DALLAS. The ten lanes of the highway rumble as large cars move in a steady stream towards the silhouette of downtown skyscrapers. Along the way, giant American and Texas flags welcome motorists to Dallas.
Dallas is located in the northeast corner of Texas at the confluence of four interstate highways. Drivers need to be constantly alert, because five-level interchanges are commonplace in Dallas. Missing one exit can mean half an hour extra round trip.
From the car stock, it can be quickly concluded that electric cars are not yet taking over the market in the second largest state of the United States.
Refueling a car does not burden the wallet much in the Dallas area, as a gallon or 3.79 liters of fuel costs only about three euros. So the price per liter is clearly below one euro. This is not surprising, since Texas has been the main oil producing region of the United States for a hundred years.
The state’s unofficial motto “everything is bigger in Texas” rings true.
Airplanes rumble over downtown
John F. Kennedy the assassination memorial along Commerce Street leads towards Jani Hakanpää apartment in the northern part of the downtown area.
The day is exceptionally warm for the time of year. The temperature is soaring above 30 degrees in Dallas.
Spring hasn’t arrived in town yet. The leaves are dying from the trees and just a week before an ice storm had blown over the city.
Dressed in a red t-shirt and green pants, Hakanpää arrives at the parking garage against Urheilu. The essence of the 197-centimeter and 100-kilogram defender exudes friendliness. A big man is like made in Texas.
Known for hard tackles in NHL arenas, the defenseman might as well walk the catwalks with his fashionable beard.
Hakanpää guides the guests through the lounge area to the roof terrace, from which there are wonderful views among the skyscrapers.
It quickly becomes clear that Hakanpää enjoys his life in Dallas. The team’s game has gone well and he has found a role in the ranks of the Stars where he is appreciated.
– The teammates are really nice. That’s the biggest thing. Besides that, the weather here is pretty good and the people are really warm. Those are the best things here, says Hakanpää in an interview with Urheilu.
Hakanpää has to raise his voice several times during the interview because of the airplane noise. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is one of the busiest in the United States, and the route of planes that take off every minute goes over the downtown area.
Let’s go back in time for a moment. Hakanpää’s, 31, NHL career hasn’t always flown so well.
The defender’s first attempt in North America was a bust. The responsibility came only in the farm teams of St. Louis Blues in the seasons 2013–2015 and finally he returned back to Finland.
– The journey has included quite a few ups and downs. Sometimes I’ve been at the very top and then sometimes I’ve been at the very bottom. It has since come up again.
According to Hakanpää, the bottom of his career came with the first company in North America. At that time, Hakanpää felt that he was badly lost both as a player and as a person.
In the most difficult position of his career, Hakanpää signed a two-year contract with Oulu Kärppie in 2015. Lauri Marjamäkiwho was a man Hakanpää knew from the Espoo Blues years.
In the second year at Kärppä, the same problems reared their heads. The game didn’t work and my self-image was also missing.
– I finally dared to ask for help and I got it. It has certainly been the biggest turning point in my own career. After that, we went to the kapu area and we got quite high. I am very lucky that I had the courage to ask for help then.
A call to a sports psychologist changed the course of my career
Hakanpää contacted the former top defender at the beginning of the second Kärppä year Thomas “Knock” Grönmanwho currently works as a sports psychologist.
According to Hakanpää, Grönman did not offer any magic tricks, but the change process took a lot of time. At the very beginning of the duo’s collaboration, Grönman wanted to know what things Hakanpää wanted help with and what hopes he had for the collaboration.
– That was a big turning point in my career, Hakanpää says seriously.
At first, Grönman gave Hakanpää homework in which he had to think about his reaction and ways of handling challenging situations.
Nowadays, the communication between the two is no longer as close as before, but it gives the defender of the most important security the knowledge that help is always nearby. Hakanpää knows that he can call Grönman at any time when a bad game or period comes.
– Our goal was that the further we go, I would be able to regulate and guide my own world of thought more, explains Hakanpää.
Hockey doesn’t define you as a person
Lessons have also been learned. Nowadays, Hakanpää is better able to separate the things happening in the rink from civilian life. Before the conversations with Grönman, the young defender could carry a bad feeling all day after a weak game or a single practice.
Although Hakanpää has taken big steps in the right direction, he has to work every day to ensure that the work stays in the hall when the exercises are over.
– However, it’s just hockey, and what happens on the ice doesn’t make me any worse or better as a person. What I do in civilian life and off the ice defines who I am as a person. What happens on the ice determines who I am as a hockey player, says Hakanpää.
The most important thing in Hakanpää’s life is his own family, which includes a young daughter in addition to his spouse. Things waiting at home make it easier to put things into perspective.
– It’s incredible when you come home and see a laughing face running towards you in the hallway. At that point, sorrows are forgotten very quickly. If the child cries when he comes home, then we wonder how to get a smile back on the little one’s lips.
Others appear in ads and headlines
On the wall of the American Airlines Center, the home arena of the Dallas Stars and Mavericks basketball team, there is a giant advertisement posing Miro Heiskanen and a Slovenian who is considered one of the superstars of the NBA Luka Doncic.
In the arena’s opening, Heiskanen is handsome in a large poster, also playing a big role in the Stars’ attack Roope Hintz with. The greatest achievements of the Texan club are next to it, as if foretold, to which the Finnish stars are hoped to lead the Stars in the future. It has been 24 years since the only Stanley Cup in the club’s history.
Hakanpää doesn’t exactly bask in the headlines, but players like him are extremely important to their team. When he was younger, Hakanpää had to fight with his identity as a player, because even at that time he wanted to be the best in many different areas.
Even Hakanpää’s Instagram nickname “omanpaanluuta” tells you well that nowadays the role in the rink is clear.
– When I came here for the second time, I knew that strong defensive play and physicality are the things I will use to clear a place in the playing lineup. I realized that it is something that I can distinguish myself from others. Then, when these things were in order, I could think about other areas and develop them.
Hakanpää and his pack couple Esa Lindell night after night, they manage their screens flawlessly in the Stars’ back lines. In the regular season, Lindell’s ice time per game averaged 19.55 and Hakanpää’s 19.20. Of the Dallas players, only Miro Heiskanen (25.29) played clearly more.
Hakanpää describes the duo’s cooperation as succinctly straightforward.
– We know very well what the other will do next on the field. That is certainly one of the reasons why it has worked so well. We try to keep it pretty simple. We also have a genuine desire to jesus others all the time. If Esa succeeds in scoring, I will certainly celebrate it more than Esa. It has been really easy to play with him.
After game breaks, the two usually start from their own end. If the Stars have a starting forward, Heiskanen is often taken on the ice.
– We hadn’t played many games this season, when the team coach came to tell me and Esa that this might seem bad to you, but he would like to put Miro more in the offensive head starts. It was only stated with Esa that we completely understand that you want Miro to be the offensive head for the starts. That’s fine with us. Once we get there, all the tricks will be in use. If we get something done then, maybe we’ll be seen there more often, continues Hakanpää with a big grin on his face.
Hakanpää and Lindell don’t exactly bask in the headlines, which suits both of them perfectly. The Finnish Pakkipari has played together since the beginning of the season.
– It probably says that things have gone so well that it is worth keeping us together. We are both similar lutenists, says Lindell.
– Jani is an amazing guy. He is the complete opposite off the field to what he is on the field. Jani is big and mean on the ice, but otherwise a really easy-going guy. It seems that Jani wouldn’t hurt even a fly.
The pace is increasing year by year
Over the past few years, the NHL has experienced a major game change, where the game has been tried to move in a faster and more entertaining direction with rule changes.
At this point, the basic defenders in Hakanpää’s style are paying the price.
– Yes, sometimes it feels like tools are being taken out of the toolbox year after year. It only helps to adjust and adapt. Yes, sometimes it feels bad, but it doesn’t help, Hakanpää says with a smile.
Due to the development of the NHL, the brooms of one’s head have to be in a tighter place every year.
– It feels like the pace is increasing in the game all the time and everyone wants to play faster hockey. Along with that, more skill has come to the NHL. Ice hockey is going through a big transition everywhere. All the time, there are young, fast and skilled players whose sports skills are better than in older age groups. With these guys, the physical side and the grinding and tearing have been left out along the way.