Sanni Hakala

Sanni Hakala (born 31 October 1997) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and former member of the Finnish national team.

She played more than seven seasons with HV71 in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) after beginning her career in the Finnish Naisten SM-sarja (renamed Naisten Liiga in 2017) with JYP Jyväskylä and Oulun Kärpät.

In 2023, Hakala suffered a serious injury during a SDHL match that left her paralyzed from the chest down, ending her career at the age of 26.

Playing career
As a youth player, Hakala played on boys' teams until she was 15, at which point she signed with JYP Jyväskylä in the Naisten SM-sarja, the top flight of Finnish women's hockey. She won the Emma Laaksonen Award for Fair Play in the 2015–16 season.

In November 2016, she left Finland to sign with HV71 in the SDHL. She was named HV71's fan player of the year for the 2019–20 season.

After missing the first third of the 2020–21 SDHL season, she scored a hat-trick in her first game back, a 6–1 victory over Brynäs IF in November 2020.

Hakala sustained severe neck injuries in a headfirst collision with a goal post during an HV71 match versus Djurgården IF on 24 November 2023. She was "conscious, talking and in pain" when medical personnel stretchered her from the ice. After being rushed to Ryhov County Hospital by ambulance, it was reported that she was able to move her arms but "didn't seem to have any feeling in her legs." The following day, she underwent surgery at Linköping University Hospital and the surgeons shared that the operation went well but emphasized that Hakala would have a long period of rehabilitation ahead. In a press release on 26 November 2023, HV71 made clear that further information about Hakala's condition would not be provided and asked that the public respect her need for peace and quiet during rehabilitation. On 30 November 2023, Hakala announced that she had been paralyzed, ending her career.

International play
She made her senior national team debut at the 2016 IIHF Women's World Championship. She has represented the Finnish national team at the World Championships every year since including the team's first-ever silver medal at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship. She scored one goal in six games as Finland won bronze at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Personal life
Hakala is in a relationship with Canadian female ice hockey player and former HV71 teammate Danielle Stone.