Here is a progress report on the Leafs prospects in the CHL, Europe and the NCAA:
2012 Draft Picks
Morgan Rielly D - Moose Jaw Warriors [WHL] 39 GP, 7 G,25 A, 32 Pts, 5 PIM
The 2012 first rounder played well for Team Canada at the World Juniors in Ufa, Russia and impressed many with his play at training camp in Toronto earlier in the month, but Leafs management wisely decided to send the 18 year old back to Moose Jaw to finish out the 2012-13 season.
Rielly had two assists on Friday to lead the Warriors to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Kootenay Ice.
With Moose Jaw currently 11th in the WHL Eastern Conference standings, it is highly likely that once their season is complete, that the young blueliner will get some playing time with the Toronto Marlies or possibly the Leafs.
Matt Finn D - Guelph Storm [OHL] 36 GP,11 G, 18 A, 29 Pts, 22 PIM
The young defenseman has had a very impressive campaign with the Storm, tied for the club lead in defensive scoring with 11 goals, in spite of missing time in December with a bout of mononucleosis. He has also missed games in January, which could mean that the illness has returned.
Dominic Toninato F - Fargo Force [USHL]40 GP, 16 G, 25 A, 41 Pts 30 PIM
The Leafs fifth rounder is scoring at greater than a point per game pace for the USHL’s Force. The young forward, who signed a letter of intent to attend his hometown University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, scored a goal and an assist in Fargo’s 7-3 victory over Tri-City last week.
Connor Brown RW - Erie Otters [OHL] 49 GP, 25 G, 34 A, 59 Pts, 31 PIM
The Otters team captain leads the club in points(59), goals(25) and assists(34), he also leads the OHL with 14 power play goals, but the Otters are languishing at the bottom of the OHL’s Midwest Division with a 15-26-3-5 record.
Ryan Rupert C - London Knights [OHL] 35 GP, 8 G, 24 A, 32 Pts, 42 PIM
The feisty Rupert had his share of bad luck this season, but has recovered from shoulder and hand injuries to dramatically improve his offensive numbers. In his last 13 games, the young center has registered seven goals and 13 assists, but he has missed the last three games due to a suspension for abuse of an official.
Viktor Loov D - Sodertalje SK [Swe-1] 29 GP, 2 G, 5 A, 7 Pts, 41 PIM
The seventh round pick was drafted at age 19 by the Leafs and appears to be a young blueliner who will likely stay in Sweden for the next couple seasons to gain experience in the Elite League.
2011 Draft Picks
Tyler Biggs RW – Oshawa Generals[OHL] 43 GP, 19 G, 21 A, 40 Pts, 242 PIM
Biggs played well in a limited role for Team USA’s gold medal winning squad at the World Juniors and continues to score regularly for the Generals, as he is second in team scoring with 40 points behind Team Canada representative Boone Jenner.
Stuart Percy D - Mississauga Steelheads [OHL] 47 GP, 10 G, 19 A, 29 Pts 28 PIM
The Steelheads is having another solid season with Mississauga, the kind of dependable play that attracted former Leafs GM Brian Burke to draft the blueliner 25th overall in 2011. Percy scored a shootout goal in a 5-4 victory over Ottawa.
In an evaluation of some notable OHL players, Sportsnet’s Patrick King said of Percy “his numbers don't do him justice, but Percy is a rock on defense.”
Joshua Leivo LW – Kitchener Rangers[OHL] 44 GP, 22 G, 33 A, 55 Pts, 42 PIM
Leivo’s scoring prowess in Sudbury made the 19 year old winger an attractive commodity and he was traded just before the OHL trade deadline to Kitchener, where he has scored 11 points in 10 games for his new club.
Tom Nilsson D - Mora Jr. [Sweden] 32 GP,1 G, 2 A, 3 Pts 16 PIM
The Leafs fourth rounder put on an impressive display at the World Juniors in Ufa. He was an integral part of Team Sweden getting to the Gold Medal game, as he logged top pairing minutes and played a shutdown defensive role.
Tony Cameranesi C - U. Minnesota-Duluth 24 GP, 10 G, 12 A, 22 Pts, 20 PIM
Cameranesi continues to score at nearly a point a game pace for the UMD Bulldogs, but nearly started a Pier 6 brawl in an exhibition games against the Team USA under 18 squad after driving into the US netminder after a breakaway.
The WCHA’s rookie points leader notched two goals and an assist as the Bulldogs edged Michigan Tech 5-4 on Saturday to complete a sweep of their weekend series. (Terry Koshan – Toronto Sun)
David Broll LW - Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds [OHL] 49 GP, 14 G, 27 A, 41 Pts, 48 PIM
The 19 year old has been partnered with Nick Cousins and Brandon Alderson to make up a Hounds top shut down line. Broll has scored five goals and 12 assists in the last 14 games and has eclipsed his career best in goals and assists.
Dennis Robertson D - Brown University [ECAC] 20 GP, 1 G, 11 A, 12 Pts 38 PIM
The 21 year old junior blueliner suffered an upper-body injury against Harvard on January 19th. Robertson played an unheard of 40 minutes in a 4-2 loss to Dartmouth.
Garret Sparks G - Guelph Storm [OHL] 41 GP,25-9-4 2.52 GAA, .920 Sv%
The 19 year old Sparks was a member of Team USA’s winning squad in Ufa, but more impressively is putting up great numbers with Guelph this season. The goalie made 38 saves and earned his sixth shutout of the season over Owen Sound last week.
Sparks is now tied for second in the OHL with 25 wins and has a sparkling 7-0-0 record in January, with a 1.43 GAA and .943 save %
Max Everson D – Harvard U(ECAC) 7 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 Pts 4 PIM,
Omama Lancers(USHL) 15 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 Pts, 8 PIM
Everson, who has been suspended and unable to play college hockey, has struggled with the USHL’s Lancers, with just one goal and 4 assists in 15 games.
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