BELARUSIAN IMPORT LEONENKO A HOT COMMODITY By Larry O’Connor

Igor LeonenkoHe skates like a rocket, his shot is a howitzer, and his coach says he has an edge to him on the ice. is a prototypical Eastern European hockey player who happened to arrive unsolicited at the San Jose Jr. Sharks’ doorstep in August.

He’s the gift that keeps on giving.After a short transitional period, the 6-foot-4, 200-pound right winger is scoring 6-7 goals a weekend for the Jr. Sharks’ 18U AAA team, which is a member of the North American Prospects Hockey League.

“The bottom line with this kid is that he has some tools not many kids possess,” Jr. Sharks 18U coach Nate Weossner said. “If he can harness his work ethic and really keep striving, the sky’s the limit for him.”Leonenko, 17, moved to the U.S. last summer from his native Novopolotsk, Belarus, where he played for Himik SKA2. He joined his mother, Svetlana Prakapenka, who lives in Santa Cruz; his father, Vadim Leonenko, lives in Russia.

Knowing Leonenko’s hockey background, his stepfather, Andrew Barker, contacted the Jr. Sharks. Weossner agreed to give the teen a tryout.“I couldn’t promise anything because I’d never seen the kid play,” Weossner said. “(Barker) told me, ‘I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.’ “So I’m thinking, that’s fair, but how many times does a parent tell you that as a coach?”

Any skepticism washed away like the afternoon tide after Leonenko displayed his silky skills on the ice.Leonenko had to adapt to the not-so-subtle differences between European and North American hockey, most notably the smaller ice surface.

“I have lots of time to think and concentrate what to do on the Russian rink,” Leonenko said through an interpreter. “The American rink is smaller and faster speed, and I don’t have a lot of time to think and react and I need to make decisions quickly.”Similarly, he’s learned the importance of keeping his feet moving and using his hulking frame, Weossner said.

“It’s been kind of fun to watch that transformation, because the first couple of games he played it was like, ‘Are you going to get involved?’” the coach said. “He was just kind of out there watching.”

“He’d get the puck and you could see he was talented, but you’ve got to get involved. Once he started to grasp that, he just took off.” Leonenko has overcome the cultural gulf, too.Though not fluent in English, Weossner said Leonenko can grasp instructions. The young forward has been helped in the transition by NHL players Evengi Nabokov and Viktor Tikhonov, who were in the San Jose area during the lockout.

He’s a hit with teammates, too, who’ve taken to learning Russian phrases to communicate with him.Leonenko is on a line centered by Mick Nisbet with captain Matt Woodley on the opposite wing. The potential combination and its import have increasingly garnered attention, locally and beyond.

“The cat’s kind of out of the bag as far as that goes,” said Weossner, who’s received inquires about Leonenko from a number of junior teams. “No one knew who he was at first and obviously, since he started making such an impact, it hasn’t taken long for people to notice.”

In terms of the future, Leonenko said, “After this season, I’ll consider every choice I’ve been presented, and then I’ll make my decision which way I want to go.”Meanwhile, Leonenko is content to savor his North American hockey debut, which has been fueled by mutual understanding and admiration.

“I think it says a lot about our team chemistry in the way they accepted him and took him in,” Weossner said. “They wanted to learn about him as much as he wanted to learn about them.”
“I’ve got guys speaking Russian on my team. I’m like, “What are you guys saying?” They all have their Russian phrases; whether it’s good language or bad language, I don’t know.”