One of the best players’ time in development camp ended unexpectedly early when he suffered a concussion from an open-ice hit thrown by defenseman Nolan Dillingham.
Scary moment there for Ronnie Hirvonen (2020 draft, No. 59 overall) after he got hit near center ice and hit his head on the ice. He is under his own power and undoubtedly set out to monitor the concussion pic.twitter.com/EKmNBZucZE
– Katie (@itsmitchmarney) July 8, 2023
Hirvonen was skating across the middle of the ice when the unsuspecting player was hit hard by Dillingham. The Finnish center was lying motionless on the ice and was drawn to attention by the coach before he got off the ice with his own power.
Hayley Wickenheiser, Assistant General Manager, Leafs, confirmed to reporters that Hirvonen had sustained a concussion from the collision and would need some time to recover. She was quick to point out She considered the hit to be clean but unexpected during the summer brawl. On the plus side, it was Hirvonen spotted walking around Ford Performance Center on its own so the result could have been a lot worse.
New Hirvonen with 28 points HIFK Helsinki while also adding four points in 11 play-off matches. He is set to begin his first professional season in North America with the Marlies where he is expected to spend the year in the AHL developing his game.
He was originally taken in the second round 59th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Dillingham is a free agent invitee who has spent the past five years with the Sarnia Stings of the OHL. In his breakout campaign, he led the team in scoring with 14 points in 45 games while adding six points in 12 playoff games.
stats from Elite prospects.