Kimmo Leinonen

Kimmo Leinonen (born 30 August 1949) is a Finnish ice hockey executive and writer. He was the director of public relations and marketing for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1995 to 2007, and held similar positions for SM-liiga and Ilves. He served as general secretary of the 2012 and 2013 Ice Hockey World Championships co-hosted in Finland and Sweden. He also coached junior ice hockey for Ilves, managed the Ilves Naiset who won three Naisten SM-sarja championships, was a scout for the New York Rangers, and a sports commentator for hockey broadcasts in Finland.

Leinonen was a founding member of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979, and helped establish the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1996. He served as chairman of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame from 2011 to 2018, and has written multiple books on the history of hockey in Finland. He was inducted into the builder category of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011, and was named the 2023 recipient of the Paul Loicq Award from the IIHF.

Early life Kimmo Leinonen was born 30 August 1949, in Tampere, Finland. He became interested in ice hockey as a youth after his older brother took him to watch Ilves play, and when the team's captain Pentti Isotalo was his elementary school teacher in grade three.

Ice hockey career Beginnings in Finland

Leinonen began his hockey career in the mid-1970s as the junior ice hockey coach for Ilves, and the club's marketing manager. When the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame was established on 14 June 1979, Leinonen was one of its six founding members. Its museum first opened at the Tampere Ice Stadium in December 1979.

Leinonen was a scout for the New York Rangers from 1978–79 to 1982–83,

Leinonen served as secretary of the IIHF marketing committee and the IIHF Hall of Fame committee from 1998 to 2003, and was the editor-in-chief of the media guide for ice hockey at the Winter Olympic Games. He was also a technical delegate to four Olympic Games and 14 Ice Hockey World Championships from 1998 to 2010, and served as chairman of more than 40 IIHF men's and women's events from 1995 to 2022.

Leinonen served as chairman of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame from 2011 to 2018.

List of publications:

(2012, 2013; Hockey World: Lion Trail) (2014; Heroes of Koulukatu: The history of ice hockey in Tampere 1928–1965) (2015, 2022; Hockey Lions) (2015; First in Finland: Hakametsä ice rink and Ice Hockey World Championships 1965) (2016; Lions in a gold hunt) (2016; Ice hockey record book) (2017; Hockey legends as collectible cards) (2018; Great hockey book) (2018; Lions of the whole nation: The history of the Suomi-puck)

Personal life Leinonen once had partial ownership in a racehorse, and has a daughter who was involved in hockey. Leinonen was the first person from Finland to receive the award. In receiving the award, Leinonen urged more IIHF members to preserve their hockey history, noting that only 20 countries had established a hockey hall of fame.