Leo Donald Koopmans (born November 28, 1953) is a former
Dutch international
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 ...
forward. Koopmans played 15 seasons in the
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
, becoming the league's top scorer for 1977-8. He was born in
Barrie, Ontario
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...
and since his retirement has continued to reside in the Barrie area where he owns a successful swimming pool construction business.
A 196 cm, 97 kg forward, Koopmans first played in the Dutch top division with
HYS Veronica 538 in 1972. The next season, he left The Hague to join the Heerenveen Flyers. In 1975 he played for
Tigers Amsterdam and for 1976-7
Nijmegen Tigers
Nijmegen Tigers was a Dutch ice hockey club based in Nijmegen until 2003, when it was forced into bankruptcy. It has been succeeded by the Nijmegen Devils
The Select4-u Devils Nijmegen is an ice hockey club in Nijmegen, Netherlands, they play ...
. Koopmans rejoined Heerenveen for 1977-8 and won the league's scoring title with 39 goals and 40 assists in 30 games. He remained with the Flyers until 1984, when he joined
GIJS Groningen
Gijs is a Dutch masculine given name, which is a variant of Gijsbert, derived from the German name Gisbert. The ''Gis'' element is derived from ''gisil'', meaning "pledge" or "hostage".''Behind the Name''"Given Name Gisbert" Retrieved on 24 Janua ...
. He retired from top-level play in 1987.
He played 20 times for the
Netherlands
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, established_title = Before independence
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at an international level, including at the
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States.
Lake Placid was elected ...
.
Koopmans went scoreless in all 5 of the Netherlands games in Lake Placid as the team finished 8th. He played in two world championships. In
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
, the only time the country has competed in the contest's top tier, Koopmans scored 4 goals and an assist in 8 games. In Pool B in 1987, he scored 5 goals and collected 5 assists in 7 games.
References
External links
*
1953 births
Living people
Amstel Tijgers players
Canadian ice hockey forwards
Canadian people of Dutch descent
Dutch ice hockey forwards
GIJS Groningen players
Heerenveen Flyers players
HYS The Hague players
Ice hockey players at the 1980 Winter Olympics
Nijmegen Tigers players
Olympic ice hockey players for the Netherlands
Ice hockey people from Barrie
{{Netherlands-icehockey-bio-stub