Underrated Maple Leafs prospect draws very interesting NHL comparable

Originally drafted in the 2nd round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Hirvonen was almost immediately written off by a large contingent of the Maple Leafs' fanbase due to his small stature and mediocre numbers in Finland's SM-Liiga.

However, the young Fin really made a name for himself at both the 2021 and 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship tournaments. In 2021, Hirvonen produced 2 goals and 6 points in 7 games for Finland, who captured bronze medals at the event. A year later, Hirvonen not only returned for the revenge tour, but he captained Finland to a silver medal finish with a 3-goal, 7-point effort across 7 games.

The now 22-year-old had a troubling year in 2023-24, first suffering a devastating concussion during Maple Leafs Summer Development Camp after being rocked in open ice by defensive prospect Noah Dillingham and then suffering a gruesome eye injury that nearly ended his career.

Now, coming into this season healthy, Ryan Ma believes that Hirvonen could surprise everyone and end up being one of the more impactful Marlies in a top-9 role. Not only that, but Ma gave Hirvonen quite the NHL comparable -- Montreal Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher.

While Ma doesn't necessarily believe that Hirvonen is favoured to play NHL games this season, he's not completely ruling it out either.

Hirvonen appeared in just 37 games last season for the Marlies, producing a respectable 7 goals and 13 points coming back from injury after a lengthy layoff.

Source: Ryan Ma Scouting
Three under the radar Toronto Maple Leafs prospects: #1 Roni Hirvonen