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Leo Komarov
Komarov
Born (1987-01-23)23 January 1987,
Narva, Estonian SSR, Soviet Union
Height
Weight
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
NHL team
F. teams
Toronto Maple Leafs
Ässät
Pelicans
Dynamo Moscow
Ntl. team Flag of Finland Finland
NHL Draft 180th overall, 2006
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 2005–present

Leonid Aleksandrovich Komarov (Russian: Леонид Александрович Комаров,, Leonid Aleksandrovich Komarov; born 23 January 1987) is an Estonian-born Finnish–Russian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for and an alternate captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). A natural centre early in his career, Komarov has made the transition to being able to play all three forward positions.

Raised in Finland, Komarov is the first Estonian-born player in the NHL.[1] Komarov was a member of the gold medal-winning Finnish national team in the 2011 IIHF World Championship.

Playing career[]

After playing with different junior teams, Komarov started his career in the SM-liiga with Ässät. After winning a silver medal with Ässät in 2006, he moved to Pelicans. After his season with Ässät, he was chosen in the sixth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, 180th overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Komarov captained Finland at the 2007 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Leksand and Mora, Sweden.

During the 2009–10 season, Komarov played with Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Komarov won a gold medal with Finland at the 2011 IIHF World Championships in Bratislava and Košice, Slovakia.

In May 2012, Komarov agreed to terms with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2012–13 season.[2] The reported value of his contract was $1.2 million, including bonuses.[3] He played his first career NHL game on 19 January 2013, and he scored his first NHL goal, a game winner, against the Montreal Canadiens on 9 February 2013.[4]

After one season with the Maple Leafs, Komarov left the NHL to sign a one-year contract to return with Dynamo Moscow in June 2013, with the ambition to make the Finnish 2014 Winter Olympic squad in a more offensive role with Dynamo; he made the roster, also serving as an alternate captain.

Despite signing with Dynamo Moscow, Komarov stated that he was not done with the NHL, and a year later, on 1 July 2014, he signed a four-year deal worth $2.9 million per season to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs.[5] Komarov played well following the signing, recording 4 goals and 16 assists in his first 23 games of the season, as well as 99 hits, good enough for third in the league as of late November.[6] However, a blindside hit from former Dynamo Moscow linemate Alexander Ovechkin on November 29 left Komarov with concussion issues, and he would score at a lackluster pace for the rest of the season.[6]

Komarov would rebound the next season and excel under new head coach Mike Babcock. Komarov, who previously played on Toronto's 2nd, 3rd lines and 4th lines, was now experiencing top line duties (taking Phil Kessel's spot), and occasionally reprising his role on the second. He led the Maple Leafs in goals and points up to the Christmas break. Shortly after, he was named to the 2016 NHL All-Star Game on 6 January 2016, in reward for his strong play.[7] Komarov's production declined in the latter half of the season, partially due to the loss of teammate James van Riemsdyk in January to injury. Despite this, Komarov finished the year third in team scoring with 36 points, behind only P.A. Parenteau and Nazem Kadri.

Personal[]

Komarov was born in Narva, then part of the Estonian SSR of the Soviet Union, to Russian parents.[8] When he was five years old, Komarov's family moved to the Swedish-speaking town of Nykarleby, Finland, when his father Alexander Komarov accepted a contract to play ice hockey there.[9][10] Because his father was of Ingranian-Finish descent,[11] the family was able to permanently reside there.[12] Leo Komarov also holds dual Russian-Finnish citizenship.[13]

Komarov is multi-lingual and can speak four languages: Swedish, Finnish, Russian and English.[14]

Komarov is married to Juulia Manner. The pair tied the knot on 2 July 2016 in Suomenlinna part of Helsinki, Finland, after dating for 10 years.[15] Among the guests were Maple Leafs teammates Nazem Kadri, Michael Grabner and Rich Clune.

Career statistics[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Hermes Jr. C SM-sarja 14 7 12 19 8
2003–04 Sport Jr. B SM-sarja 19 6 9 15 6
2004–05 Ässät Jr. A SM-sarja 34 6 5 11 59
2005–06 Ässät Jr. A SM-sarja 10 5 6 11 59
2005–06 Team Finland U20 Mestis 5 0 3 3 4
2005-06 Ässät SM-liiga 44 3 3 6 106 14 1 3 4 22
2006–07 Team Finland U20 Mestis 1 1 0 1 0
2006-07 Pelicans SM-liiga 49 3 9 12 108 6 1 0 1 6
2007-08 Pelicans SM-liiga 53 4 10 14 76 6 1 1 2 8
2008-09 Pelicans SM-liiga 56 8 16 24 144 10 0 1 1 16
2009-10 Dynamo Moscow KHL 47 5 11 16 44 - - - - -
2010-11 Dynamo Moscow KHL 52 14 12 26 70 6 4 2 6 2
2011-12 Dynamo Moscow KHL 46 11 13 24 58 20 5 2 7 49
2012-13 Toronto Marlies AHL 14 6 3 9 22
2012-13 Dynamo Moscow KHL 13 2 8 10 42
2012-13 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 42 4 5 9 18 7 0 0 0 17
2013-14 Dynamo Moscow KHL 52 12 22 34 42 7 3 1 4 22
2014-15 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 62 8 18 26 18
2015-16 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 67 19 17 36 40
NHL totals 171 31 40 71 40 7 0 0 0 17
KHL totals 210 44 66 110 256 37 12 6 18 89
Liiga totals 202 18 38 56 434 36 3 5 8 52

International statistics[]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2006 Finland WJC Bronze medal icon 7 0 3 3 32
2007 Finland WJC 6th 6 2 1 3 16
2009 Finland WC 5th 5 0 1 1 4
2010 Finland WC 6th 7 1 0 1 0
2011 Finland WC Gold medal icon 8 0 2 2 2
2012 Finland WC 4th 10 1 0 1 4
2014 Finland Oly Bronze medal icon 6 0 0 0 0
2014 Finland WC Silver medal icon 10 1 2 3 6
2015 Finland WC 6th 7 2 1 3 29
2016 Finland WC Silver medal icon 10 3 4 7 8
2016 Finland WCH 8th 3 0 1 1 2
Junior totals 13 2 4 6 48
Senior totals 66 8 11 19 55

All Star Game[]

Year Location   GP G A Pts
2016 Nashville 2 0 1 1
All-Star totals 2 0 1 1

Awards and honours[]

  • 2009 – First Channel Cup
  • 2010 – Winner SHHI
  • 2011 – IIHF World Champion
  • 2011 – Medal "For military cooperation"
  • 2011 – KHL All-Star Game participant
  • 2012 – Gagarin Cup[9]
  • First Estonian born NHL player[1]
  • 2016NHL All-Star

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Johnston, Chris. Johnston on Leafs: Holzer making most of chance. Sportsnet. Retrieved on 19 February 2013.
  2. NHL kutsuu Leo Komarovia (Finnish). MTV3fi (14 May 2012). Retrieved on 19 February 2013.
  3. Leo Komarov. capgeek.com. Retrieved on 2 February 2013.
  4. Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens – 09/02/2013 – Toronto Maple Leafs – Boxscore. National Hockey League. Retrieved on 19 February 2013.
  5. Leafs sign Robidas; Welcome back Frattin, Komarov. The Sports Network (2014-07-01). Retrieved on 2014-07-01.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Leafs’ Komarov misses practice after Ovie hit. Roger's Sportsnet (2014-12-01). Retrieved on 2016-01-07.
  7. NHL announces full rosters for '16 NHL All-Star Game. National Hockey League (2016-01-06). Retrieved on 2016-01-07.
  8. Feschuk, Dave. "Komarov a compelling prospect for Leafs: Feschuk", 16 January 2013. Retrieved on 2 February 2013. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}. (Russian). HC Dynamo. Retrieved on 4 February 2013.
  10. Leo Komarov. eliteprospects.com. Retrieved on 19 February 2013.
  11. Mirtle, James. "Meet Leo Komarov, the Leafs’ international man of mystery", 11 November 2014. Retrieved on 14 May 2015. 
  12. архив газеты "Молодежь Эстонии" (Narvityanin on the way to the NHL) (Russian). Молодежь Эстонии. Retrieved on 4 February 2013.
  13. Leo Komarovin huima pesti KHL:ään varmistui – Jääkiekko – Ilta-Sanomat (Finnish). iltasanomat.fi. Retrieved on 19 February 2013.
  14. Johnston, Chris. "Maple Leafs ‘dynamic’ prospect Leo Komarov hopes to make the jump from KHL", 7 May 2012. Retrieved on 2 February 2013. 
  15. Ari, Yanover (3 July 2016). Leo Komarov is married!. Retrieved on 3 July 2016.

External links[]

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