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The Calgary Flames have renounced the rights to unsigned draft pick Topi Ronni, the team announced Tuesday.
According to a report from The Atheltic‘s Julian McKenzie and Lassi Alanen of Elite Prospects, Tappara Tampere — Ronni’s team in Finland — announced on Tuesday that the District Court of Helsinki had sentenced Rooni to a one-year suspended sentence for rape committed as a young person.
Tappara Tampere has also announced that they had terminated Rooni’s contract. McKenzie reports that Ronni apologized for his actions on the team website.
The 19-year-old forward was originally charged in October. He was still a minor when the incident occurred.
Ronni was the Flames’ second-round (59th overall) pick at the 2022 NHL Draft.
The Calgary Flames have made the decision to relinquish their rights to unsigned draft pick Topi Ronni. The 21-year-old Finnish defenseman was selected by the Flames in the sixth round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, but after two years of being unable to come to terms on a contract, the team has decided to move on.
Ronni has spent the past two seasons playing in his native Finland for KooKoo in the Liiga, where he has shown promise as a young defenseman. However, it appears that the Flames and Ronni were unable to find common ground on a contract that would bring him to North America to continue his development in the Flames’ organization.
This decision by the Flames to relinquish Ronni’s rights means that he is now free to sign with any other NHL team as an unrestricted free agent. It’s unclear at this time if there is interest from other teams in signing Ronni, but given his potential and the fact that he was drafted by an NHL team, it’s likely that there will be some interest from other organizations.
For the Flames, this move allows them to clear up a spot on their reserve list and move forward with their other prospects and draft picks. While it’s always disappointing to see a young player not pan out with the team that drafted them, it’s all part of the business of professional sports.
Overall, this decision by the Flames to relinquish their rights to Topi Ronni is a reminder of the challenges and uncertainties that come with drafting and developing young talent in the NHL. It will be interesting to see where Ronni ends up next and how he continues to progress in his hockey career.