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EDMONTON — Roni Hirvonen and Topi Niemela have helped Finland advance to the quarterfinals of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship and the Toronto Maple Leafs are pleased with their progress.
Niemela, a 20-year-old defenseman, has four assists in four games. Hirvonen, a 20-year-old forward prospect, is team captain and has six points (two goals, four assists).
“Roni Hirvonen is so mature,” Finland coach Antti Pennanen said. “He plays with such maturity and responsibility. It’s a good combination.”
Finland will play Germany in the first of four games Wednesday (12 p.m. ET). Each game will be televised live on NHL Network in the United States and on TSN and RDS in Canada.
Hirvonen was selected in the second round (No. 59) of the 2020 NHL Draft. He had 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 46 games for Helsinki in Liiga, the top professional league in Finland, and though still under contract for another year, it’s undetermined if he will return this season.
Maple Leafs assistant general manager of player development Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser said Hirvonen can shoot the puck at an NHL level but will need to continue to work on his skating.
“With Roni, I think he’s as honest a hockey player as you’re going to find,” Wickenheiser said. “He’s very dialed into his development and very engaged in all the aspects of his game. “On the ice and off the ice, he wants to know what the best are doing and how they’re achieving their fitness standards, for example, and he really has a plan for himself of where he wants to see himself go.
“Certainly, in the next one or two seasons, we want to see him make a jump.”
Niemela, a third-round pick (No. 64) in 2020, spent time in Toronto before the 2022 WJC and will join the Maple Leafs for rookie camp before returning to Karpat in Liiga. Wickenheiser said Niemela be evaluated on playing with pace and speed and developing his shot from the point. He had 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists) in 48 games last season.
“We think Topi is more than capable of being a top defenseman at this tournament, which is pretty clear from his play,” Wickenheiser said. “We want to see him elevate his game and really take control from the blue line, and that’s from a defensive standpoint as well in terms of being able to play two ways and be that outstanding defenseman that he was last year.”
Niemela helped Finland finish third at the 2021 WJC and was named the tournament’s best defenseman. He’s playing on the top pair with Ruben Rafkin this year.
“I’m feeling better and better every game,” Niemela said. “I think it’s important for me and my team to play our best game in the quarterfinal. I think we need to play a lot better than we did against Canada. We need to go to the net more and get more shots at the net; we’ll need to improve our game.”
Despite a 6-3 loss to Canada in its final preliminary round game Monday and finishing second in Group A, Finland is still considered a contender to win the tournament.
“I think we’ve grown as a team here and we’ll learn from this loss, and we’ll play better in our next game,” Hirvonen said. “We still have confidence, and we know we have a chance to beat Canada if we play them again.”
As friends and teammates, Hirvonen and Niemela envision the day they’re playing for the Maple Leafs.
“It was awesome to have a buddy drafted by the same team,” Hirvonen said.
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