CALGARY, Alberta — The Calgary Flames renounced their rights to draft pick Topi Ronni on Tuesday after the 19-year-old was sentenced in his native Finland for a rape that occurred when he was a minor.
Ronni was given a one-year suspended prison sentence by the District Court of Helsinki, his Finnish Elite League team announced Tuesday. The team, Tappara Tampere, said it has terminated his contract.
The Flames, who drafted Ronni 59th overall in the 2022 NHL draft, announced later they had dropped him.
Ronni apologized in a statement on Tappara Tampere’s website.
Ronni was charged in October. His Finnish team said then he would step away from team activities during the investigation.
The incident occurred in 2021. Details of the allegations against Ronni were not known because the case documents were sealed.