Jani Karppinen Junior Review

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Jani Karppinen (S85)

Espoo, Finland

 

Jani Karppinen was born in Espoo, FInland. By the time he was 3 years old, he learned how to skate and loved playing out on the pond with his friends from school. He joined hockey for the first time when he was just 5 years old, and quickly was a standout player. He was consistently being moved up in age groups, as one of the most outstanding up and comers in the region. This caught the eyes of scouts everywhere in Finland, and when Jani was just 11 years old, he received an offer from the Espoo Blues, his hometown team, to join their youth club. In 3 seasons with the team, Jani lead the team in scoring every season as a defenseman, earning top honors in the league as well as catching attention from teams in the CHL in North America.

 

Until he turned 14, Jani Karppinen played with the youth program of the Espoo Blues, a Finnish Liiga club, later playing with the youth club for HIFK. During his time in the organization, Karppinen recorded 21 points in 42 games to win the rookie of the year award, the youngest ever in program history to do it, and this title earned him a four year extension with HIFK. The next season, he would be promoted to the parent club and would spend the season anchoring the team's top pairing, earning 31 points in 62 games in his rookie season in the Liiga. HIFK head coach said "Karppinen is the best defenseman on this team, which means a lot as a rookie and we are excited to see his career develop whether that be here in Finland or over in North America." Karppinen would return to HIFK for his sophomore season at age 20, earning 57 points in 76 games which earned him first team honors as well as winning DOTY as a second-year player.

 

Upon completion of his second season in the Liiga, Karppinen shifted his focus towards North America, originally setting his sights on the NHL. However after some mulling it over and with the chance to return home via the VHLE, Jani decided it was in his best interest to take his talents to the VHLM. On May 16th, 2022 Jani Karppinen announced that he had signed a one year contract with the Ottawa Lynx, and is expected to make his North American debut later that night.