Catching Up with Leo Komarov

Not even a global pandemic could prevent Leo Komarov, aka Uncle Leo, from keeping the charisma that fits so well with his Seinfeld-inspired nickname. Having returned home to Espoo, Finland, where he is spending quarantine with his wife Juulia and his son Linus, the New York Islanders forward misses the humorous banter and camaraderie shared with his teammates.

For Komarov, who was born in Estonia, but has dual citizenship in Finland and Russia, it's in his nature to get along well with his teammates. He's established close relationships with budding players like Mathew Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier and this season; fellow Finn, Otto Koivula. Within the Isles' diverse dressing room, his outspoken personality and his quick chirps are appreciated no matter a player's age or nationality.
So, despite being physically distanced across the Atlantic Ocean and being seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, Komarov has made efforts to maintain those dynamics and meaningful friendships until he and his teammates can reunite.
"I wouldn't say it's a role or anything, it's just easy to get along with me," Komarov said. "It doesn't matter if you're a silent guy or if you're a rowdy guy, I take you as the way you are. You don't need to pretend in front of me. If I need to say something I usually tell them right away so they know where they have me. I'm more just trying to make it better and make them better every day."
Although, Komarov joked the act of initiating conversations is starting to feel a little bit skewed.
"I never receive any FaceTimes which is weird, but I'm the guy who's always calling them," Komarov said with a laugh. "I'm FaceTiming everyone, but no one FaceTimes me or calls me. I have to keep in touch. I don't know if that means anything right now."

Shortly after the NHL indefinitely paused the regular season, Komarov and his family assessed the situation and opted to return to their home in Finland where they figured they'd have more space to themselves and support from their families nearby.
In the weeks since, the Nordic country has already begun to loosen its restrictions and currently doesn't require Finns to wear a mask in public.
"We still haven't gone to the grocery store or anything, we just order our groceries] in from the stores," Komarov said. "It's slowly getting better. They're opening the schools up next week or in two weeks. It's still not normal, but it's getting better day-by-day."
For the 33-year-old winger and seven-year veteran, it was unusual to be back in Finland in March, but he's relished in the precious time he's been able to spend with Linus. The Komarovs all celebrated Linus' third birthday on April 28.
"It's tiring for sure, but at the same way it opened up my eyes to see how hard it actually is," Komarov said of the extra time home. "When you play hockey, you get home and you spend as much [time] as you can, but you don't understand how hard it is for your wife to be around him all the time either. It's not hard, it just puts so much more pressure on you. You have to be there more than you realize. You don't realize how much time it takes, but it's fun too. He's been really happy about it."
Just like his father, Linus is missing his pals back on Long Island and has joined his classmates for weekly Zoom calls. At just three-years-old, he is already mutli-lingual and learning every day from his dad.
"I learned the same way when I was young," Komarov said. "The more languages that you speak, the easier it's going to be to pick it up when you get older. I'm speaking Swedish with him and my wife is obviously Finnish. The nanny speaks English, so he understands three [languages]. He doesn't speak Swedish back to me, so I would say he speaks two, but he understands [Swedish]. I'm not putting any pressure on him either, he's so young."
[Instagram from @komarovleo47: Happy new year 2020🍎
Finland's subarctic climate is beginning to warm up as it transitions into its luminous summer season, when the sun virtually never fully sets. Komarov has taken advantage of the prolonged daylight to explore; his day usually begins with a gym workout and ends with a nightly walk.
He's got company, too, as Koivula is also back in Finland and the pair have been fortunate to team up for a handful of training sessions.
"First couple of weeks, I just worked [out] inside because we weren't allowed to leave our house," Komarov said. "Slowly, I've been doing some bike [rides] and doing some long walks. I've actually been working out with Koivula now lately. We're doing some sprints outside. It's basically normal, but it's not a lot of lifting weights or anything because we don't have that at home."
Koivula, who is 21 and suited up for his first 12 NHL games with the Isles this season, benefited from having Komarov to confide in and gain valuable insight from during his various call-ups scattered throughout the season.
"It's a big change," Komarov said of Koivula. "I worked out with him last summer too. He's a shy guy, he doesn't talk too much, but the more I'm hanging out with him the more he's opening himself up. I'm getting used to him more or I know how he is, how he's working or how he's acting. That's a big step from last summer to where we are now. That's going to go into hockey the same way."
Prior to the pause, Komarov registered 14 points (4G, 10A) through 48 games. The hard-nosed winger battled an injury early on that sidelined him from Oct. 17 through Nov. 13. Upon his return, Komarov helped replicate the intensity from the Islanders 'Identity Line' in the wake of Cal Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas' injuries. Also, with Cizikas and Clutterbuck's absences, Komarov was a critical component of the Islanders' penalty kill where he averaged 1:23 SH/TOI per game.

"I'm a guy who wants to win games," Komarov said. "When you don't win, I'm obviously not happy. You want to score goals and stuff like that, but as long as the team wins games it doesn't really matter. That's like my season too; we probably could have been a little bit better and or finished a little bit better where we are and I could be better too...I'm just trying to be in shape when it starts and hope for team success. It's going to be a different thing for everyone if we're going to still play."
While Komarov yearns for the return of hockey and to be back in the room chirping with his teammates, he understands the logic of taking a cautious approach before hopefully resuming play in the coming months.
"You miss the game," Komarov said. "It stopped from nowhere and then with all of this talking about the virus and the season you kind of get a little bit confused and almost scared too what's going on. I miss the game for sure, but I'm hopeful it's going to start at some point too. [Whether] it's this season or next season, it's going to come. The most important thing is to stay healthy, for everyone. Hockey is not that important right now, but obviously I think everyone wants to play and be around the boys for sure."