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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)
At the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas, the Maple Leafs selected four blueliners and in the fifth round (149th overall) selected Kral of the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. In three seasons, the Czech native showed significant growth, scoring 35, 36, and 49 points and playing for the Czech Republic in the 2018 and 2019 World Junior Championships.
Filip Kral (@MapleLeafs) keeps scoring goals and making moves in the #Extraliga.
— Czech Prospects (@CZprospects) December 21, 2020
🎥https://t.co/kqA0No6rrn pic.twitter.com/71JhYzjPVX
As with the other defensemen (Rasmus Sandin and Mac Hollowell) selected by GM Kyle Dubas in his first draft, the 6’2…, 176 lb. blueliner is heavy on skill, skating ability, and hockey IQ in the offensive zone
Toronto faced a signing deadline with Kral and locked him up on a three-year entry-level deal in April 2020. The plan was to play him in either the ECHL or American Hockey League last season, but with both leagues shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the Leafs sent the blueliner back home to get some playing time.
Kral finished tonight’s game with a goal, two assists and the shootout winner. pic.twitter.com/qd12Lay89m
— Czech Prospects (@CZprospects) December 21, 2020
After averaging over a point per game for second-tier HC Prerov, Kral was promoted to HC Kometa Brno, scoring 21 points (6 goals, 15 assists) in 48 games, and joined the Marlies for 10 games during their abbreviated schedule. In his first full season, Kral posted 21 points (3 goals, 18 assists) in 58 AHL games.
With a significant turnover on the Marlies blueline, Kral will likely see a role with increasing responsibility next season but will have to wait a couple years with veterans like Jake Muzzin and Mark Giordano ahead of him on the depth chart on the left side.
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