With the Maple Leafs on Olympic hiatus and the Marlies out of action due to the AHL All-Star break, it’s a good time to check on Toronto’s future prospects in the CHL, NCAA or in Europe.
2013 Draft
Gauthier’s defensive abilities and size earned him a spot on the World Junior squad in Malmo, Sweden, where the big 18-year-old had an assist in seven games for Team Canada. His sophomore season in Rimouski has been not been fruitful in terms of goal scoring, as the Leafs 2013 first rounder has just eight goals in 40 games, but Gauthier is third on the club with 26 assists.
The Leafs 2013 third round pick is 12th in OHL scoring and leads the Ice Dogs with 70 points(26G, 44A). The 18-year-old center continues to impress, scoring a hat trick in a 5-4 shootout loss to Kitchener on February 1st and scored an assist in a 7-1 loss to Sudbury last Saturday.
Herzog continues to thrive in his first season with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts. He is second on the team with 26 goals in 48 games. The Leafs 142nd overall pick in the 2013 draft led Team Switzerland with three goals in five games at the 2014 WJHC.
The 19-year-old Bibeau was traded from Charlottetown to Val d’Or on December 29 and he has gone 5-5-1 with a sub .900 save percentage since the trade. Bibeau made 29 saves in a 4-3 win over the Chicoutimi Sagueneens last Saturday.
The speedy smallish Swede continues to exceed expectations after being drafted 202nd overall by the Leafs. His 15 goals is second behind only Blue Jackets first rounder Alexander Wennberg for Frolunda HC, following up on a successful WJHC, where he scored six points in seven games for Team Sweden.
Part II on Wednesday
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Olympic Notes - Leafs forwards Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk have been matched with San Jose's Joe Pavelski for Team USA.
Winger Nikolai Kulemin has been placed on Team Russia's checking line with Blue Jackets center Artem Anisimov and St Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko.
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Kessel and van Riemsdyk with a former(and future) teammate Leo Komarov in Sochi via Komarov's Twitter feed on Tuesday.
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