Yrjö Hakala

Yrjö Hakala joined Ilves Tampere in 1948 and stayed with them through 1952, winning national titles in his final three years. He then moved to HPK Hämeenlinna for two seasons, and then Tappara through 1963. During his tenure with the latter team, he captured another three national championships (1955, 1959, and 1961). He spent the rest of his career, through 1968, with SaiPa. He was twice Finnish player of the year, in 1955 and 1958, and the top league points scorer in 1954 and goalscorer in 1955.

Hakala’s first major international appearance came at the 1951 World Championships, where Finland was seventh, before attending his first edition of the Olympics in Oslo the following year, where his country had the same placement. Although he missed the 1956 Winter Olympics, as Finland did not qualify, he attended every edition of the World Championships through 1959, as well as the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics, where Finland was again seventh. Many of those years, Hakala served as team captain. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985.