St. Louis Blues 2020 Mock Draft: Roni Hirvonen Work In Progress

The St. Louis Blues are being forced to delve deep into their scouting reports since the NHL Draft could be a month away. An intriguing prospect might be a center from Finland.

Tis the season for NHL mock drafts. Even though there has been no culmination to the St. Louis Blues season, or any team for that matter, the possibilities for a draft exist.

As of right now, the NHL seems to be pushing for a normal June draft. I believe that is a monumental mistake, but will expand on that in a different article.

Regardless of when the NHL Draft occurs, the Blues will be relying fully on their scouting staff’s reviews. Unless something monumental changes, there simply will not be time nor opportunity for pro days or in-person interviews.

So, the Blues and all other 30 teams are drafting the old-fashioned way. The eye test and stats.

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The first mock draft to come to my attention comes from Tankathon. It’s an interesting site that will simulate the lottery order, but as far as I can tell the picks remained the same.

However, the selection for the Blues on that draft was an undersized center from Finland. Tankathon had St. Louis picking Roni Hirvonen.

Hirvonen is only 18, so drafting him would be somewhat of a longer-term project. That is not to say there is not talent there.

Hirvonen is ranked as the 10th best European skater available in this year’s draft class. He is ranked 21st overall by the site Future Considerations and 29th by Eliteprospects.com draft board.

That is likely the reason he would be available for the Blues, who are scheduled to draft with the 30th pick overall, according to Tankathon. Hirvonen has some skill as well.

In one season in the Finnish junior league, their equivalent to the CHL, he put up 21 goals and 55 points in 50 games. He also scored three goals and 15 points in 11 playoff games during the 2019 playoffs, continuing to show he is a solid playmaker.

The only question with a player like Hirvonen is how long the developmental curve would be. There was quite a dropoff in production when he moved to a professional league playing with men instead of his peers.

In 52 games during the Finnish Elite League season, Hirvonen scored just five goals and 15 points overall. However, none of the sites with his stats listed playing time, so he could have been relegated to a fourth-line role for all we know. That does make a difference.

Like so many in hockey, and other sports, Hirvonen’s height might be an issue. He is listed at 5’9 and weighing anywhere from 154-163 lbs. At 5’9, 163 lbs would actually be pretty solid. That is not to say he could not get stronger, but you don’t want to take away any quickness by bulking up a smaller frame.

Jokke Nevalainen of Dobber Prospects projects him to switch to the wing if he makes the NHL. That would be my guess as well as there is less physical punishment on the wings. You would think it might be easier to put a winger into the boards, but even Tyler Bozak said he got banged around much less when he switched to the wing during the 2019-20 season.

However, Scott Wheeler of the Athletic said Hirvonen has some feistiness to go with his skill. So, if he could hold his own physically, there is no reason he could not stay in the middle.

You can never have too much depth at center. If nothing else, the Blues have proven that having centers play the wing gives them an option to switch back to the middle if a regular center gets injured.

Hirvonen is an interesting prospect, but given the team’s current depth and his age, he would be somewhat of a project. The main question, if he was drafted by the Blues, would be whether to let him continue in the Finnish Liiga or try to convince him to come to the AHL to acclimate to the North American game.

Nevertheless, Hirvonen is one to keep an eye on whenever the NHL Draft occurs.

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