Leo Donald Koopmans is a former Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 international ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 forward. Koopmans played 15 seasons in the Eredivisie

Eredivisie

The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....

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

Barrie, Ontario

Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, approximately 90 km north of Toronto. Although located in Simcoe County, the city is politically independent...

 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

Amstel Tijgers

IJshockeyvereniging Amstel Tijgers is an amateur ice hockey team in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, playing in the Dutch Eerste Divisie . It once consisted of an amateur and a pro-section, which were separate legal entities. The amateur team currently plays at the Jaap Eden baan...

 and for 1976-7 Nijmegen Tigers

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.-Source:*...

. 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

Groningen Grizzlies

Pecoma Grizzlies Groningen were a professional ice hockey team in Groningen, The Netherlands. They played in the Dutch Eredivisie, the highest-level hockey division in the Netherlands...

. He retired from top-level play in 1987.

He played 20 times for the Netherlands

Netherlands national ice hockey team

The Dutch men's national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey of the Netherlands.The Netherlands are currently ranked 25th in the IIHF World Ranking and currently compete in IIHF World Championship Division I....

  at an international level, including at the 1980 Winter Olympics

1980 Winter Olympics

The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...

.
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

1981 World Ice Hockey Championships

The 1981 Ice Hockey World Championships took place at the Scandinavium arena in Gothenburg, Sweden from 12 April to the 26 April. Eight teams took part, firstly splitting into two groups of two, with the best two from each group advancing to the final group. These teams then play each other in the...

, 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.