Kasimir Kaskisuo (born 2 October 1993) is a Finnish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

for

Leksands IF Leksands Idrottsförening is a Swedish ice hockey team from the town of Leksand in the region of Dalarna. The team plays in the top-tier league, SHL, after succeeding through the 2019 SHL qualifiers and thus earning promotion to the SHL. The c ...

of the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (officially SHL; sv, Svenska Hockeyligan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, an ...

(SHL). He has previously played for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

and the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Collegiate

While playing with the

Minnesota Wilderness The Minnesota Wilderness are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Cloquet, Minnesota, and play in the North American Hockey League (NAHL). The organization formerly fielded teams in the Canada-based Junior A Superior International Junior Ho ...

in the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

, Kaskisuo committed to play collegiate hockey with the

University of Minnesota–Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year progra ...

. In his freshman year, Kaskisuo recorded a .923 save percentage to earn NCHC Rookie of the Week honors. He later went 5–0–0 with a .949 save percentage to earn the Bauer National Collegiate Hockey Conference Goalie of the Week. By the end of the month, he was named Hockey Commissioners' Association Rookie of the Month for November. At the conclusion of the 2014–15 season, Kaskisuo was named to the All-Rookie Team, and a finalist for Goaltender of the Year. He was also elected the University of Minnesota–Duluth's Most Valuable Player for the 2014–15 season. Prior to his sophomore season, Kaskisuo was named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List for the 2015–16 season. 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. He was also named a finalist for the

Mike Richter Award The Mike Richter Award is an annual award given to the goaltender voted to be the most outstanding in Division I NCAA men's ice hockey during the regular season. The award is named in honor of former Wisconsin goaltender Mike Richter. The inaugur ...

as the most outstanding in Division I NCAA men's ice hockey.

Professional

On 28 March 2016, Kaskisuo signed a two-way contract with the

, and began play with its

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

affiliates, the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) and the

Orlando Solar Bears The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning of t ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. On 29 May 2018, the Maple Leafs signed Kaskisuo to another two-way contract that lasted two years. During the 2017–18 season, the Maple Leafs loaned Kaskisuo to the AHL's

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

. On 12 November 2019, the Maple Leafs called-up Kaskisuo to serve as their backup goaltender. On 16 November 2019, he made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs against the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

in a 6-1 loss in Pittsburgh. In the summer of 2020, the Maple Leafs hosted one of the two "bubbles" where the NHL held the

2020 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL). The playoffs began on August 1, 2020, and concluded on September 28, 2020, with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning their second Stanley Cup in franchise ...

. 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

as a free agent. 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,

, on 4 June 2021.

Personal life

Kaskisuo met his wife Whitney while in college. They have one daughter together. Kaskisuo also runs a YouTube channel in which he discusses life as a professional hockey player and his life experiences. 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

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaskisuo, Kasimir 1993 births Chicago Wolves players Finnish ice hockey goaltenders Leksands IF players Living people Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs men's ice hockey players Nashville Predators players Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) players Sportspeople from Vantaa Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players Undrafted National Hockey League players