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Leafs following Wings over-ripening model

July 15, 2017, 9:05 PM ET [176 Comments]
Mike Augello
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The Detroit Red Wings player development model has clearly had an influence on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Team President Brendan Shanahan in the latter part of his playing career saw first hand how players under GM Ken Holland were kept in junior hockey longer and stayed as long as possible in the American Hockey League before they finally played for Mike Babcock at Joe Louis Arena.

The Maple Leafs did play 2016 top pick Auston Matthews in the NHL as a 19-year-old rookie (which did not turn out so badly), but had William Nylander play in the SHL and for the Toronto Marlies for most of his first two seasons and sent Mitch Marner back to London after being drafted fourth overall.

Where you can see the patience really being practiced is with the second level of Toronto prospects. The Leafs defense was an area of concern for most of last season, but GM Lou Lamoriello did not succumb to the temptation to call up 20-year-old blueliner Travis Dermott.

The 2015 second round pick is expected to challenge for a spot at training camp, but if he does not earn one of the six starting spots, Dermott will return to play a second season in the AHL.

After years of being almost bereft of prospects, the Leafs are overflowing to the point that they have had to make some tough decisions.

Because of their contract limitations, the Toronto allowed defenseman Stephen Desrocher, forwards Dominic Toninato, Fabrice Herzog, Nikita Korostelev and Jack Walker to either re-enter the draft or become unrestricted free agents, and put off decisions on Swedish prospects Jesper Lindgren and Pierre Engvall by allowing them to sign with teams in the Finnish SM-Liiga and Swedish Hockey League.

Toninato (team captain of NCAA finalist Minnesota-Duluth) was offered a deal last summer, but returned to college for his senior season and refused Toronto’s offer of an AHL contract earlier this month.

2015 third-rounder Martins Dzierkals and 2016 fifth rounder Vladimir Bobylev both indicated at last week’s Rookie Development Camp that they do not want to go back to Junior as overagers this fall and hope to sign pro contracts, but the Leafs do not have the room to sign either as they are one short of the 50 professional contract limit.

Dzierkals was drafted out of Latvia before coming to North America and playing two seasons with Rouyn-Noranda, so the Leafs retain his rights for two more years, while Bobylev has to be signed by next June or he will become a free agent.

Both could be anxious enough to not go back to junior to sign AHL deals, but the Marlies continue to add forwards on minor league contracts and that might mean both starting in the ECHL or exploring other options.

Toronto signed forward Jean Dupuy to an AHL deal earlier this month and on Saturday signed winger Joshua Winquist, along with defensemen Matias Cleland and Michael Paliotta for the 2017-18 season.

Winquist, 23, scored 15 goals with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers last season.

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