The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Pierre Engvall, Travis Dermott and Justin Holl, but the next step for the club under GM Kyle Dubas is to keep replenishing the prospect pool to provide the Leafs with youngsters who can step up and replace veterans who retire, depart via free agency or are traded.
As we did last year, we will rank the club’s top prospects over the next few 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:
#40 – J.D. Greenway – D (Maine – NCAA)
#39 – Eemeli Rasanen – D (HPK – Finland SM-Liiga)
#38 – Jeremy McKenna – RW (Moncton – QMJHL)
#37 – Ryan O’Connell – D (Ohio State – NCAA)
#36 – Veeti Miettinen – RW (St. Cloud St. – NCAA
#35 - Semyon Kizimov – RW (Lada Togliatti – VHL / Torpedo – KHL)
#34 - Kalle Loponen – D (Karpat – Finland SM-Liiga)
#33 - Vladislav Kara – LW (Cherepovets Severstal – KHL)
#32 - John Fusco – D (Harvard – NCAA)
#31 - Wyatt Schingoethe – C (Waterloo – USHL)
#30 - William Villeneuve – D (Saint John – QMJHL)
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a dozen picks in the 2020 NHL Draft and chose primarily to select players either bound for four years in the NCAA or a longer development track in Europe. The Leafs selected only one player from the CHL and that was defenseman William Villeneuve.
The 18-year-old blueliner was selected in the fourth round (122nd overall, but Leafs Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley admitted that in spite of his impressive numbers that Villeneuve is a bit of a project.
After being selected second overall in the 2018 QMJHL Draft, the young right-hander played for Saint John as a 16-year-old and had a difficult time adjusting to junior hockey, going -52 in his rookie season. Things were much better for Villeneuve in his sophomore campaign, ) as he led the QMJHL in defensive scoring with 58 points (9 goals, 49 assists) in 64 games and was nominated for the league’s top blueliner of the year.
🔥GOAL🔥
Lawrence picks a pocket and deals to Villeneuve who makes (I'll say it) the PERFECT pass to Burns who finishes in style! 3-1 with eight minutes to play in the second. pic.twitter.com/J20RFrvuec
There appears to be no consensus on Villeneuve’s potential. Elite Prospects failed to rank him even at the bottom of their prospect list over players with admittedly flawed skill sets, while others believe the Leafs made a steal with their second pick in the fourth round.
The 18-year-old has decent skills, but it is uncertain whether he can rise to the level of being an effective NHL offensive defenseman. Villeneuve has good creativity, is a excellent passer and elusiveness, but an average shot from the point.
He could use some work on his skating, but nothing that getting stronger and working on technique will not cure. His athleticism is questionable and although a capable defender, Villeneuve is currently not strong enough to win puck battles consistently.
#Leafs prospect William Villeneuve’s point shot hits an opposing stick and goes in for his first goal of the season pic.twitter.com/ptkNW6jEkU
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