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The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Pierre Engvall, and Justin Holl), but the club under GM Kyle Dubas has 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 upcoming 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 - Vladislav Kara – LW (Yugra - VHL) #39 - Kalle Loponen – D (Koo Koo Kouvola/JyP HT – Finland SM-Liiga) #38 - Jeremy McKenna – RW (Wichita – ECHL, Toronto – AHL) #37 - John Fusco – D (Harvard – NCAA) #36 - Noel Hoefenmayer – D (Newfoundland – ECHL, Toronto – AHL) #35 - Ryan Chyzowski - LW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL) #34 - Braeden Kressler - C (Flint - OHL) #33 - Nikita Grebyonkin - RW (Stalnye Lisy - MHL, Magnitogorsk - KHL) #32 - Vyacheslav Peksa - G (Ibris Kazan - MHL) #31 - Dryden McKay - G (Minnesota Duluth - NCAA) #30 - Bobby McMann - C (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL) #29 - Pavel Gogolev – LW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto – AHL) #28 - Joe Miller – C (Chicago – USHL) #27 - Veeti Miettinen – RW (St. Cloud St. – NCAA) #26 - Brandon Lisowsky - LW (Saskatoon - WHL) #25 - Max Ellis - RW (Notre Dame - NCAA, Toronto - AHL) #24 - Axel Rindell – D (Karpat – Finland SM-Liiga) #23 - Mac Hollowell - D (Toronto – AHL) #22 - Artur Akhtyamov – G (Ak Bars Kazan – MHL/VHL/KHL) #21 - Semyon Der-Argushintsev - C (Toronto - AHL) #20 - Curtis Douglas - C (Toronto – AHL) #19 - Mikhail Abramov – C (Toronto – AHL) #18 - Dennis Hildeby - G (Farjestad - SHL) #17 - Ty Voit – LW (Sarnia – OHL) #16 - Filip Kral - D (Toronto - AHL)
#15 - Nick Moldenhauer - RW (Chicago - USHL)
The Toronto Maple Leafs resorted to trading down at the 2022 Draft in Montreal to get out of salary cap issues (trading their first and Petr Mrazek to Chicago for a second-round pick) and to get extra kicks at the can in the lower rounds. On Day 2, the Leafs traded the pick they acquired from Vancouver for Travis Dermott, moving down 16 slots to gain a fifth-round pick. At #95 overall, Toronto selected winger Nick Moldenhauer.
The 18-year-old Mississauga, ON native is a shining example of intestinal fortitude, posting excellent offensive numbers with the USHL’s Chicago Steel (18 goals, 25 assists in 41 games) after missing the first two months of the season due to illness and another month after a severe skate cut to his neck area and scored three points in four games for Canada at the under-18 world championships.
New Leafs prospect Nick Moldenhauer showing off his skill and tenacity with an incredible shift that ends with a slick finish in tight: pic.twitter.com/azjOM2o2Jt
— Nick Richard (@_NickRichard) July 8, 2022
The Hockey Prospect.com Black Book says that Moldenhauer is “a willing competitor near the net, who also really drives the cage and for a 5’10…, 170 lb. winger who isn’t very fast, he finds a way to get corner on d-men and take it to the hole whenever he can.…
Elite Prospects says Moldenhauer is a "dexterous handler, especially in tight spaces. Backhand, forehand, and slip passes feature regularly, even in-motion and under pressure. And the shot’s just as impressive, with the lower-body flexion and hand placement to generate significant force, and the elevated elbow and craftiness to change the angle inside his release.…
There was talk of Moldenhauer perhaps hooking on with a US College during the Leafs Development Camp last month, but it looks more likely that he will play another year for the Steel and perhaps make a bid to play for Canada internationally this season.
Nick Moldenhauer gets his first of the tournament by banging a rebound home in front to make it 1-0 Canada #U18Worlds pic.twitter.com/8K05xAzeNu
— Brandon Holmes (@BHolmes_Hockey) April 26, 2022
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