Predators first-rounder Tolvanen nets hat trick in first KHL game

Eeli-Tolvanen;-USHL;-Sioux-City-Musketeers;-2017-NHL-Draft

Eeli Tolvanen of the Sioux City Musketeers.. (Courtsey USHL)

First game. First hat trick. Eeli Tolvanen sure got his pro career started on the right track.

Tolvanen, a 2017 first-round pick of the Nashville Predators, scored his first three goals in his KHL debut as part of a 6-1 Jokerit win over Dynamo Minsk on Wednesday.

Tolvanen was selected 30th overall in June on the strength of two years with the United States Hockey League’s Sioux City Musketeers. He had 30 goals and 54 points in 52 games this past season.

The 18-year-old right-winger was scheduled to attend Boston College this fall, but had to pivot when he was deemed ineligible after failing to meet the school’s admission requirements.

A native of Nummela, Finland, Tolvanen signed with the only Finnish-based KHL team in July.

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