Kari Haakana

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Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
Nickname(s)	Kassu
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 227 lb (103 kg/16 st 3 lb)
SM-Liiga Team F. teams	Kärpät Modo Hockey NHL Edmonton Oilers SM-liiga Espoo Blues Jokerit Lukko DEL Star Bulls Rosenheim EV Duisburg Skellefteå AIK
Nationality	Finland
Born	November 8, 1973 (1973-11-08) (age 34), Outokumpu, FIN
NHL Draft	248th overall, 2001 Edmonton Oilers
Pro career	1990 – present

Kari Haakana (b. November 8, 1973 in Outokumpu, Finland) is a professional ice hockey defenceman who has spent the majority of his career in Scandinavia, with the exception of brief stints in Germany and in the Edmonton Oilers player development system in North America. The Oilers selected Haakana in the eight round (248th overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Haakana has spent most of his years in Espoo, where he is well known. Haakana played in Kiekko-Espoo for several years and also in Espoo Blues.

Haakana entered the entry draft as an overaged player and came over to Canada the following year, briefly playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs. He spent 13 games in the Oilers lineup, playing safe defensive hockey, but showing little in the way of offensive ability, scoring no points and only recording two shots. He returned to Europe during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Haakana played for Swedish Elitserien team, Skellefteå AIK from the beginning of the 2006 season to mid-January 2008 when he dedided to cancel his contract and move back home to Finland Kärpät.[1]