Mika Stefan Hannula (born 2 April 1979) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player.

Playing career

Hannula started playing ice hockey with Finnish team

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. He is a hard-working and quick player with very good skating abilities. He is intense, works hard and is dangerous around the opponent's net. Hannula was drafted in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

with their 9th choice, 269th overall selection. During his career, he has played for three different hockey teams in the

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

area:

AIK Hockey Allmänna Idrottsklubben Ishockeyförening (abbreviated ''AIK IF'', also known as ''AIK Hockey'', often abbreviated ''AIK'' in hockey subjects), is the ice hockey department of sports club AIK based in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 2014, AIK's men's ...

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Djurgårdens IF is an s ...

and

Hammarby IF Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differ ...

. He also tried playing in the United States for the Houston Aeros in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

during the season 2003–04, totalling 27 points in 67 regular season games. During the semifinal game in the 2006 World Championships in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Hannula cross-checked the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

player

Sidney Crosby Sidney Patrick Crosby (born August 7, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre and Captain (ice hockey), captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Sid the Kid" and dubb ...

to the neck and head area when Crosby was celebrating a goal he just had scored. Hannula was immediately suspended for the final game against

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, and later the

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tourn ...

Disciplinary Committee extended his suspension to the first four games of the 2007 World Championships in

Moscow, Russia Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, plus a fine of 5,000

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

(approx. $6,400). The Swedish club HV71 signed Hannula from

Malmö Redhawks The Malmö Redhawks (colloquially referred to simply as Malmö or by past abbreviation MIF) are a Swedish professional ice hockey team based in Malmö which plays in the SHL, with Malmö Arena as the venue for home games. The history of the te ...

in April 2005, for three years. He played for the club in one season and started the 2006–07 season successfully. Although, on November 13, 2006, HV71's general manager

Fredrik Stillman Fredrik Jan-Ove Stillman (born August 22, 1966) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player, currently general manager for HV71 in the Swedish elite league Elitserien. Playing career Stillman, sometimes locally called "Mr. HV", playe ...

announced through the club's web site that Hannula will take an indefinite break from ice hockey for personal reasons. One week later, November 20, it was noted that he participated in a training session with the Stockholm-based club

Vallentuna BK Vallentuna BK is a Swedish football club located in Vallentuna. Background Since their foundation in 1919 Vallentuna Bollklubb has participated mainly in the lower divisions of the Swedish football league system. The club currently plays in Divi ...

, where Hannula's younger brother played at the same time. On December 1, HV71's chairman Hans-Göran Frick announced that the club let Hannula go and broke his contract, which had one year left. Hannula signed on December 19 with the Russian club

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Hockey Club Lokomotiv (, ), also known as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, is a professional ice hockey club based in Yaroslavl, Russia. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The name of the team is derived from its ...

in the Russian Super League. After his first season in RSL, scoring 15 points in 23 games, Hannula signed with

SKA Saint Petersburg Hockey Club SKA (), often referred to as SKA Saint Petersburg and literally as the Sports Club of the Army, is a professional ice hockey club based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is a member of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey Le ...

for one year. According to media, the contract was worth approximately 770,000 euro after

tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

deductions. After an unsuccessful season, scoring 14 points in 46 games, he signed with

HC CSKA Moscow HC CSKA Moscow (, ''Central Sports Club of the Army, Moscow'') is a professional ice hockey club based in Moscow, Russia. It is a member of the Tarasov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). It is referred to in the West as "Central R ...

in June 2008. Hannula signed a short-term contract with Djurgårdens IF in December 2009 when Djurgården temporarily lost three players, Daniel Brodin,

Jacob Josefson Jacob Peter Josefson (born 2 March 1991) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre who last played for Djurgårdens IF Hockey, Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). After Josefson began playing hockey ...

and Marcus Krüger, to the

World Junior Hockey Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), sometimes referred to as World Juniors, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is traditionally ...

. He had previously practiced with Djurgården's J20 team before signing on for the senior team. After his stint at Djurgården he moved on to KHL team Salavat Yulaev. Hannula played a total of 13 games, scoring 3 goals and 10 points. He moved on to league rival

Metallurg Magnitogorsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk () is a professional ice hockey club based in Magnitogorsk, Russia. It is a member of the Kharlamov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). The club also competed in the Champions Hockey League (2008–09), Champion ...

for the

2010–11 KHL season The 2010–11 KHL season was the third season of the Kontinental Hockey League. It was held from 8 September 2010 and ended on 16 April 2011. The season started with the Opening Cup game between the last season's finalists, Ak Bars Kazan and UH ...

; however, he was able to play only one game for the team due to an injury. His contract was terminated and he spent the rest of the 2010 fall rehabilitating. Hannula signed on again for Djurgården in the beginning of January 2011, a contract that expired at the end of the

2010–11 Elitserien season The 2010–11 Elitserien season was the 36th season of Elitserien. The regular season ran from 15 September 2010 to 5 March 2011, and the following playoffs ended on 14 April. HV71 won the regular season, scoring the game-winning empty net goal ...

. On 30 August 2011, Hannula signed a contract of unknown duration with

Modo Hockey Modo Hockey (or MoDo with uppercase letters) is a professional ice hockey club in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The team currently plays in Sweden's second-tier league HockeyAllsvenskan after losing to HV71 after the play out following the 2024/25 se ...

of the Swedish Elitserien. The contract ended on 16 October, one day after a game against

Luleå HF Luleå Hockeyförening, also known as Luleå Hockey, is a professional ice hockey club from Luleå, Sweden. The club has been playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden, since the 1984–85 season. They are ...

which ended 3–1 in Modo's favour. Hannula recorded two goals and one assist in that game, but after just two goals in twelve games he was not expected to stay with the team. However, on 17 October 2011, Hannula extended his contract with Modo to expire on 5 November. On 21 November 2011, the

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

team

Espoo Blues Kiekko-Espoo is a Finnish professional ice hockey club founded in 2018 as a continuation of the Kiekko-Espoo team originally founded in 1984. Kiekko-Espoo men's team plays in the Liiga, where they were promoted for the 2024–25 Liiga season, 20 ...

announced having signed the forward for the current season.

Off the ice

Hannula is of Finnish descent through his father, and he has a younger brother,

Ronnie Ronnie may refer to: *Ronnie (name), a unisex pet name and given name * "Ronnie" (Four Seasons song), a song by FreakBob Gaudio and Bob Crewe * "Ronnie" (Metallica song), a song from the Metallica album ''Load'' *Ronnie Brunswijkstadion, an associ ...

, who is also a hockey player.

Awards

* Played in the

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

All-Star Game in 2002. * Silver medal at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in 2003. * Gold medal at the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

in 2006. * Gold medal at the World Championships in 2006.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hannula, Mika 1979 births Living people Djurgårdens IF (men's hockey) players Espoo Blues players Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Hammarby Hockey (1921–2008) players HC CSKA Moscow players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players HV71 players Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players Malmö Redhawks players Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Minnesota Wild draft picks Modo Hockey players Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic ice hockey players for Sweden Olympic medalists in ice hockey Salavat Yulaev Ufa players SKA Saint Petersburg players Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Swedish ice hockey right wingers Swedish people of Finnish descent