Power forward Henrik Haapala, who was without an employer, is applying for a one-month trial period for a permanent contract with the Swiss champions in Geneva.
Lempäälä Kisa, which plays in the Suomi series received from the beginning of the week to his exercises a famous stranger, a boy from his own village Henrik Haapalan29. The future of the star player, who was without an employer, as a hockey player has been speculated lately, but when Haapala skated in the Lempäälä ice rink, his player-agent had already cast his nets in international waters.
On Tuesday, there was at least a temporary solution to Haapala’s situation: Haapala, who scored the same number of power points in 47 matches in the Ilves shirt last season, signed a month-long contract with Geneva-Servette of the Swiss main league. It includes an option for the entire season, if the club that celebrated the Swiss championship last spring is satisfied with its new Finn. Haapala was always looking for a contract specifically outside of Finland.
In Geneve-Servette, one of Switzerland’s most traditional clubs, Haapala has as many Finnish clubs as four last year’s Olympic champions: the club already Sami Vatanen, Valtteri Filppula, Sakari Manninen mixed Teemu Hartikainen.
Haapala, who won the under-20 World Cup gold in 2014, has been one of the most famous players without a contract in the early season market. In his career, the winger, who suffered from serious injuries that sometimes required long rehabilitation, broke through the domestic ice in Tappara in the 2012-2013 season. Haapala won no less than six medals in the ax breaststroke – four silver and two gold – from 2013 to 2018. He won the last medal, silver, in the spring of 2018 as a loan player from the Florida Panthers, where he played five games in the NHL.
After returning to Europe from North America, Haapala represented another major Swiss club, HC Lugano, in the 2018-2019 season. After that, Jokerit, who played in the KHL before Geneve-Servette, and Ilves were employers.