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Leafs prospects tumble in ESPN rankings, Toninato signs with Avalanche

August 17, 2017, 4:24 PM ET [202 Comments]
Mike Augello
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Last August, the Toronto Maple Leafs were ranked as the most talent-laden organization in the National Hockey League on ESPN’s prospect list, with eight players in the top 100 players and three rookies (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander) in the top 10.

12 months later, Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Connor Brown have graduated and Toronto has dropped to 13th in the league according to ESPN’s Corey Pronman, with just five players in the top 100.

Winger Kasperi Kapanen was the highest rated prospect at 40th (up from 58th in 2016) due to averaging a point-per-game in an injury-shortened season with the AHL Toronto Marlies, and scoring three key goals that helped the Leafs clinch a playoff spot and win a playoff game against the Washington Capitals.
2017 first round pick Timothy Liljegren was ranked 43rd and 11th among blueliners.

The 17th overall pick was understandably slotted behind top defensive prospects Charlie McAvoy(BOS), Thomas Chabot(OTT) and Mikhail Sergachev(TB), but also behind blueliners with more question marks such as Golden Knights first rounder Erik Brannstrom and Preds prospect Samuel Girard.

2015 second rounder Travis Dermott’s stock rose from 90 to 73rd after a 24-point campaign in his first professional season with the Marlies, but Jeremy Bracco dropped a dozen spots from #67 to 79th, in spite of winning gold with Team USA at the 2017 World Junior, scoring 83 points in 57 OHL games last season and winning a Memorial Cup with Windsor.

2016 second rounder Carl Grundstrom only received an honorable mention, in spite of an impressive showing at the WJC with Team Sweden, scoring 14 goals in the SHL and three times in the Calder Cup Playoffs as a 19-year-old, as well as Marlies defenseman Andrew Nielsen.

Joseph Woll, considered the Leafs goaltender of the future, is ranked seventh of the top 10 goaltending prospects, after a good freshman season at Boston College and splitting time with Tyler Parsons for Team USA at the 2017 World Junior.

Puzzlingly, Woll was ranked just behind Dallas first round pick Jake Oettinger, who he beat out for a spot on Team USA.

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Former Leafs prospect Dominic Toninato found an NHL home on Wednesday, signing a two-year entry-level deal with the Colorado Avalanche.

The 2012 fifth round pick indicated in an interview with Mike Chambers of the Denver Post that Toronto could not offer the Minnesota-Duluth product an NHL contract because of their lack of space under the 50 professional contract limit.

“(The Leafs) didn’t have any contracts available,” Toninato said. “They only had an AHL offer and that’s not what we were looking for. So things just didn’t work out with them.”

The 23-year-old center was offered an entry-level contract by the Leafs last summer, but chose to return to college for his senior season and a chance of an NCAA title.

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