Tapio Levo

Tapio Levo
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 191 lb (87 kg)
Teams	SM-liiga Ässät HPK NHL Colorado Rockies New Jersey Devils 1. Divisioona Junkkarit HT
Born	(1955-09-24)September 24, 1955, Pori, FIN
NHL Draft	139th overall, 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins
Pro Career	1972 – 1993

Tapio Levo (born September 24, 1955 in Pori, Finland) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga and National Hockey League. He played for Ässät in Finland, and the New Jersey Devils and Colorado Rockies in the NHL. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995.

Levo played his first game with the local Assat club in 1972-73. This began a long association with the club which lasted until the end of the 1988-89 season. Along the way he was one of the top offensive rearguards in the country and was a key part of Assat Pori's national championship in 1978.

Internationally, Levo made his first international appearance for Finland at the 1975 World Championship. He later played on five Finnish teams at the World Championships as well as the 1976 Canada Cup and 1981 Canada Cup. The slick blueliner was also named to the Finnish first all-star team in 1984 and 1985.

Levo's NHL career materialized after he signed with the Colorado Rockies in July, 1981. He scored 22 points in 34 games as an NHL rookie on the weak club in 1981-82. In the off-season his rights were transferred to the New Jersey Devils after the Colorado franchise relocated. Levo scored 47 points for the club but still finished with a plus/minus rating of -41 on the defensively horrid Devils. He returned to Finland the next season and played six more years with Assat Pori before retiring in 1989.

External links

• Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame bio

This article is part of the Finnish hockey portal