No, its not Topi Niemela, but the Leafs have signed 21-year old defenceman Axel Rindell, their 6th round pick from the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, to an entry-level contract on Friday.
Rindell's contract will not start until the 2022-2023 season, and will come with a cap hit of $838,750 for 2 seasons. Rindell will play the rest of this season on a Professional Tryout with the AHL's Toronto Marlies to get acclimated to the smaller North American ice surface.
As a 6th round pick standing 5'10 and only weighing 175lbs, Rindell has always been a longshot to make the NHL. He is an offensive minded defenceman with a good shot who does a good job of getting the puck through traffic and onto the net, but his defensive game is lacking and will need to improve if he hopes to make the NHL one day. Rindell played 136 games in the Finnish Elite League, recording 14 goals and 51 assists for 65 points. He was also a part of Team Finland at the 2021 IIHF Men's World Championships, where he and his countrymen won silver medals.
Rindell has clearly shown signs of improvement since being drafted, earning his ELC with the Leafs the hard way. It's nice to see a long shot showing a fair bit more value than your average 6th round pick. How he plays and develops with the Marlies and the Maple Leafs development staff will determine if he ever sees ice time as a Maple Leaf.
