Jyrki Jokipakka ( , born 20 August 1991) is a Finnish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who is under contract to

Ilves Ilves (; Finnish for " Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Tampere Deck Arena. The colors of Ilves, green, yellow, and black, were taken from what was then the coat of arms of the city ...

of the

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

. He was selected by the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

in the seventh round (195th overall) of the

2011 NHL Entry Draft The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the Draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hoste ...

Playing career

Jokipakka made his professional debut in his native Finland with

Ilves Tampere Ilves (; Finnish for " Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Tampere Deck Arena. The colors of Ilves, green, yellow, and black, were taken from what was then the coat of arms of the cit ...

of the Finnish

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. 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. 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 The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

championship. During the 2014–15 season, Jokipakka made his NHL debut with the Stars on 24 October 2014, against the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

at the

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the men's basketball program of Seton Hal ...

. 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 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

to the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in exchange for

Kris Russell Kris Russell (born May 2, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted in the third roun ...

on 29 February 2016. 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 Curtis Lazar (born February 2, 1995) is a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the first round (17th ...

and

Michael Kostka Michael Christopher Kostka (born November 28, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career After playing four seasons at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he w ...

. Jokipakka made his Senators' debut on 30 March 2017 versus the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

. The Senators opted not to re-sign Jokipakka, making him an unrestricted free agent. On 5 September 2017, the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

signed Jokipakka to a professional try-out (PTO), where he would attend the team's training camp. Jokipakka signed a one-year deal with the

HC Sochi Hockey Club Sochi (russian: Хоккейный клуб Сочи) is a professional ice hockey team based in Sochi, Russia. The team joined the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in 2014–15 season. History On May 23, 2014, it was reported that ...

Leopards of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(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. In March 2022, Jokipakka left Sibir Novosibirsk during playoffs due to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. On 1 May 2022, Jokipakka was announced to have signed a two-year contract with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the KHL. 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.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jokipakka, Jyrki 1991 births Calgary Flames players Dallas Stars draft picks Dallas Stars players Finnish ice hockey defencemen Ilves players Living people Ottawa Senators players HC Sibir Novosibirsk players HC Sochi players Texas Stars players Ice hockey people from Tampere