Kasimir Kaskisuo

Kasimir Kaskisuo (born 2 October 1993) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He has previously played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Nashville Predators in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Kasimir Kaskisuo
Kaskisuo with the Toronto Marlies in 2020
Born (1993-10-02) 2 October 1993
Vantaa, Finland
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
team
Former teams		 Free Agent
Toronto Maple Leafs
Nashville Predators
Leksands IF
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2016–present

Playing career

Collegiate

While playing with the Minnesota Wilderness in the North American Hockey League, Kaskisuo committed to play collegiate hockey with the University of Minnesota–Duluth.[1] In his freshman year, Kaskisuo recorded a .923 save percentage to earn NCHC Rookie of the Week honors.[2] He later went 5–0–0 with a .949 save percentage to earn the Bauer National Collegiate Hockey Conference Goalie of the Week.[3] By the end of the month, he was named Hockey Commissioners' Association Rookie of the Month for November.[4] At the conclusion of the 2014–15 season, Kaskisuo was named to the All-Rookie Team,[5] and a finalist for Goaltender of the Year.[6] He was also elected the University of Minnesota–Duluth's Most Valuable Player for the 2014–15 season.[7]

Prior to his sophomore season, Kaskisuo was named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List for the 2015–16 season.[8] At the conclusion of the season, Kaskisuo was chosen for the American Sports Network Player of the Week after making a career-high 49 saves in a game against St. Cloud State University.[9] He was also named a finalist for the Mike Richter Award as the most outstanding in Division I NCAA men's ice hockey.[10]

Professional

On 28 March 2016, Kaskisuo signed a two-way contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and began play with its minor league affiliates, the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL.[11] On 29 May 2018, the Maple Leafs signed Kaskisuo to another two-way contract that lasted two years.[12] During the 2017–18 season, the Maple Leafs loaned Kaskisuo to the AHL's Chicago Wolves.[13]

On 12 November 2019, the Maple Leafs called-up Kaskisuo to serve as their backup goaltender.[14] On 16 November 2019, he made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 6-1 loss in Pittsburgh.[15]

In the summer of 2020, the Maple Leafs hosted one of the two "bubbles" where the NHL held the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. Each team had to choose a third goaltender in case of emergency, and the Maple Leafs chose Kaskisuo.

On 13 October 2020, after five seasons with the Maple Leafs organization, Kaskisuo signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Nashville Predators as a free agent.[16]

Following his sixth professional season within North America, Kaskisuo opted to return to Europe as a free agent, agreeing to a two-year contract with Swedish SHL club, Leksands IF, on 4 June 2021.[17] Having made 64 combined SHL and Champions League appearances for 30 wins, Kaskisuo left the club as at the conclusion of his two-year tenure with the Leksands on 21 March 2023.[18]

Personal life
Kasimir Kaskisuo
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2020–present
Subscribers49 thousand[19]
Total views5 million[19]
Last updated: 2 May 2023

Kaskisuo met his wife Whitney while in college.[20] They have one daughter together.[21] Kaskisuo also runs a YouTube channel in which he discusses life as a professional hockey player and his life experiences.[22] As of November 2022, Kaskisuo's channel has 45 800 subscribers and over 4 million views. The channel has been active since 2020.

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2010–11 Jokerit Jr. A 6 — — — 358 — — 2.51 .920 2 — — — — — 2.43 .919
2011–12 Jokerit Jr. A 9 5 1 0 424 20 0 2.82 .888 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 BeWe TuusKi 2.Div 2 — — — 120 5 0 2.50 .915 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Jokerit Jr. A 13 — — — 751 34 1 2.72 .905 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Minnesota Wilderness NAHL 32 21 6 5 1,951 48 9 1.48 .944 5 2 2 274 8 1 1.75 .943
2014–15 U. of Minnesota–Duluth NCHC 36 18 14 3 2,114 81 1 2.30 .917 — — — — — — — —
2015–16 U. of Minnesota–Duluth NCHC 39 19 15 5 2,350 75 5 1.92 .923 — — — — — — — —
2015–16 Toronto Marlies AHL 2 1 0 1 125 5 0 2.40 .906 — — — — — — — —
2016–17 Orlando Solar Bears ECHL 32 14 11 2 1,842 106 1 3.45 .899 — — — — — — — —
2016–17 Toronto Marlies AHL 7 5 1 0 391 12 1 1.84 .934 10 5 3 564 25 0 2.66 .892
2017–18 Toronto Marlies AHL 1 1 0 0 60 1 0 1.00 .963 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Orlando Solar Bears ECHL 2 1 1 0 123 8 0 3.91 .884 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Chicago Wolves AHL 28 13 13 2 1,613 64 2 2.38 .914 — — — — — — — —
2018–19 Toronto Marlies AHL 30 12 9 5 1,624 83 4 3.07 .896 12 9 3 730 26 1 2.14 .927
2019–20 Toronto Marlies AHL 27 14 9 2 1,529 71 1 2.79 .909 — — — — — — — —
2019–20 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 1 0 1 0 60 6 0 6.00 .842 — — — — — — — —
2020–21 Nashville Predators NHL 1 0 0 0 15 0 0 0.00 1.000 — — — — — — — —
2021–22 Leksands IF SHL 46 23 22 0 2,730 120 2 2.64 .910 3 1 2 175 7 0 2.39 .911
2022–23 Leksands IF SHL 14 3 9 0 728 40 0 3.30 .879 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 2 0 1 0 75 6 0 4.78 .854 — — — — — — — —
SHL totals 60263103,45816022.78.904 312175702.39.911

Awards and honors
Award Year Ref
AHL
All-Star Classic 2020 [23]
NAHL
Best GAA (1.48) 2014
Best SVS% (.944) 2014
College
NCHC All-Rookie Team 2015
NCHC Honorable Mention All-Star Team 2016

References
  1. "Wilderness' Finnish goalie Kaskisuo commits to UMD". Duluth News Tribune. 15 January 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  2. "UMD'S FARLEY, KASKISUO AMONG NCHC AWARD WINNERS FOR THIS WEEK". umdbulldogs.com. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  3. "UMD'S KASKISUO GLOVES LATEST NCHC GOALIE OF THE WEEK HONOR". umdbulldogs.com. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  4. "UMD'S KASKISUO LANDS HCA NATIONAL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH HONOR". umdbulldogs.com. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  5. "NCHC ALL-CONFERENCE, ALL-ROOKIE TEAMS ANNOUNCED FOR 2014-15". nchchockey.com. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  6. "UMD'S SANDELIN, WELINSKI AND KASKISUO ALL UP FOR NCHC INDIVIDUAL AWARDS". umdbulldogs.com. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  7. "KASKISUO VOTED UMD'S MOST VALUABLE PLAYER FOR 2014-15". umdbulldogs.com. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  8. "UMD'S KASKISUO AMONG 20 GOALIES NAMED TO 2015-16 MIKE RICHTER AWARD WATCH LIST". umdbulldogs.com. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  9. "KASKISUO SELECTED AMERICAN SPORTS NETWORK'S NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK". umdbulldogs.com. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  10. "UMD'S KASKISUO AMONG 26 NOMINEES FOR 2015-16 MIKE RICHTER AWARD". umdbulldogs.com. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  11. "Maple Leafs sign Kasimir Kaskisuo to entry-level contract". National Hockey League. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  12. "Maple Leafs Sign Kasimir Kaskisuo". National Hockey League. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  13. "Kaskisuo to backstop wolves". chicagowolves.com. Rosemont Hockey Partners, L.P. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  14. Zwolinkski, Mark (12 November 2019). "Leafs recall Kasimir Kaskisuo to be their new backup goaltender". Toronto Star. Torstar Corporation. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  15. Zwolinski, Mark (16 November 2019). "Leafs look in the mirror after dismal defeat in Kaskisuo's NHL debut". Toronto Star. Torstar Corporation. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  16. "Predators sign Kasimir Kaskisuo to one-year contract". Nashville Predators. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  17. "A goalkeeper and forward join LIF" (in Swedish). Leksands IF. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  18. "Three players leave the men's team" (in Swedish). Leksands IF. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  19. "About Kasimir Kaskisuo". YouTube.
  20. Zwolinski, Mark (27 April 2017). "Long road paying dividends for Marlies goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  21. Serrao, Vanessa (19 November 2019). "Kasimir Kaskisuo makes NHL debut". blastingnews.com. Retrieved 2 August 2020. He claims that the birth of his daughter helped him get on track last season
  22. Bratten, Brooks (8 January 2021). "#PredsCamp Player Profile: Kasimir Kaskisuo". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  23. "Rosters announced for 2020 AHL All-Star Classic".
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