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Leafs Top-40 Prospect List - #7

September 12, 2022, 4:49 PM ET [205 Comments]
Mike Augello
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The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Pierre Engvall, and Justin Holl), but the club under GM Kyle Dubas has to keep replenishing the prospect pool to provide the Leafs with youngsters who can step up and replace veterans who retire, depart via free agency or are traded.

As we did last year, we will rank the club’s top prospects over the upcoming weeks based on their progress in either the NCAA, CHL, Europe, ECHL or AHL and their potential to make the Leafs roster and make a contribution in the future.

Players are eligible for the list if they have not played more than 40 NHL games:

#40 - Vladislav Kara – LW (Yugra - VHL)
#39 - Kalle Loponen – D (Koo Koo Kouvola/JyP HT – Finland SM-Liiga)
#38 - Jeremy McKenna – RW (Wichita – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#37 - John Fusco – D (Harvard – NCAA)
#36 - Noel Hoefenmayer – D (Newfoundland – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#35 - Ryan Chyzowski - LW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#34 - Braeden Kressler - C (Flint - OHL)
#33 - Nikita Grebyonkin - RW (Stalnye Lisy - MHL, Magnitogorsk - KHL)
#32 - Vyacheslav Peksa - G (Ibris Kazan - MHL)
#31 - Dryden McKay - G (Minnesota Duluth - NCAA)
#30 - Bobby McMann - C (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#29 - Pavel Gogolev – LW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#28 - Joe Miller – C (Chicago – USHL)
#27 - Veeti Miettinen – RW (St. Cloud St. – NCAA)
#26 - Brandon Lisowsky - LW (Saskatoon - WHL)
#25 - Max Ellis - RW (Notre Dame - NCAA, Toronto - AHL)
#24 - Axel Rindell – D (Karpat – Finland SM-Liiga)
#23 - Mac Hollowell - D (Toronto – AHL)
#22 - Artur Akhtyamov – G (Ak Bars Kazan – MHL/VHL/KHL)
#21 - Semyon Der-Argushintsev - C (Toronto - AHL)
#20 - Curtis Douglas - C (Toronto – AHL)
#19 - Mikhail Abramov – C (Toronto – AHL)
#18 - Dennis Hildeby - G (Farjestad - SHL)
#17 - Ty Voit – LW (Sarnia – OHL)
#16 - Filip Kral - D (Toronto - AHL)
#15 - Nick Moldenhauer - RW (Chicago - USHL)
#14 - Rodion Amirov – LW (Ufa Salavat – KHL)
#13 - Ryan Tverberg – C (Connecticut – NCAA)
#12 - Joseph Woll – G (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#11 - Mikko Kokkonen – D (Pelicans – Finland SM-Liiga)
#10 - Fraser Minten - C (Kamloops - WHL)
#9 - William Villeneuve – D (Saint John – QMJHL)
#8 - Dmitry Ovchinnikov – LW (Sibir Novosibirsk – MHL/KHL, Toronto - AHL)


#7 - Roni Hirvonen – C (HIFK Helsinki – Finland SM-Liiga)



Kyle Dubas has in his tenure with the Maple Leafs been strategic in moving down at certain times in the draft to get extra picks. In 2018, he traded down four spots in the first round with St. Louis to get an extra third-round pick and selected Rasmus Sandin 29th overall and Semyon Der-Argushintsev in the third.

In 2020, Dubas once again traded down, moving his second-round pick (44th overall) to Ottawa for a late second and to recoup a third-round pick(Topi Niemela) that he traded in the Nazem Kadri deal. At #59, Toronto selected Finnish center Roni Hirvonen.

Hirvonen played 52 games in the SM-Liiga for Assat Pori prior to the draft and is known for possessing skill and hockey IQ, but the question is whether he will be able to overcome his small stature (5’9”, 164 lbs) and round out the other aspects of his game to eventually be a successful pro player.

“(Hirvonen is) a really smart cerebral player, who can improve his outright speed, but he has good edges. Has good offensive instincts and a player that plays on the Finnish national team. We've seen a lot with them.” Former Leafs Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley said. “He's got good offensive upside and he's a competitive kid. I know he's not a bigger kid, but he's certainly competitive and hard on pucks.”



The 20-year-old was selected for Team Finland’s squad for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships in Edmonton and scored six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in seven games, as well as setting a career-high of 21 points with Assat in the SM-Liiga.

“Hirvonen is a very skilled playmaker who makes his money running a power play from the right half-wall (though he played a lot on the bumper spot last season, which is wasting his talents). He’s a creative handler who can fool defenders while attacking off the rush, utilizing a rather long stick for his size.” Lassi Alanen of Elite Prospects said. (He) showed these skills more at the international level and in the junior ranks, and I’ll fully expect that he’s going to be able to use them more in Liiga in the upcoming seasons as he gains strength and experience.”

Last season, Hirvonen switched to HIFK Helsinki in the Finnish league and increased his point total to 26 (9 goals, 17 assists) in 46 games and averaged over a point-per-game in the Liiga playoffs. In his second WJC, he was named Finland’s team captain and had seven points in seven games, leading his country to the Gold Medal game vs. Canada.

The Leafs signed Hirvonen to a three-year entry-level contract in May, with the understanding that he would play another season for HIFK Helsinki before heading to North America.



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