Haapala, Repo ready to jump from Liiga to NHL

SUNRISE, Fla. - After turning heads at last week's development camp, Finnish forwards Henrik Haapala and Sebastian Repo, a pair of overseas additions for the Florida Panthers, are both expected to have a big impact in South Florida this upcoming season.

"Physically, they stood out," Panthers Director of Player Personnel Bryan McCabe said following Friday's scrimmage at the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs. "They both played pro hockey for a few years and they're ahead of the game regarding some of our 18-year-old draft picks, but that's a good thing."
Although they're technically rookies, neither is your average first-year player.
Having watched the duo play against grown men for the past several seasons in Liiga, the top professional hockey league in Finland, Panthers General Manager & President of Hockey Operations Dale Tallon is confident that both Haapala and Repo are ready to make the jump to the NHL.
"You're really going to like our young players," Tallon told reporters at the BB&T Center on Saturday. "This week I was very impressed with Haapala, [Maxim] Mamim, [Owen] Tippett and Repo. We've got a lot of good players.
"We've got some young kids we're going to throw into the lineup. It's going to be an exciting team. We're going to play a fast-paced game. We're going to play the in-your-face, up-tempo game that our coaches want to play."
Up-tempo is what Haapala and Repo are all about.
In 51 games with Tampere Tappara last season, Haapala, who turned 23 on Feb. 28, recorded a league-leading 45 assists and 60 points to claim the Veli-Pekka Ketola Trophy as Liiga's points leader. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound forward also captured his second consecutive Liiga Championship in 2017, posting nine points (2-7-9) in 16 playoff games.
Haapala's 60 points were the seventh-most by a 22-year-old in Liiga history.
"They said they'd give me an opportunity to make the team," Haapala said. "If I take it, I take it; if I don't, I don't… I think Florida is the best place for me."
A native of Lempaala, Finland, Haapala is happy to already have a connection to the Panthers, having played on a line alongside Aleksander Barkov in Tappara during the 2012-13 season.
"He's pretty popular," Haapala said of Barkov.
Looking head, could Haapala and Barkov reunite in Florida?
For now, Tallon envisions Haapala being centered by Vincent Trocheck.
"I was very impressed with our free-agent singing from Finland, Haapala," Tallon said. "I thought he was great this week. He's fast and very creative. He'd fit in nicely [on the second line]."
As for Repo, the 21-year-old winger admittedly looks better suited for a bottom-six role, bringing a more physical, two-way game to the Panthers than Haapala, who is known more for his dynamic playmaking on offense.
"I took some pretty big steps this past season," said Repo, who shared the ice with Haapala in Tampere last season. "I think I'm a better all-around player. I can play on both ends. I really, really improved my defensive skills."
A native of Lahti, Finland, Repo tallied a career-high 32 points (11-21-32) in 46 games for Tappara last season. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound right winger also added seven points (6-1-7) in 18 postseason games en route to a Liiga Championship, finishing with the third-most goals in the playoffs.
"I've played against a lot of players who maybe are stronger than junior leagues and players who have NHL, AHL and KHL experience," Repo said. "I'm ready for [the NHL]."
Haapala and Repo hope to be the just latest Finns to find success in Florida.
In recent years, Tallon and his scouts have crafted quite an impressive pipeline between South Florida and Finland, selecting at least one Finnish player in four of the past five drafts, starting Barkov, the No. 2 overall pick in 2013.
"[Panthers Director of European Scouting] Jari Kekalainen and all our European scouts do a great job," Tallon said. "They go all over the world; I trust them a lot. They have really good eyes and a good understanding of the correlation between European and North American style. They know who can play and who can't."
As of now, the Panthers firmly believe that both Haapala and Repo certainly can.