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, but with players like Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen and Travis Dermott now on their roster, the next step for the club is to keep replenishing the prospect pool to provide the Leafs with youngsters who can take step and replace veterans who retire, depart via free agency or are traded. With some input from Sportsology’s Russ Cohen and Gus Katsaros of McKeen’s Hockey, we are ranking the club’s top 25 prospects over the next few weeks based on their progress in either the NCAA, CHL, Europe or the American Hockey League and their potential to make the Leafs roster and make a contribution in the future. Players such as Dermott, Kapanen, Frederik Gauthier, Andreas Borgman, Calle Rosen, Josh Leivo, Garret Sparks and Justin Holl are not eligible because they have played more than 30 NHL games or are over the age of 23. We continue the list today with the third ranked player of the Maple Leafs Top 25 Prospects; a winger has shown great potential in international competition, in two seasons in the SHL and in a pair of stints in the American Hockey League. #25 – JD Greenway (Defense, Dubuque Fighting Saints – USHL) #24 – Ian Scott (Goaltender, Prince Albert Raiders – WHL) #23 - Martins Dzierkals (Winger, Orlando/ Toronto – ECHL/AHL) #22 - Andrew Nielsen (Defense, Toronto Marlies – AHL) #21 – Riley Stotts (Center, Swift Current/Calgary Hitmen - WHL) #20 – Filip Kral (Defense, Spokane Chiefs – WHL) #19 – Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (Center, Peterborough Petes - OHL) #18 – Mac Hollowell (Defense, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds – OHL) #17 – Sean Durzi (Defense, Owen Sound Attack - OHL) #16 – Jesper Lindgren (Defense, HRK/Toronto Marlies – SM-Liiga/AHL) #15 – Fedor Gordeev (Defense, Flint Firebirds - OHL) #14 – Mason Marchment (Winger, Toronto Marlies – AHL) #13 – Eemeli Rasanen (Defense, Kingston Frontenacs - OHL) #12 – Adam Brooks (Center, Toronto Marlies – AHL) #11 – Dakota Joshua (Center, Ohio State – NCAA/Big 10) #10 – Joseph Woll (Goaltender, Boston College – NCAA) #9 – Trevor Moore (Winger, Toronto Marlies - AHL) #8 – Pierre Engvall (Winger, Toronto Marlies – AHL) #7 – Dmytro Timashov (Winger, Toronto Marlies - AHL) #6 – Yegor Korshkov (Winger, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv – KHL) #5 – Jeremy Bracco (Winger, Toronto Marlies - AHL) #4 – Rasmus Sandin (Defense, Sault Ste. Marie – OHL) #3 – Carl Grundstrom (Winger, Frolunda/Toronto Marlies - SHL/AHL)
One of the fringe benefits of the Maple Leafs systematic teardown at the end of the 2015-16 season was the acquisition of extra draft picks. GM Lou Lamoriello swapped journeyman forward Daniel Winnik to Washington and took on the pricey cap hit of veteran Brooks Laich at the trade deadline and in return got young blueliner Connor Carrick and the Capitals 2016 second round pick. After taking Auston Matthews first overall at the NHL Draft in Buffalo and opening Day #2 by selecting big Russian winger Yegor Korshkov, the Leafs used the Washington pick to select Swedish winger Carl Grundstrom 57th overall. Grundstrom played with MODO with William Nylander as a 16-year-old and impressed Toronto scouts and Asst. GM Mark Hunter with his ability to get under the skin of the opposition, so much so that Hunter immediately drew comparisons to Leafs winger Leo Komarov. At 6’0…, 194 lb., Grundstrom is sturdily built and plays with high energy. He is adept at forechecking and as a penalty killer, but also excels in puck battles along the boards and does not shy away from contact in the front of the net and in the dirty areas. Shifting to Frolunda, the 18-year-old began to show development on the offensive side, doubling his goal total to 14 in the SHL and scoring seven points on the top line for Sweden at the 2017 World Junior. His rapid ascent among Leafs prospects was confirmed at the end of the 2016-17 season, when Grundstrom joined the Toronto Marlies in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. The feisty winger seemed unphased by the Syracuse Crunch in his debut and scored three goals for Toronto in six playoff games. After another successful SHL season (17 goals in 35 games), Grundstrom once again joined the Marlies at the end of the regular season and took the spot of Kasperi Kapanen on Toronto’s top line with Miro Aaltonen and AHL Playoff MVP Andreas Johnsson, finishing second on the club with eight post-season goals.
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