Kaskisuo has become Marlies’ finisher
Netminder was eighth goalie to win a game for Toronto, now he’s No. 1 in playoffs
The Toronto Marlies needed a boost of confidence during their AHL firstround playoff series with Albany. Enter Kasimir Kaskisuo.
The 23-year-old Finn has proved the perfect remedy for the Marlies, who lost starter Garret Sparks early in the series to a leg injury.
“What he’s shown is he has confidence,” Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe said Thursday during an optional practice ahead of Friday’s Game 4 at Ricoh Coliseum.
The Marlies lead the best-of-five series 2-1.
“He’s waited for his opportunity and now he’s ready . . . He has his teammates believing in him, they feel good with him in the net, and that’s the depth you want in your organization when one of your goalies (Sparks) goes down.”
The post-season might be a feelgood ending for Kaskisuo, who is expected to start Friday. He was signed by the Leafs 13 months ago out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. A former product of the Jokerit hockey system, he felt stranded on the goalie depth chart there, and decided to take a path less travelled by his coun- trymen — U.S. college hockey.
Now, after spending much of the season in the ECHL with the Orlando Solar Bears, he is in the playoff spotlight in Toronto. He had a 5-1 record and .934 save percentage in seven regular-season games with the Marlies.
He was one of eight goalies to win a game for the Marlies this season, an AHL record.
It has been suggested the Leafs became intrigued with Kaskisuo while watching Minnesota-Duluth products Dominic Toninato, a Leafs draft pick in 2012, and Tony Cameranesi, a 2011 pick now with the Marlies.
But the Leafs paid the 23-year-old native of Vantaa, Finland, the maxi- mum rookie salary of $925,000, plus up to $850,000 in bonuses, which suggests they thought highly of him and his potential to build depth at the goaltending position.
Kaskisuo felt his career with Jokerit was near a dead end at 20, when he was behind three other goalies with pro contracts.
“I had friends who played university hockey, but it’s a route that no one hears about in Finland,” said Kaskisuo, who met his wife, Whitney, at Minnesota-Duluth.
“I was excited to go, I felt it wasn’t going great for me in Finland. I wanted to play junior hockey but the opportunities were good for me to pick a good school.”