Leafs Prospects – Part II, World Junior Update (maple leafs)

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Leafs Prospects – Part II, World Junior Update

By Mike Augello

Dec 26, 2016 • 8:58 pm

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With the 2017 IIHF World Junior opening in Toronto and Montreal on Monday, it is good time to check in on the Maple Leafs prospects who we will see over the next couple weeks and those currently playing in the OHL, QMJHL, WHL, NCAA and Europe:

2015 Draft

The 19-year-old winger had a 26-game point streak snapped against London on December 11th, just prior to leaving for Team USA’s pre-tournament WJC camp. Bracco is fifth in OHL scoring with 51 points and scored a goal in the American’s 6-1 victory over Latvia on Monday.

Dzierkals played his first game since November 25th in a 6-1 loss to Team USA on Monday. The Latvian winger has missed a dozen games due to a lower body injury, but is still fifth in scoring for Rouyn-Noranda with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists).

The 19-year-old defenseman has one goal, nine assists in 28 games for MODO, who is playing in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan this season after they were relegated from the Swedish Hockey League. Lindgren was invited to Team Sweden’s summer camp for the World Junior, but did not get selected for the club’s preliminary tournament roster.

After winning a Memorial Cup with Oshawa in 2015, Desrocher was traded to Kingston and had a career-best 46 points with the Generals/Frontenacs last season. The 20-year-old has five goals and 15 assists in 30 games with Kingston in his final OHL season and has not signed an entry-level contract with Toronto as of yet.

The 19-year-old Russian winger is on pace to posting career-best numbers with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting (17 goals, 17 assists in 29 games) and tallied twice in a 5-4 victory over Guelph on December 7. Korostelev was invited to Team Russia’s pre-tournament training camp, but was one of the final cuts.

2014 Draft

Piccinich was named team captain of the Memorial Cup champion London Knights in November and with Mitch Marner, Christian Dvorak and Matthew Tkachuk all graduated to the NHL, the 20-year-old has taken on a bigger scoring role and is third on the Knights with 38 points (13 goals and 25 assists) in 30 games.

The rugged Joshua is in his sophomore season at Ohio State, coming off a 17-point year as a freshman and is at a point-per-game pace with two goals and 12 assists in 14 games with the Buckeyes.

The 19-year-old forward was suspended one game in early December for an elbowing penalty against U. of Minnesota.

The younger Vesey struggled (only 11 points) in his sophomore season at the University of Maine, but has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) at the halfway mark of the season with the Black Bears.

Engvall scored 12 goals for the second-tier Mora IK last season and is second on the club with 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 28 games this season.

2012 Draft

The 22-year-old is team captain of the top-ranked Minnesota-Duluth and has five goals and seven assists in 18 games. Toninato scored the game-winning goal for the Bulldogs in a 2-1 win over Bemidji State on December 17th.

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Leafs 2016 second rounder Carl Grundstrom had a goal and an assist in Sweden’s 6-1 win over Denmark in their opening game of the 2017 IIHF World Junior on Monday. The 57th overall pick assisted on Jonathan Dahlen’s second period goal and scored on a breakaway in the third period.

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Listen to the Christmas edition of “Off the Post… with myself, Russ Cohen and Anthony Mingioni, as we discuss the latest in the NHL and our holiday gripes.

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