Leo Donald Koopmans (born November 28, 1953) is a former

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

international

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

forward. Koopmans played 15 seasons in the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

, becoming the league's top scorer for 1977-8. He was born in

Barrie, Ontario Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is par ...

and since his retirement has continued to reside in the Barrie area where he owns a successful swimming pool construction business. A 196 cm, 97 kg forward, Koopmans first played in the Dutch top division with HYS Veronica 538 in 1972. The next season, he left The Hague to join the Heerenveen Flyers. In 1975 he played for

Tigers Amsterdam The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

and for 1976-7

Nijmegen Tigers Nijmegen Tigers was a Dutch ice hockey club based in Nijmegen until 2003, when it was forced into bankruptcy. It has been succeeded by the Nijmegen Devils. The Tigers won the Eredivisie playoffs during the 1987–88 Eredivisie season. They wer ...

. Koopmans rejoined Heerenveen for 1977-8 and won the league's scoring title with 39 goals and 40 assists in 30 games. He remained with the Flyers until 1984, when he joined GIJS Groningen. He retired from top-level play in 1987. He played 20 times for the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

at an international level, including at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

. Koopmans went scoreless in all 5 of the Netherlands games in Lake Placid as the team finished 8th. He played in two world championships. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, the only time the country has competed in the contest's top tier, Koopmans scored 4 goals and an assist in 8 games. In Pool B in 1987, he scored 5 goals and collected 5 assists in 7 games.

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* 1953 births Living people Amstel Tijgers players Canadian ice hockey forwards Canadian people of Dutch descent Dutch ice hockey forwards GIJS Groningen players Heerenveen Flyers players HYS The Hague players Ice hockey players at the 1980 Winter Olympics Nijmegen Tigers players Olympic ice hockey players for the Netherlands Ice hockey people from Barrie {{Netherlands-icehockey-bio-stub