Maple Leafs’ Mikko Lehtonen named KHL’s defenceman of the year

Mikko-Lehtonen

Defenceman Mikko Lehtonen. (Mikko Taipale/Jokerit)

The month of May continues to be one to remember for Mikko Lehtonen.

The 26-year-old was named the KHL’s Defenseman of the Year on Monday for his contributions during the 2019-20 campaign when he exploded for 49 points in 60 games with Jokerit Helsinki — the sixth-highest total of any player in the league.

The honour comes just a few weeks after he signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs worth $925,000, with hopes of a playing an integral role on the club’s blue line next season.

Darren Dietz captured the award in 2018-19.

The undrafted Lehtonen — who hails from Turku, Finland — broke out at last year’s world championships where he played a starring role in a surprising Finnish gold-medal win and earned a spot on the tournament all-star team.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.