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Toronto Maple Leafs: Roni Hirvonen Has a Real NHL Chance Next Year

By Luke Ryan

EDMONTON, AB - AUGUST 14: Roni Hirvonen #22 of Finland skates during the game against Slovakia in the IIHF World Junior Championship on August 14, 2022 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Photo by Andy Devlin/ Getty Images)
EDMONTON, AB - AUGUST 14: Roni Hirvonen #22 of Finland skates during the game against Slovakia in the IIHF World Junior Championship on August 14, 2022 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Photo by Andy Devlin/ Getty Images) /
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If Toronto Maple Leafs fans are learning anything from the World Juniors, it’s that Roni Hirvonen is looking the real deal for the Finnish team.

Heading into the tournament all of the attention from the Toronto Maple Leafs fanbase was arguably on Matthew Knies, the Arizona-born college kid that looks set to sign this spring.

However, the Leafs have two other players in the tournament, both playing for Team Finland; defenseman Topi Niemala and their 2020 2nd round (59th overall) pick Roni Hirvonen.

Showing some impressive leadership as the top-line center and team captain, it’s clear that the Maple Leafs have possibly nabbed a real talent late in that draft’s second round.

Toronto Maple Leafs Beckon For Roni Hirvonen

While plenty of European players have graduated to the Toronto Maple Leafs organization in recent years, most have generally followed a path via the Toronto Marlies.

The likes of Andreas Johnsson, William Nylander, Pierre Engvall, Timothy Liljegren, Rasmus Sandin and Kasperi Kapanen all spent considerable time in the AHL before graduating to the NHL roster.

A lot of this is due to the larger ice that teams play on over in Europe; it takes time to adapt to smaller NHL ice where players are far quicker to be on top of you.

Roni Hirvonen is just 20 years old right now and is undersized to play center in the NHL but this doesn’t mean he can’t skip the minor league and head straight to the NHL next year.

It’s not likely to happen this season, with his return to HIFK Helsinki for one more season in the Finnish Liiga confirmed.

If he can carry his World Juniors form over and improve upon his 26 points (9 goals and 17 assists) in 46 games (per Elite Prospects); you can make strong argument he’s ready for the big-time.

In 3 games for Finland, Roni Hirvonen has made himself stand out, tallying  6 points (2 goals and 4 assists), showing impressive skill centering a line with Aatu Raty (New York Islanders) and Joakim Kemell (Nashville Predators).

If Hirvonen was to land with the Toronto Maple Leafs next season, there are absolutely plenty of landing spots in the line-up right now.

Provided he’s not traded by then, Alex Kerfoot will be out of a contract as will Pierre Engvall, David Kampf, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Michael Bunting, Wayne Simmonds, Joey Anderson and Adam Gaudette (per CapFriendly).

There is absolutely plenty of room to find a spot in the Toronto Maple Leafs line-up if any number of those guys don’t end up renewing.

Assuming he is able to adjust his game to possibly playing on the wing in the NHL, there’s absolutely no reason that Hirvonen can’t step up next year and make himself a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs roster as a 21 year-old.

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Certainly, it’ll be telling to see him in action against Team Canada on Monday. Given the prospects on the Canadian team, it’s arguably his toughest assignment yet – if he shines there, we know he’s ready to become a Leaf in the long run.

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