In the wake of the performances of Mitch Marner, Travis Dermott, Dmytro Timashov and Kasperi Kapanen at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki, the Toronto Maple Leafs have to be more encouraged about the young talent in their pipeline than at any time in recent history.
The club’s transition has overseen the exodus of over half of the pro contracts on the roster at the end of the 2014-15 season.
Players currently with the Toronto Marlies and those playing in Europe or the NCAA will likely be first in line for an opportunity to earn a job in the NHL, while youngsters from the 2014 and 2015 Draft classes are brought along slowly by playing an extra year in junior or the American Hockey League.
Here is an update on the Leafs prospects currently playing in the OHL, QMJHL, WHL, NCAA and Europe:
2014 Draft
Piccinich’s production did not significantly decrease with the absence of the Knights best players at the 2016 World Junior in Finland most of December and early January. The 19-year-old has five goals and 10 assists in his last 14 games and is fourth in team scoring behind Christian Dvorak, Matthew Tkachuk and Mitch Marner.
Quick move and chip shot from #Leafs JJ Piccinich. https://t.co/ZhAAZ0YybC
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) January 1, 2016
The Leafs 2014 fifth-rounder has six assists in 13 games for Ohio State and after not playing in a 2-0 win over Wisconsin on Friday, the 19-year-old winger played on the Buckeyes top line on Saturday. Joshua’s only appearance on the score sheet was a trio of minor penalties.
Vesey has had trouble repeating his promising offensive totals as a freshman, as the 20-year-old brother of likely Hobey Baker finalist Jimmy has just four points (two goals, two assists) in 19 games for the struggling Black Bears.
After scoring goals in consecutive games in late November, Vesey has registered just one assist in his last seven games.
The 6’3… 190 lb winger is a project that will likely be allowed to develop in the SHL. After splitting time between Frolunda and Oskarshamn IK (second-tier) last season, Engvall has 14 points in 35 games for Mora IK in Sweden.
2013 Draft
The 20-year-old forward moved from Zug to Zurich in the Swiss league this season and has nearly doubled his offensive totals in his sophomore season. Playing on the same club as presumptive 2016 top pick Auston Matthews and being coached by former NHL bench boss Mark Crawford. Herzog has six goals and 10 assists in 26 games.
Assist: #88 ANDREAS JOHNSON (13) #Leafs, Assist: #4 JACOB LARSSON (7) #NHLDucks
— SHL Prospect GIFS (@SHLProspectGIFS) January 9, 2016The speedy 21-year-old forward who won the SHL Rookie of the Year two years ago and led Frolunda with 22 goals last season is having success in his final SHL season, with 15 goals in 32 games. Johnson signed an entry-level deal with the Leafs last summer and could join the Toronto Marlies after the SHL playoffs in April.
In an recent Swedish TV interview, Johnson indicated that his stamina has improved greatly since debuting with Frolunda two years ago.
As a rookie, the 5’10…, 183lb forward ran out of gas mid-season, but has improved his stamina the last two seasons. That will could be a factor in his transition to the longer schedule in North America and may necessitate time in the American Hockey League before getting a crack in the NHL.
2012 Draft
The 21-year-old junior has seven goals (tied for second) for Minnesota-Duluth, but after scoring 26 points in his sophomore season, Toninato has eight points in 19 games for the Bulldogs.
2011 Draft
Cameranesi is on pace to put up his best offensive numbers at UMD and is currently second in team scoring with 19 points. The Maple Leafs have an interesting dilemma with the 22-year-old, who will have to be signed to an entry-level deal before August 15 or he will become an unrestricted free agent.
Based on the direction that Toronto management under Brendan Shanahan and Lou Lamoriello have been following with draft picks selected by former GM’s Brian Burke and Dave Nonis, it is possible that Cameranesi could be moved as part of a deal before February 29 or during the summer while the Leafs still retain his rights.
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It is expected that even if the Maple Leafs are with shouting distance of an Eastern Conference playoff spot, they will stick with the plan of shopping pending unrestricted free agents PA Parenteau, Michael Grabner, Brad Boyes, Shawn Matthias, James Reimer and Roman Polak and other players like Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner if they receive offers which are fair value.
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston indicated on Friday’s Prime Time Sports that Toronto turned down an offer of a second-round pick for Bozak last summer and could get better offers for the 29-year-old from teams looking for center help before the deadline.
In his weekend column, Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun says that at least two teams have made inquiries about Polak and found the asking price way too high.
The 29-year-old right-handed defenseman should attract significant interest prior to the deadline, with his experience playing in both conferences, reasonable salary and physical play. Polak displayed what playoff teams are looking from a bottom pairing blueliner on the California road trip, with hard checks on former Leaf Mike Santorelli and Tyler Toffoli, but Simmons indicates that the price that Lamoriello is currently asking for is very high.
The only indication on what the current market is for defenseman is last week’s trade of Luke Schenn and Vinny Lecavalier to Los Angeles. The Flyers retained 50% of both salaries and received a 2016 third round pick and 23-year-old Calder Cup Playoff MVP Jordan Weal in return.
Schenn is 26 and a pending UFA, but is the same inconsistent performer that the Leafs traded for James van Riemsdyk in the summer of 2012. It is likely that the price Lamoriello is asking for Polak is a second-round pick and that teams are hoping the price will decrease as the deadline gets closer.
Toronto may be able to able to extract a higher price for their rental players because they are one of the few teams in the league willing to take back salary in deals or take draft choices in 2017 (where they have 7 currently) instead of 2016 (where they could have as many as 11 picks).
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