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Toronto Maple Leafs at the World Junior Summer Showcase

By Jeremy Ridgewell

EDMONTON, AB - JANUARY 02: Elmer Soderblom #25 of Sweden skates against Topi Niemela #7 of Finland during the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship quarterfinals at Rogers Place on January 2, 2021 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, AB - JANUARY 02: Elmer Soderblom #25 of Sweden skates against Topi Niemela #7 of Finland during the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship quarterfinals at Rogers Place on January 2, 2021 in Edmonton, Canada. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images) /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs recently had three prospects shine at the World Junior Summer Showcase. The event was hosted by Team USA and featured teams from Sweden and Finland.

The Toronto Maple Leafs had three prospects taking part in the tournament, the recently drafted Matthew Knies (Team USA), Topi Niemela, and Roni Hirvonen (Team Finland). (stats from eliteprospects.com).

A lot of the prospects in the Summer Showcase tournament use the tournament to try and prove they should be considered for the World Junior Championship team in December.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, Canada did not take part in the event. To make up for Canada’s absence, Team USA was split into two teams.

Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects At World Junior Summer Showcase

Matthew Knies

Going into this tournament, Knies was not considered to be a candidate for making Team USA at the World Junior Championship in December. However, with four goals and three assists for seven points in six games, he showed Team USA that he’s ready.

Knies is a second-round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was selected with the 57th overall pick at the NHL entry draft on July 24th, 2021. Like Nick Robertson before him, Knies could be a second-round steal for Toronto.

Certainly the Leafs are overdue for turning one of these picks into a legitimate player.

Topi Niemela

Niemela had a decent showing at the showcase as well. His six points in six games tied him for the tournament lead in points by a defenseman. Niemela played on the top pairing for Finland. He also played on both the top power-play unit and top penalty-killing unit.

Niemela is a 2020 third-round pick (64th overall) of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He will be playing the 2021-22 season for Karpat in Liiga (Finnish Elite League).

Roni  Hirvonen

Hirvonen played on the top line for Finland and finished the tournament with eight goals and two assists for ten points in six games. His eight goals helped him lead the tournament in goals and, his ten points put him in second for tournament points.

He had two hat tricks in the tournament as he showcased his offensive abilities. With four of his goals coming on the power play, he could be a power play option for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the future.

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Hirvonen is a 2020 second round pick (59th overall) of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He will be playing with HIFK in Liiga for the 2021-22 season.

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