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Roni Hirvonen

Maple Leafs’ Roni Hirvonen Signs With Liiga’s Kärpät

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Maple Leafs center prospect Roni Hirvonen is returning home to Finland on a one-year contract with Liiga’s Kärpät, per a team announcement Monday. Hirvonen is a pending restricted free agent after completing his entry-level contract. Toronto can retain his NHL signing rights through the 2028-29 season if they issue him a qualifying offer.

A second-round pick by the Leafs in 2020, Hirvonen has been a serviceable middle-six forward in Finland and the AHL, but hasn’t seen much forward progression in his game. His point-per-game rates in his five seasons since being drafted are strikingly similar: 0.39 in 2020-21 with Ässät, 0.57 in 2021-22 and 0.49 in 2022-23 with HIFK, and 0.35 in 2023-24 and 0.36 in 2024-25 with Toronto’s AHL affiliate.

While the 5’10”, 179-lb Hirvonen is only 23 years old and likely still has upside as a fourth-line piece, the lack of offensive progression indicates nothing else in the tank. Unsurprisingly, his play style was always that of a more defensively-minded forward. Nonetheless, he’s dealt with some injuries. He hasn’t played close to a full AHL schedule since arriving in North America two years ago, posting a 17-17–34 scoring line for the Marlies while playing in 96 of 144 possible regular-season games.

Hirvonen likely wanted more opportunity to develop his two-way game and, as a result, will return to a more familiar environment and, ideally, more consistent playing time, before attempting a return to North America next offseason or further down the line. Notable players selected after Hirvonen in the 2020 draft include Will Cuylle (one spot after at No. 60 overall), Alex Laferriere (No. 83), and Nils Åman (No. 167).

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Fourteen Black Aces

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Now that the AHL’s Toronto Marlies season has ended at the hands of the Cleveland Monsters, the Toronto Maple Leafs were able to recall several players for their playoff run. As announced by the team, the recalled players are as follows:

F Nicholas Abruzzese
D Matt Benning
G Dennis Hildeby
F Roni Hirvonen
F Reese Johnson
D Mikko Kokkonen
G Matt Murray
F Alexander Nylander
D Topi Niemelä
F Jacob Quillan
D Marshall Rifai
F Alex Steeves
D William Villeneuve
D Cade Webber

There will certainly be a concrete pecking order should the Maple Leafs fall into any injury trouble during their postseason run. Steeves, Nylander, and Abruzzese should get the call for forwards, while Villeneuve and Murray will lead their respective positions.

Steeves recently recorded the first point-per-game season of his career. Leading all Marlies players, Steeves scored 36 goals and 62 points in 59 contests.

Meanwhile, Villeneuve set the scoring pace from the blue line. In an increase of magnitude from his previous two years with the club, Villeneuve recorded four goals and 40 points in 55 games with a +12 rating.

Hopefully, for Toronto’s sake, they won’t need any of the 14 call-ups to play, especially as they look to close out the Ottawa Senators this evening. Still, considering the numerous injuries they dealt with during the regular season, the Maple Leafs could rely on one or a few of these players to make their mark on the 2025 postseason.

East Notes: Bruins, Blue Jackets, Hirvonen

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The Bruins are hopeful that they’ll be able to avoid arbitration with their three free agents who filed earlier this week, GM Don Sweeney told reporters (video link).  Goaltender Jeremy Swayman highlights that group as his reward will ultimately determine if they need to make another cost-clearing move; recent comparable signings could push his award past the $4MM mark in a hearing.  Winger Trent Frederic will be in for a nice raise after putting up a career-best 31 points in 79 games and could double his previous $1.05MM AAV on his next deal.  Meanwhile, blueliner Ian Mitchell is the other filer but he isn’t likely to get much more than his $874K qualifying offer; it wouldn’t be shocking to see them settle for a lower NHL price tag in exchange for a pricier AHL salary.  Boston has just shy of $7MM in cap space at the moment, per CapFriendly, and it’s possible that it could cost more than that to sign these three.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • The Blue Jackets are still looking to add a veteran goaltender this summer, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link). With Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov in place as the tandem in Columbus, they’re instead looking for a third-stringer with some NHL experience that can split time in the minors with Jet Greaves but also be called upon if one of their top two get injured.  There are a handful of players in free agency that can fill that role while they could also look to pick one up in a swap if they try to make a move from their potential forward surplus.
  • Maple Leafs prospect Roni Hirvonen suffered a concussion earlier today in a scrimmage game at Toronto’s development camp, notes David Alter of Sports Illustrated. Assistant GM Hayley Wickenheiser indicated that the 21-year-old will need some time to recover.  Hirvonen was a second-round pick by Toronto back in 2020 (59th overall) and spent last season on loan to HIFK in Finland where he had 28 points in 57 games.  He’s expected to play in North America this upcoming season with the AHL Marlies.

Finland Announces Preliminary Rosters For 2022 WJC

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While the focus is on the Stanley Cup Final right now, fans will have some more hockey to watch later this summer, when the rescheduled World Junior Championship takes place in August. The event, which was postponed from its normal late-December timeslot because of a COVID-19 outbreak, will kick off on August 9 in Edmonton, Alberta.

All of the same players are eligible for the event, even if they have since turned 20, meaning there is a much bigger pool of talent to pick from this year. That’s led to Finland naming a preliminary roster and a challenger roster, which will battle at a camp this summer according to Lassi Alanen of Elite Prospects.

The main roster:

G Leevi Merilainen
G Rasmus Korhonen
G Juha Jatkola

D Matias Rajaniemi
D Ruben Rafkin
D Ville Ottavainen
D Joni Jurmo
D Eemil Viro
D Topi Niemela
D Kasper Puutio
D Petteri Nurmi
D Aleksi Heimosalmi
D Rami Maatta

F Samuel Helenius
F Roni Hirvonen
F Oliver Kapanen
F Ville Koivunen
F Juuso Maenpaa
F Aatu Raty
F Joakim Kemell
F Kalle Vaisanen
F Brad Lambert
F Kasper Simontaival
F Joel Maatta
F Roby Jarventie
F Elias Koponen
F Eetu Liukas
F Roni Karvinen

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Roni Hirvonen, Topi Niemela

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A day after experiencing an excruciating overtime loss, Toronto Maple Leafs fans have something to cheer about today. The team has announced three-year entry-level contracts for both Roni Hirvonen and Topi Niemela, which will start next season and carry average annual values o $856,666.

Hirvonen, 20, was the 59th selection in 2020, picked out of Finland’s top league after holding his own as a teenager. In the two years since Hirvonen has shown that was no fluke, and had 26 points in 46 games for HIFK Helsinki this season. His excellent two-way play elevated him to captain of Finland’s World Junior team this year, though the club was only able to play in two games before the tournament was postponed due to COVID-19. He will still be eligible for the event later this summer, though perhaps he will be more focused on competing to land a spot with the Maple Leafs in the fall.

Speaking of World Junior standouts, Niemela made his own name at the tournament in 2021 by leading all defensemen in scoring. He earned best defenseman of the tournament honors and then took that success back to his league play. This season for Karpat, Niemela was a scoring machine, recording ten goals and 32 points in 48 games by constantly joining the rush and letting shots fly from the point. He too will be eligible for the rescheduled junior tournament this summer, though again, a future with the Maple Leafs organization may be more important at this point.

While neither one is a lock to step into the NHL right away, both are on the fast track to making an impact with the Maple Leafs after spending so much time in the professional ranks in Finland. Hirvonen and Niemela were ranked sixth and third respectively in the Toronto prospect pool by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic earlier this year, and should quickly rise up the depth charts now that they have inked their first deals.

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