Santeri Hatakka

Santeri Hatakka (born 15 January 2001) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

Playing career Hatakka played his junior career in the Jokerit system, and was an alternate captain for their under-20 team in the 2018–19 season. Following that season, he was drafted in the sixth round, 184th overall, of the 2019 NHL entry draft by the San Jose Sharks.

Hatakka made his professional debut during the 2019–20 season, splitting time between Ilves in the Liiga and their farm club Koovee. He scored three points in 28 Liiga games. He made his NHL debut for the Sharks on 30 October, in a 2–1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. On 9 November, Hatakka recorded his first NHL point, an assist, in a 4–1 win over the Calgary Flames.

In the 2022–23 season Hatakka played just eight games, all at the AHL level, due to a major upper-body injury sustained early in the year. On 26 February 2023, Hatakka was traded to the New Jersey Devils along with Timo Meier in a multi-player trade. Hatakka was recalled to the Devils on 18 January 2024, as multiple of their regular defencemen were injured or sick. He made his debut for the team on 22 January, in a 6–5 overtime win against the Vegas Golden Knights.

After two seasons within the Devils organization, Hatakka left at the completion of his contract and left North America to sign a two-year contract with Swedish club, HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), on 29 April 2025.

International play Hatakka has represented Finland at the under-16, under-17, under-18, and under-20 levels, including semifinal appearances at the 2020 and 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, at the latter of which he was an alternate captain and won a bronze medal. Across his two World Junior appearances, he scored three points in 14 games.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2017–18 Jokerit U20 SM-liiga 46 4 12 16 28 — — — — — 2018–19 Jokerit U20 SM-liiga 43 4 9 13 30 — — — — — 2019–20 Ilves Liiga 28 1 2 3 14 — — — — — 2019–20 Koovee Mestis 15 2 5 7 6 — — — — — 2020–21 Ilves Liiga 44 1 6 7 34 5 0 0 0 2 2021–22 San Jose Sharks NHL 9 0 2 2 2 — — — — — 2021–22 San Jose Barracuda AHL 41 3 9 12 22 — — — — — 2022–23 San Jose Barracuda AHL 8 0 2 2 2 — — — — — 2023–24 Utica Comets AHL 48 5 15 20 32 — — — — — 2023–24 New Jersey Devils NHL 12 0 2 2 4 — — — — — 2024–25 Utica Comets AHL 19 1 1 2 20 — — — — —NHL totals 21 0 4 4 6 — — — — —

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2017 Finland U17 6th 5 0 1 1 2 2019 Finland U18 7th 5 0 0 0 2 2020 Finland WJC 4th 7 0 1 1 4 2021 Finland WJC 7 1 1 2 4Junior totals 24 1 3 4 12