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  3. article_body => "<p>After a long wait with the unprecedented stoppage because of the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 NHL draft has arrived.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The first round will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, while Rounds 2-7 follow on Wednesday starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The Flyers hold seven picks and their first-round selection comes at No. 23 overall.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Let's take a look at a target for the Flyers with the 23rd selection:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2><strong>Roni Hirvonen&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Position:&nbsp;<\/strong>Center&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Height:&nbsp;<\/strong>5-foot-9&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Weight:&nbsp;<\/strong>164&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Shoots:&nbsp;<\/strong>Left&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Team:<\/strong>&nbsp;\u00c4ss\u00e4t&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3><strong>Scouting report<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p>Hirvonen is&nbsp;an undersized center who was on the ice for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/liiga.fi\/en\/tilastot\/2019-2020\/runkosarja\/pelaajat\/?team=assat&amp;position=all&amp;home_away=&amp;player_stats=players&amp;sort=Aika#stats-wrapper\">about 15 minutes per game<\/a>&nbsp;this season in Finland\u2019s top league. As he transitioned to Liiga, he had 16 points in 52 games for \u00c4ss\u00e4t&nbsp;(five goals, 11 assists). In 2018-19, he had impressive production at the U-20 level for his hometown team, Kiekko-Espoo, with 21 goals and 34 assists in 50&nbsp;games.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>His modest numbers for \u00c4ss\u00e4t&nbsp;this season shouldn\u2019t be discouraging. Playing against adults for the first time, Hirvonen was good enough to earn a regular spot in the lineup. The 18-year-old plays a relatively mature game, reading the play well and showing a solid sense of where he should be positioned on both ends. One of his strengths is moving the puck up ice with crisp long-distance passes.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Though he\u2019s unafraid to grapple in difficult areas, Hirvonen\u2019s size is a concern, and it\u2019s possible he\u2019ll need to play on the wing in the NHL.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/1287064\/2019\/11\/04\/wheeler-preliminary-ranking-for-the-2020-nhl-drafts-top-62-prospects\">The Athletic\u2019s Scott Wheeler<\/a>&nbsp;praises his \u201cfeistiness,\u201d which is&nbsp;a trait that should serve him well moving forward. Even when Hirvonen is giving up height and muscle, he finds ways to get to the front of the net. Despite not recording a power play goal this year, Hirvonen&nbsp;has the potential to be impactful on the power play because of that knack for sticking himself in dangerous spots, his vision and his puck handling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>His skating sometimes appears effortful and it takes him a while to accelerate, but he's generally pretty smooth once he gets going. Hirvonen&nbsp;told Jokke Nevalainen of DobberProspects.com&nbsp;in October that he feels his skating has recently improved.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a smart player,\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dobberprospects.com\/interview-2020-nhl-draft-prospect-roni-hirvonen\/\">he said to&nbsp;Nevalainen<\/a>. \u201cVersatile. And as previously said, a dynamic skater. I have a warrior\u2019s mentality.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><iframe allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" height=\"270\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cK1LhuTpLwM?feature=oembed\" width=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3><strong>Fit with Flyers&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nhl.com\/ice\/draftprospectbrowse.htm?cat=2&amp;sort=finalRank&amp;year=2020\">NHL Central Scouting&nbsp;<\/a>ranked Hirvonen 10th among European skaters, while&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nhl\/insider\/story\/_\/id\/29161717\/2020-nhl-draft-rankings-top-100-prospects-class-chris-peters\">ESPN\u2019s Chris&nbsp;Peters&nbsp;<\/a>has him at No. 36 overall and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsn.ca\/craig-s-list-alexis-lafreniere-solidifies-status-as-hockey-s-top-prospect-1.1461675\">TSN\u2019s Craig Button<\/a>&nbsp;puts him at No. 57. He\u2019s worth consideration in the first two rounds for the Flyers, who took an undersized player at No. 34 last season in&nbsp;5-foot-8, 164-pound right winger Bobby Brink.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\"Obviously you\u2019d want the big, scoring, playmaking center, anybody does,\u201d Flyers assistant GM Brent Flahr told NBC Sports Philadelphia\u2019s Jordan Hall in a phone interview on April 25. \u201cWe\u2019re in a position where we\u2019ll likely be taking the best player available.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\"Realistically the players you draft now are two or three years down the road, best-case scenario. Some cases you get surprised. But by then, your team needs are different. We\u2019ll do the best we can, we have an idea of where our holes are going forward and places where we certainly want to add depth to, whether it\u2019s center or scoring winger or defense, we\u2019ll see what happens. We\u2019ll prepare, we weigh guys against each other, the pros and cons and we\u2019ll do the best we can there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Though Hirvonen successfully took the step up from the junior level this year, the typical timeline of at least \u201ctwo or three years down the road\u201d likely still applies. He\u2019s not the classic, can\u2019t-miss center Flahr described, but he\u2019s an interesting prospect.&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<drupal-url data-embed-button=\"url\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/art19.com\/shows\/flyers-talk-a-philadelphia-flyers-podcast\/episodes\/ab45b0c2-c737-4809-8124-ee578b8b84b9\" data-entity-label=\"Embed social\" data-timestamp=\"1601964863\" data-url-provider=\"ART19\"><\/drupal-url>\r\n"
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  21. description => "With the 23rd overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft, will the Flyers be interested in a Finnish center already playing against pros? By Noah Levick"
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  38. title => "2020 NHL draft profile: Roni Hirvonen is an undersized center already playing against pros"
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Flyers

/ by Noah Levick
Flyers

After a long wait with the unprecedented stoppage because of the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 NHL draft has arrived.

The first round will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, while Rounds 2-7 follow on Wednesday starting at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The Flyers hold seven picks and their first-round selection comes at No. 23 overall.

Let's take a look at a target for the Flyers with the 23rd selection:

Roni Hirvonen 

Position: Center 

Height: 5-foot-9 

Weight: 164 

Shoots: Left 

Team: Ässät 

Scouting report

Hirvonen is an undersized center who was on the ice for about 15 minutes per game this season in Finland’s top league. As he transitioned to Liiga, he had 16 points in 52 games for Ässät (five goals, 11 assists). In 2018-19, he had impressive production at the U-20 level for his hometown team, Kiekko-Espoo, with 21 goals and 34 assists in 50 games.

His modest numbers for Ässät this season shouldn’t be discouraging. Playing against adults for the first time, Hirvonen was good enough to earn a regular spot in the lineup. The 18-year-old plays a relatively mature game, reading the play well and showing a solid sense of where he should be positioned on both ends. One of his strengths is moving the puck up ice with crisp long-distance passes. 

 

Though he’s unafraid to grapple in difficult areas, Hirvonen’s size is a concern, and it’s possible he’ll need to play on the wing in the NHL. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler praises his “feistiness,” which is a trait that should serve him well moving forward. Even when Hirvonen is giving up height and muscle, he finds ways to get to the front of the net. Despite not recording a power play goal this year, Hirvonen has the potential to be impactful on the power play because of that knack for sticking himself in dangerous spots, his vision and his puck handling.

His skating sometimes appears effortful and it takes him a while to accelerate, but he's generally pretty smooth once he gets going. Hirvonen told Jokke Nevalainen of DobberProspects.com in October that he feels his skating has recently improved. 

“I’m a smart player,” he said to Nevalainen. “Versatile. And as previously said, a dynamic skater. I have a warrior’s mentality.”

Fit with Flyers 

NHL Central Scouting ranked Hirvonen 10th among European skaters, while ESPN’s Chris Peters has him at No. 36 overall and TSN’s Craig Button puts him at No. 57. He’s worth consideration in the first two rounds for the Flyers, who took an undersized player at No. 34 last season in 5-foot-8, 164-pound right winger Bobby Brink.

"Obviously you’d want the big, scoring, playmaking center, anybody does,” Flyers assistant GM Brent Flahr told NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall in a phone interview on April 25. “We’re in a position where we’ll likely be taking the best player available. 

"Realistically the players you draft now are two or three years down the road, best-case scenario. Some cases you get surprised. But by then, your team needs are different. We’ll do the best we can, we have an idea of where our holes are going forward and places where we certainly want to add depth to, whether it’s center or scoring winger or defense, we’ll see what happens. We’ll prepare, we weigh guys against each other, the pros and cons and we’ll do the best we can there.”

Though Hirvonen successfully took the step up from the junior level this year, the typical timeline of at least “two or three years down the road” likely still applies. He’s not the classic, can’t-miss center Flahr described, but he’s an interesting prospect.