December is here, which means the World Junior Championship is soon approaching. At this year’s tournament, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have four prospects taking part.
Toronto has 11 prospects eligible to be in the tournament this year, but only the best get selected to represent their country. Of the four Toronto Maple Leafs prospects that did get selected, there will be three countries represented.
Taking part in a tournament of this magnitude is huge for every junior player. Whether drafted or undrafted, it is a great opportunity to showcase their talent.
For those players that have not been drafted yet, playing well at a tournament such as this can do wonders for their draft position. A prospect could go from a projected third-round pick to a second-round selection.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be keeping a close eye on their four prospects and hoping to see great things. Here is a look at each of those four prospects.
Toronto Maple Leafs Four Prospects At World Junior Championship
Toronto will have prospects representing Team Canada, Team USA, and Team Finland at this year’s World Junior Championship. Toronto’s group of prospects include Matthew Knies, Topi Niemela, Roni Hirvonen, and Ryan Tverberg.
Matthew Knies
Matthew Knies is a 2021 second-round pick of the Leafs selected #57th overall in that draft. The 19-year-old is having a good season in the NCAA for the University of Minnesota. He currently has seven goals and eight assists for 15 points in 16 games. (stats from Eliteprospects.com)
Knies will be representing Team USA at the World Junior Championship. Team USA will play Slovakia on the first night (December 26th) of the tournament at 9:30 pm ET. Team USA will be looking to defend their Gold Medal from last year.
Topi Niemela
Topi Niemela got drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2020 NHL draft. They selected him with the #64th overall pick. Niemela is a 19-year-old defenseman from Oulu Finland and is currently playing for Karpat in Liiga (Finnish Elite League). He has five goals and 17 assists for 22 points in 25 games so far this season.
Niemela is one of two Toronto prospects representing Team Finland at the World Junior Championship. Team Finland will play Germany in the tournament’s first game on December 26th at 2 pm ET. Niemela will be defending his title as the top defenseman from last year’s tournament.
Roni Hirvonen
Roni Hirvonen is a 2020 second-round pick. He got selected by Toronto with the #59th overall pick. Just five picks before the Maple Leafs selected Niemela. Hirvonen currently has four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 25 games. He plays for HIFK in Liiga this season after spending the previous two seasons playing for Assat.
Hirvonen will be joining Niemela on Team Finland at the 2022 World Junior Championship. He had six points in seven games at last year’s tournament and helped Finland beat Russia in the Bronze Medal game. Finland will have its sights set on Gold this year.
Ryan Tverberg
Ryan Tverberg is a 2020 seventh-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs. They selected him with the #213th overall pick in that draft. Tverberg getting chosen by Team Canada for the 2022 World Junior Championship was a bit of a surprise. Nothing against him as a player, but Canada chose him over some other more suitable players.
Tverberg is a dual citizen, and many thought he had a better shot of making the Team USA roster than he did the Team Canada one. Regardless of which team he is playing for, just playing in the tournament will be an incredible experience for him.
One of the reasons he was selected is his productive season at the University of Connecticut in the NCAA. Tverberg currently has nine goals and seven assists for 16 points in 14 games.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be represented well at the 2022 World Junior Championship. I hope all of the Leafs’ prospects do well in the tournament. The tournament starts on December 26th, 2021, and ends with the Gold Medal game on January 5th, 2022.