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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), but the club under former GM Kyle Dubas replenished their prospect pool to provide the Leafs with young prospects. It will now be up to new GM Brad Treliving to continue that work.
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 and are 25 years old or younger:
#40 - Rodion Amirov – LW (Ufa Salavat – KHL, Did Not Play) #39 Ryan Chyzowski - LW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL) #38 Dryden McKay - G (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL) #37 - Wyatt Schingoethe – C (Western Michigan – NCAA) #36 Zach Solow - RW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#35 John Fusco – D (Dartmouth – NCAA)
The Leafs had a trio of selections in the seventh round of the 2020 Draft and unlike most years, where they opted to select European players because they can retain their rights for longer than two years, they chose developmental projects going to US colleges.
With their selection at 189th overall, Toronto selected defenseman John Fusco.
Fusco played three years of high school/prep hockey at Dexter(Mass) and was bound for Harvard in 2020, but after the Ivy League announced the shutdown of winter sports earlier in 2020-21, the blueliner found a home playing for Sioux City in the USHL and for the Musketeers, The 21-year-old had 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in 20 games. In his first NCAA season, Fusco played in 26 of the Crimson’s 35 games as a freshman but tallied only two points (1 goal, 1 assist).
With limited playing time an issue, Fusco used the NCAA’s transfer portal and shifted to another Ivy League school in Dartmouth College. In his sophomore season, the 5’11… blueliner’s offensive totals increased to 11 points (3 goals, eight assists) in 22 games.
John Fusco (#3) ended his sophomore regular season over the weekend, his first with Dartmouth. He hasn't played since Jan. 28, presumably due to injury. Here are all of his points this season.
— Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) February 28, 2023
NCAA regular-season totals:
• 21-22: 22 GP, 1 G, 2 PTS
• 22-23: 22 GP, 3 G, 11 PTS pic.twitter.com/MWGRxTa6ss
Fusco has great bloodlines, as his father Mark won the Hobey Baker in 1983, played two seasons in the NHL with Hartford and in the 1984 Winter Olympics (Sarajevo) with Team USA and uncle Scott played in the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics (Calgary).
Former Leafs Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley indicated after the selection that the club liked Fusco’s competitive edge and his leadership abilities and the Leafs hope that the unusual circumstances caused by the pandemic did not stunt the defenseman’s development, but they will have to wait a few years to determine if that was the case.