Be sure to like HockeyBuzz on facebook! For the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Pierre Engvall, Travis Dermott and Justin Holl, but the next step for the club under GM Kyle Dubas is to keep replenishing the prospect pool to provide the Leafs with youngsters who can step up and replace veterans who retire, depart via free agency or are traded. As we did last year, we will rank the club’s top prospects over the next few weeks based on their progress in either the NCAA, CHL, Europe, ECHL or AHL and their potential to make the Leafs roster and make a contribution in the future. Players are eligible for the list if they have not played more than 40 NHL games: #40 – J.D. Greenway – D (Maine – NCAA) #39 – Eemeli Rasanen – D (HPK – Finland SM-Liiga) #38 – Jeremy McKenna – RW (Moncton – QMJHL) #37 – Ryan O’Connell – D (Ohio State – NCAA) #36 – Veeti Miettinen – RW (St. Cloud St. – NCAA #35 - Semyon Kizimov – RW (Lada Togliatti – VHL / Torpedo – KHL) #34 - Kalle Loponen – D (Karpat – Finland SM-Liiga) #33 - Vladislav Kara – LW (Cherepovets Severstal – KHL) #32 - John Fusco – D (Harvard – NCAA) #31 - Wyatt Schingoethe – C (Waterloo – USHL) #30 - William Villeneuve – D (Saint John – QMJHL) #29 - Joe Miller – C (Chicago – USHL) #28 - Axel Rindell – D (Jukurit – Finland SM-Liiga) #27 - Kristians Rubins - D (Toronto - AHL / Frederikshavn - Denmark) #26 - Justin Brazeau - RW (Newfoundland - ECHL / Toronto - AHL) #25 – Dmitry Ovchinnikov – F (Sibir Novosibirsk – MHL/KHL) #24 – Artur Akhtyamov – G (Ak Bars Kazan – MHL/VHL/KHL) The Maple Leafs have a pair of young goaltenders developing in their system in Joseph Woll (a third-round pick in 2016) and Ian Scott (who was selected in the fourth round a year later), but in the 2020 NHL Draft, Toronto focused on selecting players with the longer development window, such as Russian goalie Artur Ahktyamov. The 19-year-old was selected in the fourth round (106th overall) after posting a 1.80 GAA in 46 games for Ak-Bars Kazan’s MHL junior squad. This year, the 6’1… 157 lb. netminder was promoted to the pro level VHL and had such success that he earned another promotion and played five games in the KHL.
The new season is closing in.
— Norman James (@IamNormanJames) December 13, 2020
We pod again.
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