Roni Hirvonen rounds out the top 10 European skaters, as ranked by NHL Central Scouting. The centerman from Finland enters his first year of draft eligibility. This past season he played with Assat in the Liiga, the top Finnish league. He's made an immediate impact on that lineup, as an 18-year-old playing against grown men. By season's end, he was ranked second among U-19 rookies in points, with 16 (five goals, 11 assists). Considering his age and the competitive nature of the Finnish league, Hirvonen played a smaller role on this past season, his first in Liiga. But it is the versatility of this player that has made him an asset to his club.
He has cracked the 15-plus minute mark in a game on several occasions, as he continues to develop and shows that he can handle the difficult center role as a young player against men. He's applauded for his willingness to get to the dirty areas, despite being on the smaller side, he never shies away from that opportunity. o He also has a versatility, suiting up on Assat's power play as well as the penalty kill, couple those opportunities with what has been applauded as excellent ability to make the right plays at the right time, and Hirvonen, though not quite ready to make the jump to the jump to the NHL, working on his maturity and building up more size, should make him ready for the NHL in a three or four years.
