Aki Berg
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Aki Berg (Born July 28, 1977 in Turku, Finland) is a Finnish professional hockey defenceman. He currently plays for the National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, First Round, Third Overall. He has played both for the Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs over 8 seasons in the NHL. Aki has also represented Team Finland twice at the Winter Olympics (in 1998 and 2002), winning a Bronze Medal in Men's Ice Hockey at the 1998 Nagano Games and at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey in which Finland lost in the finals to host Canada.
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Draft Status and Early Years
At 6'3 and 215 pounds, Berg is an imposing physical presence from the back-end with tremendous skating ability and a hard shot from the point. However, his offensive production in the NHL has been disappointing to say the least. This lack of offence probably resulted from being rushed to the NHL (in fact, Berg was still 17 when his name was called by the Kings during the 1995 NHL Entry Draft). Long criticized for being too soft despite a massive frame, Berg has developed into an effective stay-at-home defender, although his offensive development has stagnated as a result.
Although Berg has developed into a solid regular NHL defenceman, he has nonetheless failed to shed his underachiever tag since entering the NHL in 1995-96 from Finland. As a teenager playing for TPS Turku in the Finnish Elite League, Berg was thought to be a can't miss prospect. Thus, while he has turned into a nice complementary player at the NHL level, he has nonetheless failed to have the impact that was expected of him. He was traded from Los Angeles to Toronto on March 13, 2001 for Adam Mair and a 2nd round draft pick as the Leafs wished for an injection of youth into a rapidly aging roster.
Performance as a Leaf
Since his trade to Toronto (Berg scored three times in 12 games with the Leafs during the regular-season that year), Aki has played a quiet, if not entirely unspectacular style that has made him a valuable component of the Leafs' defence corps. Despite his lack of offence, Berg is becoming known for his durability and physical ability, keeping the game simple and staying within his abilities. He has played in 78, 79, and 81 games during his first three full seasons in Toronto and logged minutes in a plethora of key situations during that time-span.
According to Mapleleafs.com: "Aki Berg is the highest drafted Finnish-born player in NHL history (now second-highest behind Atlanta Thrashers goaltending prospect Kari Lehtonen). When he wants to Aki can be a physical force as he likes to deliver thunderous bodychecks. He is able to move the puck out of his zone and can be a solid number five or six defenceman with the Blue and White."
Present Status and Career Statistics
As a result of the NHL lock-out, Berg has since returned to Europe in order to play in Sweden with Timra IK. In 47 games, Berg was the team's top all-around defenceman, recording 6 goals and 14 assists for 20 points during the 2004-05 Swedish Elite League regular-season. In 531 career NHL regular-season games with Toronto and Los Angeles Berg has 15 goals and 62 assists for 72 points with a +/- rating of -7 and 318 penalty minutes. In 54 career post-season games he has recorded 1 goal and 7 assists for 8 points with a +2 rating and 47 penalty minutes.
External Links
Berg Scouting Report and Stats at TSN.ca (http://www.http://tsn.ca/nhl/teams/player_bio.asp?player_id=1101&hubname=TOR)
NHL.com Profile (http://www.http://www.nhl.com/lineups/player/8462034.html)
Official Maple Leafs.com Biography and Profile (http://www.http://www.mapleleafs.com/bio.ml?playerName=%20Aki%20Berg)