Flames select Topi Ronni at 59th overall
By Ryan Pike
1 year agoThe Calgary Flames have made their first selection of the 2022 NHL Draft. In the second round, 59th overall, the Flames have selected Finnish centre Topi Ronni.
Ronni is a left shot center originally from Hausjarvi, Finland. He’s listed at 6’2″ and 180 pounds.
Ronni played a lot of hockey in 2021-22. He had 18 goals and 29 points in 30 games for the junior Tappara team in Finland’s SM-sarja. He also played 19 games with Tappara’s pro side in Liiga where he had 4 points and helped Tappara win their league title. He also played a game for HPK in Liiga on a loan, and had two points in his lone game with KeuPa HT in the secondary Mestis league on loan.
He also played in two major tournaments, representing Finland at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup – six points in five games – and the Under-18 Worlds – four points in six games. He won bronze at the Under-18 Worlds.
Ronni was ranked 41st by Daily Faceoff’s Chris Peters:
A hard-nosed player who plays heavy, Ronni also has good enough skill to finish in tight. He’s probably a middle-of-the-lineup player, but if you can find players like that in the second round, your team will be better for it. His skating is not the best, but I think he gets to where he needs to and is a force in the hard areas of the ice.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie had Ronni ranked 65th. FC Hockey had him ranked 105th. That variation in opinion is very much a defining featuring of this draft class, so it’s not really anything about Ronni in particular. (He was 75th on our blended consensus aggregate ranking.)
The Flames add a centre who’s played a good amount of pro hockey as a teenager and was a contributor for Finland at the international level. He’s not a slam-dunk prospect, but there aren’t too many of those in this year’s draft class.
Based on his attributes, he seems like a reasonable gamble at 59th overall.
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