The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL, but with players like Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen and Travis Dermott now on their roster, the next step for the club is to keep replenishing the prospect pool to provide the Leafs with youngsters who can take step and replace veterans who retire, depart via free agency or are traded.
With some input from Sportsology’s Russ Cohen and Gus Katsaros of McKeen’s Hockey, we are ranking the club’s top 25 prospects over the next few weeks based on their progress in either the NCAA, CHL, Europe or the American Hockey League and their potential to make the Leafs roster and make a contribution in the future.
Players such as Dermott, Kapanen, Frederik Gauthier, Andreas Borgman, Calle Rosen, Josh Leivo, Garret Sparks and Justin Holl are not eligible because they have played more than 30 NHL games or are over the age of 23.
We continue the list today with #5 and #4 of Toronto’s Top 25 Prospects with a winger who since being drafted in 2015 has won a World Junior, Memorial Cup and Calder Cup and the other who was selected in the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft after a stellar rookie OHL season.
#25 – JD Greenway (Defense, Dubuque Fighting Saints – USHL)
#24 – Ian Scott (Goaltender, Prince Albert Raiders – WHL)
#23 - Martins Dzierkals (Winger, Orlando/ Toronto – ECHL/AHL)
#22 - Andrew Nielsen (Defense, Toronto Marlies – AHL)
#21 – Riley Stotts (Center, Swift Current/Calgary Hitmen - WHL)
#20 – Filip Kral (Defense, Spokane Chiefs – WHL)
#19 – Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (Center, Peterborough Petes - OHL)
#18 – Mac Hollowell (Defense, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds – OHL)
#17 – Sean Durzi (Defense, Owen Sound Attack - OHL)
#16 – Jesper Lindgren (Defense, HRK/Toronto Marlies – SM-Liiga/AHL)
#15 – Fedor Gordeev (Defense, Flint Firebirds - OHL)
#14 – Mason Marchment (Winger, Toronto Marlies – AHL)
#13 – Eemeli Rasanen (Defense, Kingston Frontenacs - OHL)
#12 – Adam Brooks (Center, Toronto Marlies – AHL)
#11 – Dakota Joshua (Center, Ohio State – NCAA/Big 10)
#10 – Joseph Woll (Goaltender, Boston College – NCAA)
#9 – Trevor Moore (Winger, Toronto Marlies - AHL)
#8 – Pierre Engvall (Winger, Toronto Marlies – AHL)
#7 – Dmytro Timashov (Winger, Toronto Marlies - AHL)
#6 – Yegor Korshkov (Winger, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv – KHL)
#5 – Jeremy Bracco (Winger, Toronto Marlies - AHL)
Bracco was selected in the second round in the 2015 NHL Draft with a pick acquired by Assistant GM Kyle Dubas for trading down from #24 overall with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Freeport, NY native played with Auston Matthews as a member of the US National Development Program and after a brief stint at Boston College, chose to leave the NCAA to play in the OHL.
2017 was a banner year for Bracco, scoring 85 points with the Kitchener and Windsor in 57 games, helping the Spitfires win a Memorial Cup and being a key contributor in Team USA’s gold medal victory at the World Junior in Montreal.
The 21-year-old is not physically imposing (5’10”, 190 lbs.) but is a gifted playmaker and can be quite elusive with his excellent edgework tight turning ability. The areas he needs to improve are at the defensive end of the ice and his ability to win battles along the boards.
His first professional season begun slowly with not inconsistent playing time with the Toronto Marlies and often seeing fourth line duty when he was in the lineup. That began to change later in the season, as the call up of Andreas Johnsson allowed Bracco to move up in the lineup and get more opportunities on the power play.
In 50 games, Bracco had 32 points (6 goals, 26 assists), but he scored nearly half of those points in the final month of the regular season with an increased workload. With Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen and other Marlies possibly making the jump to the NHL this season, the Long Islander could be set up for a big offensive year in the AHL and set himself up for a promotion in 2019.
#4 – Rasmus Sandin (Defense, Sault Ste. Marie – OHL)
In his first draft as Leafs GM, Kyle Dubas went with someone he was quite familiar with due to his ties to the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds. Sandin was loaned from Rogle BK of the SHL and scored 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists) in 51 games as a rookie.
The 5-foot-11, 186 lb. Sandin is the prototype of the new age NHL defenseman; a two-way defender who carries the puck up the ice, makes smart decisions and is an excellent passer.
The Leafs signed the 18-year-old to an entry-level contract in mid-July, but now the question is where he will play next season.
Sandin has a year remaining on his SHL contract with Rogle, which means he could either play in Sweden next season or return to the Greyhounds for another run at the Memorial Cup, and could also be in the mix for Team Sweden for the upcoming 2019 World Junior in Vancouver / Victoria.
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