Hannu Pikkarainen
Hannu Pikkarainen (TPS, 2012)
Hannu Pikkarainen ( born October 13, 1983 in Helsinki ) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is last at TPS Turku in the Finnish SM- liiga under contract.
Career
Hannu Pikkarainen began his career as a hockey player in his hometown in the junior department of the HIFK Helsinki for the first team he held until 2006, was active from 2002 in the SM- liiga, the top Finnish league. In August 2005, the defender had signed a two year contract with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League, however, was initially awarded by the Rangers for another year at its regular club HIFK. For the 2006/07 season he was finally ordered to North America, was there but not prevail and played throughout the season for the farm teams of New York, the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League and the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL total of just 21 games, in which he scored twelve points scorer.
From 2007 to 2009 Pikkarainen returned to HIFK Helsinki. Then he moved to the Swedish Elitserien, where he spent the 2009/10 season at MODO Hockey as a regular player. With 43 scorer points, of which eleven goals in 50 games he was able to recommend for a contract in the Kontinental Hockey League and eventually became for the season 2010/11 committed by the Belarusian club HC Dinamo Minsk. After 16 KHL inserts in three months Pikkarainen was released in December 2010 by Dinamo. Two days later he was again obliged by MODO Hockey of the Elitserien, for whom he played until season's end. For the season 2011/12 he moved to the league rivals Skellefteå AIK.
Internationally
For Finland Pikkarainen took three games of the 2007 Euro Hockey Tour in part, in which he finished fourth and thus last place with his team.