The second and final part of the Leafs top-ten prospects. For those who missed it, the first five were Nylander, Finn, Johnson, Percy and Brown.
As always, players with 40+ games played at the NHL level are not counted on this list.
6. Frédérik Gauthier : Centre, 6'5 216lbs, 21st Overall, 2013, 19 Years Old, Rimouski Oceanic in the QMJHL
54 games 18 goals 34 assists 52 points
Is he the next (less physical) Martin Hanzal? Brian Boyle? Jordan Staal? Or the next David Steckel? It's hard to tell sometimes. Gauthier was drafted primarily for his excellent defensive game and huge size. The hope was that as a slow developing player who came to the QMJHL later than normal, his lack of offense was simply transitional. This past season he didn't do much to prove the doubters wrong in that regard, yet he did have some of the most defensive zone starts of any player in the league. Strong on the face-off dot and likely only to get better as he gets physically stronger, he's a prime asset to have on the PK and considered one of the best in the Q. If you looked at his size and hoped for a physical bruiser, well, prepare to be slightly disappointed. While he works extremely hard, he isn't a hitter and can often be a gentle giant of sorts. Which in its own way is ok, because who wants their expected PK anchor in the box all the time anyways? Working on his average-below average skating will be the biggest determining factor on what role he will play in the NHL. If he can't get quick enough then he's entering the Steckel area where you can't keep up and are a fourth line throwaway. Next season Gauthier will be back for his third and potentially final year in the QMJHL, he will most likely reprise his role as the fourth line centre for the U20 squad and will hope to improve on what was a pretty mediocre performance.
Potential : Shutdown Third Line Centre
7. Josh Leivo : Left Wing, 6'1 200lbs, 86th Overall, 2011, 21 Years Old, Toronto Marlies in the AHL
59 games 23 goals 19 assists 42 points
Leivo will almost assuredly never be a super star, but his steady development and consistent improvement has been a bright spot on a team that has struggled to integrate homegrown forward talent. Primarily Leivo is a grinder with an excellent NHL level shot. Most of his offense comes from hard work and getting the puck on the net. He isn't a great playmaker, so he does the dirty work for them and gets himself into positions to score. His rookie season was very respectable and had he played more games like some of his peers he likely would have finished in the top-10 for rookies in both scoring categories as he was only 6 points behind that mass of guys with 48 points but had 7-15 games less played. He has some grit to his game and his skating has drastically improved since his draft year to the point where it is an asset. I think he plays a very NHL style game and within the next season or two will find himself fulltime with the club. Next season he will likely start with the Marlies with high expectations since the Leafs signed half the available bottom-6 guys in the off-season.
Potential : Second/Third Line Grinder
8. Petter Granberg : Defenseman, 6'3 209lbs, 116th Overall, 2010, 22 Years Old, Toronto Marlies in the AHL
73 games 2 goals 5 assists 7 points
I'm not really sure why I'm posting his stats, they're rather meaningless for a guy with zero offensive inclination. Granberg is a shutdown defenseman and that about sums him up. He's fairly strong, isn't afraid to be physical and is a good enough skater to keep himself out of trouble. He's the kind of guy that when you aren't really noticing a lot, he is probably doing something right...or on the bench. He had a good rookie campaign on the NA ice surface (I think he led them in +/- but whatever), though he slowed down near the end of their playoff run and definitely looked "off." There is some hope that he might make the team out of training camp, mostly because one look at the roster and you can see there is a lot more "O" in that "D" than might be practical. However he would likely be the 7th defender, which isn't optimal for his development in my opinion. Another year with the Marlies it is!
Potential : 5-6 Shutdown Defenseman
9. Carter Verhaeghe : Centre, 6'1 181lbs, 82nd Overall, 2013, 19 Years Old, Niagara Ice Dogs in the OHL
65 games 28 goals 54 assists 82 points
For Lou. Verhaeghe had a rough draft year, playing second fiddle on a team starved for talent after the first line. A terrible start to the season was salvaged by a strong finish including a great effort in the playoffs and a noticeable U18 tournament for Canada. This season he had sort of the reverse, he had an unbelievable start (16 points in 6 games in October), then puttered out in the final 15 games while hyped teammate Brendan Perlini (Coyotes) lost interest in playing. He was one of the best Ice Dogs in the playoffs, but by and large they were a mess and lucky to go seven games due to superb goaltending. He's primarily a playmaker who has excellent vision on the power play. He has a very good shot, but often just prefers to pass it off, only ever really using it on the PP. Consistency will be key with him going forward, as will growing into his lanky body which would help him along the boards where he isn't very effective. Now the one big red flag for me about Verhaeghe is that he scored 13 goals and 32 assists on the PP, he scored 55% of his points on the PP, that's rather difficult to translate into NHL success. He could be a nice late blooming surprise in time and will have a lot to prove in his final year in the OHL.
Potential : Second Line Centre
10. Antoine Bibeau : Goaltender, 6'2 209lbs, 172nd Overall, 2013, 20 Years Old, Val D'Or Foreurs in the QMJHL
48 games 3.17GAA .907sv%
When the Leafs drafted the already passed over Bibeau they probably didn't expect the type of end of the year he would have a season later. Call it development, call it a hot streak, call it whatever you want, but from the QMJHL playoffs beginning all the way to the Memorial Cup there was no better goalie in junior hockey. He found "it," or as I like to call it, he Cam Warded them. Bibeau led the Foreurs to an upset over the heavily favoured Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL final winning himself the MVP award. He followed that by taking the obviously outclassed Val D'Or squad and keeping them relevant in the Memorial Cup winning himself the Best Goaltender Award and earning a spot on the All-Star team. Why is he so low you might ask? Goalies are unpredictable. Bibeau had put up solid numbers before this insane string of elite play, but unlike a lot of the "top goalie prospects" he has never shown this level of play consistently. He's a bit of an awkward goalie, he doesn't look like he plays the butterfly. Really has a good eye for his glove hand and I was particularly impressed by his ability to recover from awkward movements in the 51 save performance during the Mem Cup. With all goalies it's really like throwing darts and even the highly esteemed, talented and drafted goalies are major risks. Time will tell if this is a sign of things to come, or a flash in the pan. Next season Bibeau will either play for the Toronto Marlies fighting fellow young goalies Garrett Sparks and Christopher Gibson, start in the ECHL or return to the Q for an overage season.
Potential : Goalie
Thanks for reading. If you missed it, the Penguins blog can be found in my archive down below.