Hirvonen played almost 20 minutes as HIFK’s second line center in their 2-4 loss against Pelicans. Held pointless, he was featured on both special teams and was trusted to play in every situation by his coaches.

I would categorize Hirvonen as a two-way center. He was very responsible in all three zones, keeping his shifts short and covering for his defenders whenever they went in deep in the offensive zone. Hirvonen was skating in good posture throughout the game, having his head up and reading the situation around him. His acceleration and top speed were both rather average, though.

Offensively, I was left wanting more from the 5 foot 11 center offensively. He was not driving the play too much, nor was he making a lot of plays with the puck in the offensive zone. Hirvonen did record a few shots, but most of them he shot from a fair bit of distance.

Hirvonen was HIFK’s second line center in 0-1 loss against Lukko. He played also in power play and penalty kill and he notched over 20 minutes of ice time, but he managed to record only two shots on goal.

To be honest, I was not completely satisfied what Hirvonen offered at the offensive zone. He didn’t look as good as I expected and his offensive game was just average. He gave couple of good passes, but that’s about it. I also felt that he did not get his feet going as well as he has shown before.

I still feel that he could become very reliable forward for more defensive-minded role. He is good checker and if something stands out from his abilities, it is his above average hockey sense. His positioning especially off the puck was top notch.

Being a very complete player for this level of play, Hirvonen had a lot of responsibility playing as a first line center. He was also part of HIFK’s first power play unit and he was one of the forwards playing shorthanded.

As always, Hirvonen showed a great work ethic and skating ability. His good wheels helped him to be one of the best checkers in his team and he also used his speed well in the offensive game. Even though he could do a bit better job cutting the passing lanes, his defensive game has been really good for a long time and he seems to be improved even more in that area.

While he still isn’t consistently impressive playmaker or goal scorer, he has above average hands for this level and I was impressed with his hockey sense. His positioning was excellent all-round and he showed will to go to the dirty areas. His strong play in front of the net especially during the power play created couple of scoring chances during the game.

Hirvonen has been one of the most pleasant surprises in the Finnish U18 team. While he hasn’t collected many points in the tournament, he has been excellent as fourth line winger and penalty killer.

Hirvonen is the kind of player who gives everything on ice. He has excellent work ethic, he is constantly moving and thanks to his good wheels, he is able to play efficient checking game in all zones. He has pretty good offensive skill set but he could improve his shot as it doesn’t really look like a threat at this level.

While Hirvonen might not develop into the player who could be constantly contributing offensively, he has above average puck-handling skills. With his high-energy play and pretty good hands Hirvonen could develop into ideal candidate for the checking line.

Hirvonen played an impressive two-way game and scored two goals, leading HIFK U18 to a 5-1 win over Blues. His first goal was a particularly nice one. He found a soft spot in the offensive zone, received a cross-ice pass in a dangerous scoring position and finished off the play.

He’s a very good skater who is always moving and buzzing all over the ice. He’s quick to pucks and a tireless worker in all three zones. He has a quick wrist shot and showed a nose for the net. His offensive skill set is fairly good, but I was more impressed by his versatility and solid play away from the puck, especially on the penalty kill.

Hirvonen saw limited ice time as the fourth line center. He was also playing in penalty kill.

His qualities fits well for the more checking role. He is speedy forward with powerful acceleration and good agility. He went sometimes out of position but he showcased high work ethic and relatively solid checking game.

Hirvonen wasn’t able to generate a lot of offense in this game. He seemed to have decent hands but more responsibility would have been required for proper assessment. He is also pretty lightweight at this point and that causes some problems, but that is an area that should improve when he matures.