Otto Leskinen (born 6 February 1997) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player for Tappara of the Liiga. Leskinen has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) as well as the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
| Otto Leskinen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
6 February 1997 Pieksämäki, Finland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| Liiga team Former teams |
Tappara KalPa Montreal Canadiens Jokerit | ||
| National team |
 Finland | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2015–present | ||
Playing career
editLeading up to the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Leskinen was ranked 114th overall International Skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[1] While he went undrafted in North America, Leskinen signed a three-year contract extension with KalPa on 29 April 2015.[2] He signed a two-year extension with KalPa on 21 November 2017.[3]
In June 2018, Leskinen was invited to attend the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) training camp.[4] In December 2018, Leskinen helped lead Kalpa to their first Spengler Cup Championship.[5] He recorded one point during the tournament, an assist off captain Tommi Jokinen's goal in the semi-finals.[6]
Leskinen had a breakout season in the final year of his contract. He recorded a career-high 31 points, 23 assists, and 8 goals in 57 games during the 2018–19 season. As a result, Leskinen signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens in May 2019.[7] He was invited to their annual development camp in June that year[8] and competed in their pre-season games.[9] He made his NHL debut in a 3–2 defeat against the Colorado Avalanche on 5 December 2019.[10] After playing five games for the Canadiens, Leskinen returned to the Laval Rocket for the remainder of the season.
On 4 August 2020, Leskinen was returned by the Canadiens on loan to former club, KalPa of the Liiga, to begin the 2020–21 season due to the delayed North American season as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
As a free agent from the Canadiens organization, Leskinen was signed by Finnish outfit, Jokerit of the KHL, agreeing to a two-year contract on 15 June 2021.[12] After splitting time between the foregoing and Tappara of Liiga, Leskinen returned to the Canadiens organization via a one-year, two-way contract signed on 14 June 2022.[13]
Following the 2022–23 season within the Canadiens organization, Leskinen left the organization as a pending free agent and returned to his former club, Tappara of the Liiga, on a two-year contract on 10 May 2023.[14]
International play
editLeskinen competed with the U18 Team Finland squad at the 2015 IIHF World U18 Championships, where he won a silver medal.[15]
Leskinen was selected to try out for Team Finland ahead of the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, but failed to make the final cut.[16] In February 2019, Leskinen was selected to compete for Team Finland in the Euro Hockey Tour.[17] He was later invited to tryout for Team Finland's World Championship team.[18]
Player profile
edit“Leskinen’s biggest strength is his skating, playmaking, and his ability to join the offence as a defenceman.”
– KalPa skating coach Marko Tuomainen on the Canadiens signing Leskinen.[19]
Described as a smooth-skating, offensive defenceman, Leskinen was praised for his ability to help on a power play.[20]
Personal life
editHe graduated from Vocational and Adult College of Savonia.[21]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2013–14 | KalPa | Jr. A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | KalPa | Jr. A | 44 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | KalPa | Jr. A | 28 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 39 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 2015–16 | KalPa | Liiga | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | KalPa | Liiga | 50 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | KalPa | Jr. A | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Iisalmen Peli-Karhut | Mestis | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | KalPa | Liiga | 52 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | KalPa | Jr. A | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | KalPa | Liiga | 57 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Laval Rocket | AHL | 52 | 2 | 20 | 22 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | KalPa | Liiga | 17 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Laval Rocket | AHL | 33 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Jokerit | KHL | 35 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Tappara | Liiga | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Laval Rocket | AHL | 24 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Liiga totals | 205 | 19 | 54 | 73 | 78 | 35 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 2 | ||||
| NHL totals | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| KHL totals | 35 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Finland | U18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| Junior totals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||
Awards and honours
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Liiga | ||
| Kanada-malja champion | 2022 | [22] |
References
edit- ^ "2015 NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings: International Skaters". nhl.com. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "U18 MM-hopeajoukkueen ykköskentän puolustajalle pitkä sopimus". kalpa.fi (in Finnish). 29 April 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "KalPa solmi kolme tärkeää jatkosopimusta". kalpa.fi (in Finnish). 21 November 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Canadiens will hold Development Camp from June 28 to July 1 in Brossard". nhl.com. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Canada drops shootout against KalPa Kuopio in Spengler Cup final". sportsnet.ca. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "TOMMI JOKINEN SHOOTS KALPA KUOPIO INTO THE SEMI-FINALS". spenglercup.ch. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Canadiens agree to terms with defenseman Otto Leskinen". NHL.com. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Canadiens will hold their annual development camp from June 26–28". nhl.com. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ Braverman, Dan (17 September 2019). "Twenty-two players to travel to New Brunswick for Kraft Hockeyville". nhl.com. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ Cowan, Stu (2019-12-06). "Canadiens Game Day: Habs lose game and Jesperi Kotkaniemi". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
- ^ "Otto Leskinen loaned to KalPa". Montreal Canadiens. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ "Kalle Kossila and Otto Leskinen in a Jokerit jersey" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^ "Canadiens agree to a one-year contract with Otto Leskinen". NHL.com. June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
- ^ "Tappara announce roster transactions" (in Finnish). Tappara. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ "Otto Leskinen". hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Finland finalizes roster for World Juniors". nhl.com. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Luostarinen ja Leskinen A-maajoukkueen mukana Ruotsin EHT-turnauksessa". kalpa.fi (in Finnish). 4 February 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "Leskinen ja Luostarinen mukaan MM-leiritykseen". kalpa.fi (in Finnish). 4 March 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ Bexell, Patrik (7 May 2019). "'His play in the offensive zone was his big asset': A closer look at Otto Leskinen". habseyesontheprize.com. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ Cudzinowski, Matt (8 May 2019). "Ikonen: Leskinen 'lethal' on the power play". nhl.com. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- ^ "KalPan A-nuorille nuorten SM-liigan pronssia, Onnea!". sakky.fi (in Finnish). 5 April 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ^ "Finnish championship goes to Tappara". International Ice Hockey Federation. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database