Another Toronto Maple Leafs prospect is leaving North America to go sign with a team over in Europe. It’s been something that we are already way too familiar with this offseason and this time, it’s another defenseman.
Defenseman Mikko Kokkonen has signed a one-year deal with Swedish Hockey League team Linkoping HC, announced by the club on Monday morning.
👋 Varmt välkommen till Linköping Hockey Club, Mikko Kokkonen!
— Linköping Hockey Club (@LHChockey) August 11, 2025
Den 24-åriga backen Mikko Kokkonen har tecknat ett ettårsavtal med Linköping Hockey Club.
🔗 Läs mer här: https://t.co/kM2C2M7ldS pic.twitter.com/RkVPXUGNZn
The 24-year-old defenseman was a third-round pick of the Leafs from all the way back in 2019 and has steadily climbed the ladder of development to playing for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies for the last three seasons. Working his way through the Jukurit youth system, playing with that team in the Liiga in both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons before making his trip across the Atlantic and making his North American debut at the end of the 2020-21 season. He scored seven points in just 11 regular season games – so it’s safe to say that we all expected sizeable things from the young blueliner
During the 2021-22 season, though, Kokkonen was back home in Finland, playing for Pelicans of the Liiga, where he didn’t produce a whole lot of offense, with just 15 points in 58 games. That is when he started his full-time playing for the Marlies and it never really got off the ground.
In 151 AHL games through the last three seasons, Kokkonen has scored just eight goals and 39 points. Now, of course, he’s a defenseman, but he was never really good enough to even be considered as one of the team’s better blueliners or in a position to make his NHL debut.
So, now, Kokkonen is off to Sweden to go play in a more competitive league than the Finnish Liiga, but still taking a little step back from the AHL.
“It feels fantastic to come to Linköping. I'm really looking forward to meeting the guys and getting started with the team as soon as possible,” , via translation.
This is now a small trend for European Leafs prospects. Kokkonen is the third to go back home after not finding success in the AHL or even being able to think about a potential NHL debut down the line. Center Roni Hirvonen went back to Finland to go play for Karpat, and defenseman Topi Niemela is playing his next season for Malmo of the SHL.
These are three prospects who, after developing for a year or two in Europe, made the trip to the AHL and now find themselves approaching their mid-20s without any performances earning a promotion to the Leafs.
The Maple Leafs will still have the signing rights of these players for the near future, so if they dominate overseas, they will be able to bring them back. But, that appears to be unlikely given their history.