Vesa Tapani Toskala (born on May 20, 1977 in
Tampere, Finland), is a professional ice hockey
goaltender currently with the Toronto Maple Leafs of
the National Hockey League.
Toskala was selected by San Jose in the 1995 NHL
Entry Draft (4th round, 90th overall). The Sharks
also took fellow Finn Miikka Kiprusoff in the fifth
round. Toskala turned heads with his stellar play in
the 1998-1999 season with Ilves of the SM-liiga,
where he went 21-12-0 with a 2.14 GAA and a .916
save percentage and posted five shutouts. The next
season, playing a style that modeled after Markus
Korhonen he played with Färjestads BK of the Swedish
Elitserien and posted an impressive 2.59 GAA. In one
game with Färjestad, Toskala scored a goal. At this
point, Toskala was not sure if he wanted to have a
career in hockey. Wanting a more stable job, he was
going to quit hockey altogether to go to school
full-time, before San Jose enticed him to North
America.
He holds the San Jose Club record as the only goalie
to record a multiple point game as he tallied two
assists against Chicago on February 3, 2007.
