Otto Leskinen

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) in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Otto Leskinen
Born (1997-02-06) 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

Leading up to the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Leskinen was ranked 114th over all 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 break out 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 former club, Tappara of the Liiga, on a two-year contract on 10 May 2023.[14]

International play

Leskinen 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

“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

He graduated from Vocational and Adult College of Savonia.[21]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
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
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2015 Finland U18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 0 0 0 4
Junior totals 7 0 0 0 4

Awards and honours
Award Year
Liiga
Kanada-malja champion 2022 [22]

References
  1. "2015 NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings: International Skaters". nhl.com. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  2. "U18 MM-hopeajoukkueen ykköskentän puolustajalle pitkä sopimus". kalpa.fi (in Finnish). 29 April 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  3. "KalPa solmi kolme tärkeää jatkosopimusta". kalpa.fi (in Finnish). 21 November 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  4. "Canadiens will hold Development Camp from June 28 to July 1 in Brossard". nhl.com. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  5. "Canada drops shootout against KalPa Kuopio in Spengler Cup final". sportsnet.ca. 31 December 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  6. "TOMMI JOKINEN SHOOTS KALPA KUOPIO INTO THE SEMI-FINALS". spenglercup.ch. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  7. "Canadiens agree to terms with defenseman Otto Leskinen". NHL.com. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  8. "Canadiens will hold their annual development camp from June 26–28". nhl.com. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  9. Braverman, Dan (17 September 2019). "Twenty-two players to travel to New Brunswick for Kraft Hockeyville". nhl.com. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  10. Cowan, Stu (2019-12-06). "Canadiens Game Day: Habs lose game and Jesperi Kotkaniemi". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  11. "Otto Leskinen loaned to KalPa". Montreal Canadiens. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  12. "Kalle Kossila and Otto Leskinen in a Jokerit jersey" (in Finnish). Jokerit. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  13. "Canadiens agree to a one-year contract with Otto Leskinen". NHL.com. June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  14. "Tappara announce roster transactions" (in Finnish). Tappara. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  15. "Otto Leskinen". hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  16. "Finland finalizes roster for World Juniors". nhl.com. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  17. "Luostarinen ja Leskinen A-maajoukkueen mukana Ruotsin EHT-turnauksessa". kalpa.fi (in Finnish). 4 February 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  18. "Leskinen ja Luostarinen mukaan MM-leiritykseen". kalpa.fi (in Finnish). 4 March 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  19. 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.
  20. Cudzinowski, Matt (8 May 2019). "Ikonen: Leskinen 'lethal' on the power play". nhl.com. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  21. "KalPan A-nuorille nuorten SM-liigan pronssia, Onnea!". sakky.fi (in Finnish). 5 April 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  22. "Finnish championship goes to Tappara". International Ice Hockey Federation. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
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