It’s no secret the Leafs prospect pool is not very strong, it’s supposed to be when you’ve been a top team in the NHL for the past few years. They currently sit around 17-20 range in Team prospect rankings. The Leafs have not had many high picks in recent years, their system lacks depth, notably at Center and Defense, but there is a few players here who I think can help the team. It is frustrating watching a team like CAR, who have been contenders for the past few season still have the ability to add multiple picks and have a very deep prospect pool. It is still less than ideal to have such a thin draft capital regardless of what the circumstances are.
There’s a consistency to what the Leafs value — puck skills and intelligence — but in the past two years, the Leafs have moved more heavily into physical skills, like puck protection, at both the draft table and in prospect free agent signings. The Leafs have put together an interesting mix of prospects, ranging from toolsy in-flight creators to heavy forecheck battlers.
It has been a few years since the Leafs were sending players from the Marlies to come up and help the Leafs. All of: Nylander, Hyman, Brown, Kapanen, Johnsson, Engvall, Moore, Leivo, Gauthier, Frattin, Marchment, Dermott, Carrick, Holl, Sandin, Liljgren, have all spent time with the Marlies before they came up to help the Leafs. I am hopeful this year is the start of another run for the Marlies to graduate players (Robertson, Steeves, Holmberg, Douglas, McMann, Kral) that can come in the help out the Leafs today followed by Knies, Niemela, Tverberg, Voit, Moldenhauer, Peska down the road.
Will highlight one player from each Tier.
Tier One
No one
Tier Two
Matthew Knies
Knies - His play by Team USA at the WJC has some deciding that the hype on Knies is overblown, and he’s not that good. I will agree he did not standout out on the score sheet but was extremely effective at setting up plays with his aggressiveness around the net. He’s also quite talented in transition, as he can pick up the puck behind the net and absolutely fly through the neutral zone, building up speed using crossovers as he moves through the neutral zone. Knies likes to break the play out wide when entering the offensive zone, cut around the defender, and then drive hard to the net. Knies has a really high motor when it comes to driving to the net. He’s capable of taking on 3 or more defenders at a time with the puck on his stick, allowing his teammates to exploit the added space in the offensive zone. Though Knies may be considered more of a pass-first player with incredible vision, don’t sleep on his shot. He has a wicked wrist shot that he can deliver with speed and accuracy. Leaf fans defiantly need to take a step back and realize he is not going to walk onto the NHL team and take over a top-six spot. Patience will pay off with Knies, I see him signing his ELC after his college season and hopefully add some depth for a playoff run. But a full year in the AHL starting next year will pay off for his development.
Tier 3
Nick Robertson - Topi Niemela
Topi Niemela - is a player who gets rave reviews for his skating, defense and “hockey IQ”. Thought to basically only be a defensive defenseman, he has greatly improved his offensive potential and developed into a very good two-way defenseman. This past season, Niemelä showed that he could realize his whole potential. He set a Liiga record for most points by an U20 defenseman in a single season with 32 in only 48 games. He at times led the team in scoring, played on the top pair, on the penalty kill, and on the powerplay. The future for Niemelä seems bright as a potential two-way defender who can play in all situations. He can kill penalties, run a powerplay, and eat minutes at even strength. The skills and the intelligence are all there, the key with him will be to get stronger. At 170 lbs will not be enough for him as a defenseman to survive the NHL. The main issue with Niemelä’s projection as a defenseman in the NHL is if he can physically handle it. Being smart and a brilliant skater is likely already enough to get him there at some level, but adding muscle and strength could help him lock down a second pairing spot. He at least starts next season in the AHL, maybe a mid-season call-up but he IMO is two years away from competing for a job.
Tier 4
Alex Steeves – Nick Abruzzese – Roni Hirvonen – Pontus Holmberg – Ty Voit – Ryan Tverberg – Nick Moldenhauer – Vyschslav Peska – Curtis Douglas – Bobby McMann
Nick Moldenhauer – I was really high on Tverberg and Joe Miller last year (both took big steps in their development) this year I believe Moldenhauer will – he is also off to a great start with the Chicago Steel. This is a guy who missed over two months through training camp and into the season with an illness which caused him to lose 15 lbs. Then 39 seconds into his first shift after returning, he was accidentally kicked in the face by a player which cut him along his jawline. Two days later, they discovered it had just barely nicked his carotid artery and he had to have an emergency blood transfusion and 175 stitches to fully stop the bleeding. CRAZY. In his first 21 games back he had only 14 points to start off the year but then exploded for 29 points in 20 games to finish off the year. He actually finished 2nd in even strength primary points, only five behind the leader with 21 fewer games played. And he finished with the highest primary points per 60 minutes rate in the USHL for draft eligible players. That was ahead of Cameron Lund (34th), Dylan James (40th overall), Ryan Greene (57th), and Adam Ingram (82nd overall) who were all taken before him. He also is relied on in all situations – playing 2nd PP and 1st on the PK unit. He changes speeds, uses his edges well, and despite being a bit on the smaller side bigger opponents have trouble knocking him over. Moldenhauer profiles as a super utility forward (hi Alex Kerfoot), where he can be used in all situations. He is responsible defensively and can do very well on a penalty kill. He can contribute to a secondary powerplay unit. He can play center and both wings. The Steel have Nick lined of as the 1C to start the year and he is off to a great start (3G 1A in 2 games). With the lack on C depth in the system, this would be a great to see. He is defiantly a longer term project but could develop into a really good 3C for the Leafs.
Tier 5
Filip Kral, Artur Akhymov, Veeti Miettnen, Dmitri Ovchinnikov, Pavel Gogolev, William Villaneuve, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Max Ellis, Fraser Minten
Fraser Minten - When he was selected, Minten was seen as a bit of a reach. A few outlets had him ranked at the very end of the second round at the earliest, but most had him as a late 3rd to early 4th round pick. His 55 points in 67 games don't look spectacular, but he started the season further down the lineup, not getting much playing time and no time on the powerplay to rack up more points. Only averaged about 14 minutes of ice time per game for the whole season. He did finish 7th in the WHL for his age group in total primary points and even strength primary points. But he really elevated his game in the playoffs for Kamlopps - he improved his production from 0.76 points and 2.86 shots per game to 0.93 points and 3.79 shots per game while adding 16 points in 17 playoff games. Minten isn’t going to dazzle you with his puck skills or make a lot of highlight reel plays, but he works hard in all three zones and can create a fair amount of offense from his determination for the puck. He’s steady, with very little panic in his game. This is a player I am not high on but will try to watch as many Blazers games as I can this year. There are times where it can look like he’s a physical, power forward with some one-touch skill and some scoring prowess around the net. There are other times where he looks like a fringe 4th liner whose only value will come from his relentless forecheck and shoot the puck from anywhere. Minten has an NHL projectable game, his dogged determination in the defensive zone will carry him to the NHL. If he was selected in the 4th round or lower I would probably be more excited for him, but at 38th overall, they Leafs needed to swing for the fences with a higher ceiling player (Gleb Trikozov, Lane Hutson, Calle Odelius, Noah Warren, Michael Fisher) but the Leafs staff is much smarter than me. I will be rooting for Minten to prove me wrong.
HM
Joe Miller - Michael Koster - Braeden Kressler - Nikita Grebenkin - Keith Petruzzelli (unsigned) - Rodion Amirov (just get healthy)
Here is Steve Dangle's list
Saskleaf et Lanny_McJagrBomb a aimé ceci.
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