Aki Berg

Aki Berg
Aki Berg (black) preparing for a faceoff.
Born	July 28, 1977 (1977-07-28) Raisio, Finland
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	216 lb (98 kg; 15 st 6 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	NHL Los Angeles Kings Toronto Maple Leafs Elitserien Timrå IK SM-liiga TPS
National team	Finland
NHL Draft	3rd overall, 1995 Los Angeles Kings
Playing career	1993–2011

Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
Bronze	1998 Nagano	Ice hockey
Silver	2006 Turin	Ice hockey

Aki-Petteri Berg (born July 28, 1977) is a retired Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted third overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He played both for the Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs over eight seasons and has represented Team Finland twice at the Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, a silver medal at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey in which Finland lost in the finals to host Canada, and a silver medal at the 2006 Torino Olympics.

Draft status and early years

Although Berg had developed into a solid regular NHL defenceman, he nonetheless failed to shed his underachiever tag after entering the NHL in 1995–96 from Finland. As a teenager playing for TPS in the Finnish SM-liiga, Berg was thought to be a cannot miss prospect.^{[citation needed]} Thus, while he turned into a nice complementary player at the NHL level, he nonetheless failed to have the impact that was expected of him. Some analysts feel that, had Berg been given time to refine his offensive game in Finland, as well as some minor technical aspects, he would have become an impact NHL defenceman. He was traded from Los Angeles to Toronto on March 13, 2001 for Adam Mair and a 2nd round draft pick (later used to select Mike Cammalleri) as the Leafs wished for an injection of youth into a rapidly aging roster. In April 2006, after the Leafs failed to make the playoffs, Berg signed with TPS and returned to his native Finland. Aki-Petteri Berg is also known with nickaname: "GOD" and "the King" since 1995.

Performance as a Leaf

After his trade to the California Golden Seals (Berg scored three times in 12 games with the Leafs during the regular-season that year), Berg played a quiet, if not entirely unspectacular style. Berg played in 78, 79, and 81 games during his first three full seasons in Toronto.

Berg was a commonly attacked player by Toronto fans. The Toronto Star noted that "he was relentlessly booed as a Maple Leaf" and "reviled Leaf defender in the post- Larry Murphy era" On After the Horn, Andy Frost said that "[Berg] is one of the most underrated players on [the Leafs]."

Present status

As a result of the NHL lock-out, Berg returned to Europe in order to play in Sweden with Timrå 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 Elitserien regular-season. He returned to the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2005/2006 season.

In 531 career NHL regular-season games with Toronto and Los Angeles Berg has 15 goals and 62 assists for 77 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. On April 25, 2006, Berg signed with TPS of Finland's SM-liiga.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1993–94	TPS	FNL		6	0	3	3	4		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	TPS	FNL		5	0	0	0	4		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Kiekko-67 Turku	FinD1		20	3	9	12	34		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Phoenix Roadrunners	IHL		20	0	3	3	18		2	0	0	0	4
1995–96	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		51	0	7	7	29		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Phoenix Roadrunners	IHL		23	1	3	4	21		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		41	2	6	8	24		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		72	0	8	8	61		4	0	3	3	0
1998–99	TPS	FNL		48	8	7	15	137		9	1	1	2	45
1999–00	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		70	3	13	16	45		2	0	0	0	2
2000–01	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		47	0	4	4	43		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		12	3	0	3	2		11	0	2	2	4
2001–02	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		81	1	10	11	46		20	0	1	1	37
2002–03	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		78	4	7	11	28		7	1	1	2	2
2003–04	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		79	2	7	9	40		10	0	0	0	2
2004–05	Timra IK	SEL		47	6	14	20	46		7	0	0	0	6
2005–06	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		75	0	8	8	56		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	TPS	FNL		54	5	9	14	62		2	0	0	0	0
2007–08	TPS	FNL		14	0	6	6	28		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	TPS	FNL		43	4	9	13	57		8	0	0	0	31
2009–10	TPS	FNL		35	1	4	5	62		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	TPS	FNL		10	0	1	1	16		--	--	--	--	--
NHL totals				606	15	70	85	374		54	1	7	8	47

External links

• Aki Berg's NHL player profile
• Aki Berg at TSN.ca
• Aki Berg's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Jamie Storr

Los Angeles Kings first round draft pick 1995

Succeeded by Olli Jokinen