The 2015 IIHF World Junior Championships begins Friday with three games at the Bell Center and Air Canada Center, three of which will have Maple Leafs prospects on display.
2014 top pick William Nylander makes his tournament debut for Sweden against the Czech Republic in Toronto Friday afternoon in the building he hopes will be his NHL home as soon as next season, defenseman Rinat Valiev of the WHL’s Kootenay Ice(Toronto’s third round selection this past June) and Team Russia open the tournament against Denmark, while 2013 first rounder Frederik Gauthier embarks on his second tour with Team Canada, who face Slovakia in Montreal on Friday night.
Here is an update on these prospects and others in the Maple Leafs pipeline:
2014 Draft
Nylander is expected to have a prominent role in Sweden’s bid to medal, based on his success in the SHL so far. The 18-year-old is on a point-per-game pace with MODO and scored a penalty shot goal and an assist in a preliminary game against Canada last weekend.
Valiev continues to score at a high rate for Kootenay, who turned their season around once Sabres top pick Sam Reinhart was sent back to Junior. The Leafs ’14 third rounder has nearly eclipsed his offensive totals in just 23 games this season and Leafs management will get an opportunity to gauge the Russian-born blueliner’s maturation at the upcoming World Junior tournament after not being able to evaluate him at the rookie tournament in London three months ago.
The native of Paramus, NJ registered his first goal in the NCAA in a 5-1 win over RPI on December 13th, but the 18-year-old has jut two points in 14 games for the Terriers.
The Leafs 2014 fifth-rounder is leading the Sioux Falls Stampede with 21 points and registered two assists for Team USA in the 2014 World Junior A Challenge championship in a win over Team Canada East in Saskatchewan last week.
The son of former NHLer Jim Vesey had success finding the net in December, registering his first career NCAA goal in Maine’s loss to UMass Lowell on December 5th and another is a victory over the University of New Hampshire on December 11th.
The Leafs long line of Swede seventh rounders continues with Engvall, who has no points in ten games with the second-tier Oskarshamn IK in Sweden, but did make his SHL debut with Frolunda on October 28.
2013 Draft
The big 19-year-old succeeded in earning a spot on Team Canada for the second straight year and will be centering their fourth line, as well as being a checker and penalty killer, but the Leafs are hoping to see more growth in Gauthier’s offensive game.
"What we're hoping to see from Frederik is to take that next step now and play on offence against (top) guys and drive play into the other team's zone," Leafs assistant GM Kyle Dubas said to Stephen Whyno of Canadian Press . "Get up the ice, make the other teams' best players defend him. He's a very large human being, and when he has the puck with his ability, I don't know there's many guys that are going to be able to get it from him."
Gauthier may not get as many offensive opportunities in his role on Team Canada as with the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic, where he has eight goals in 15 games.
After impressing at the Leafs ‘13 training camp and posting some great offensive numbers with the Niagara Ice Dogs last season, Verhaeghe did not stand out this September and struggled offensively to start the OHL season, but the 19-year-old has found his stride in recent weeks, scoring 18 points in his last 10 games to get back to nearly a point-per-game pace.
The 19-year-old Swiss-born Herzog is the youngest player on his club in the Swiss league and has started to produce against more experienced competition, with six goals in 32 games.
The reigning SHL Rookie of the Year continues to lead Frolunda with 13 goals in what is likely his final year in Sweden. Johnson will make the move to North America in 2015 and while some think his small stature will be an impediment to making the NHL, his speed and skill may be good enough to overcome that.
2012 Draft
Toninato continues to have a hot-hand in his sophomore season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, leading the Bulldogs with 13 goals(tied for second in the NCAA).
2011 Draft
The speedy Cameranesi has four goals and nine assists in his junior year with UMD and had an assist in a 4-3 loss to Michigan Tech on December 13th, the Bulldogs final game before the Christmas break.
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