Josh Leivo

Joshua Leivo (born May 26, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently playing under contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

He had previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) within the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and St. Louis Blues organization.

Born and raised in Ontario, Leivo played with the Barrie Colts U18 AAA team before being drafted by the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

During his first regular season with the Wolves, Leivo accumulated 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points through 64 games.

Leivo was born on May 26, 1993, in Innisfil, Ontario, Canada to Kari Leivo.

His father had an extensive minor ice hockey career within the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Although Leivo was born in Innisfil, he was raised in Richmond Hill.

Growing up, Leivo played with the Barrie Colts U18 AAA team before being drafted by the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

He tallied his first career OHL goal on October 7, 2010, in a 4–3 loss to the Niagara IceDogs.

By early February, Leivo and fellow team rookie Sam Scutt moved into the top 25 in OHL rookie scoring after accumulating 17 points.

Later that month, Leivo served a two-game suspension for a late instigator penalty during a game.

In his first regular-season with the Wolves, Leivo accumulated 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points through 64 games.

After the Wolves were eliminated from playoff contention, he received the teams' Top Rookie Award.

Leivo was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round (86th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

He was selected in the 11th round after scoring 30 goals with the minor midget team.

Leivo immediately joined the team and made an impact on their play.

Leivo was subsequently selected 86th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Following the NHL Draft, Leivo participated in the Maple Leafs Rookie Camp but was returned to the Wolves for their 2011–12 season.

However, due to an injury at the camp, Leivo made his season debut on October 5, 2011, against the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

Once Leivo became a mainstay in the lineup, he greatly improved on his rookie season scoring.

By December 20, 2011, Leivo ranked second in team scoring with 11 goals through 29 games and was tied for 7th place in the league in game winning goals.

Leivo finished the regular-season with 32 goals and 41 assists and added two goals and one assist in the playoffs.

After the Wolves were eliminated from the OHL playoffs, Leivo joined the Maple Leafs American Hockey League (AHL) team, the Toronto Marlies, for the 2012 Calder Cup playoffs.

Leivo returned to the Wolves for the 2012–13 season as one of their alternative captains alongside defensemen Justin Sefton and Charlie Dodero.

He began the season strong and earned the OHL Player of The Week honour for the week ending October 7 after scoring six goals in three games with a plus-minus rating of plus-5.

He finished the month of October by earning the Wolves' Three-Star Award after scoring 10 goals and six assists, including two winners, for 16 points through 16 games.

Leivo continued to improve offensively as the season continued and finished his Sudbury Wolves tenure with 147 points through 164 career games.

Leivo played four games with the Marlies, tallying two assists, before the conclusion of the 2012–13 season.

On January 8, 2013, Leivo was traded in a multi-player deal to the Kitchener Rangers alongside Frank Corrado, Joel Vienneau, and various draft picks.

Upon joining the Rangers, Leivo scored 10 goals and 19 assists through 29 regular season games.

Once the season concluded, he signed an Amateur Tryout contract with the Toronto Marlies on April 16, 2013.

He was invited to the Maple Leafs 2013 Prospects Camp where he earned praise from Jim Hughes, the Leaf's Director of Player Development.

Hughes stated that Leivo drew comparisons to Leaf's player Joffrey Lupul in terms of his skating abilities.

In spite of his improvements, Leivo was cut from the Leaf's training camp and he began the 2013–14 in the AHL with the Marlies.

However, in the early stages of the 2013–14 season, on October 10, 2013, Leivo made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 4–0 win over the Nashville Predators.

He later scored his first NHL goal, against Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes on October 17, 2013.

During the game, Leivo accidentally collided with goaltender James Reimer causing him to miss most of the contest.

He was re-assigned to the AHL on October 23 but recalled the following day in order to replace Lupul in the lineup.

Leivo played seven games with the Leafs but spent the majority of the season with the Marlies.

During his time in the AHL, Leivo worked under former figure skater Barbara Underhill to improve his skating stride.