Maple Leafs assign prospect Niemela to AHL's Marlies
Published
The Toronto Marlies announced Wednesday that defenceman Topi Niemela has been assigned to the AHL by the Toronto Maple Leafs from Finland's SM-liiga's Karpat.
The 21-year-old Finland-born blueliner was drafted by the Maple Leafs with the 64th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and has remained in his native Finland, playing four seasons for Karpat (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23).
In 58 games played this season, Niemela has scored eight goals and recorded 18 points.
A bronze medalist with Team Finland in 2021 at the World Juniors, Niemela led all defencemen in points (8) with two goals and six assists and was named Best Defenceman by the IIHF.
Niemela won silver with the Finns in 2022 when they fell to Team Canada.