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)
#29 - Joe Miller – C (Chicago – USHL)
#28 - Axel Rindell – D (Jukurit – Finland SM-Liiga)
#27 - Kristians Rubins - D (Toronto - AHL / Frederikshavn - Denmark)
#26 - Justin Brazeau - RW (Newfoundland - ECHL / Toronto - AHL)
#25 – Dmitry Ovchinnikov – F (Sibir Novosibirsk – MHL/KHL)
#24 – Artur Akhtyamov – G (Ak Bars Kazan – MHL/VHL/KHL)
#23 – Noel Hoefenmayer – D (Ottawa – OHL / Wichita ECHL)
#22 – Roni Hirvonen – C (Assat Pori – Finland SM-Liiga)
#21 – Teemu Kivihalme - D (Toronto - AHL)
#20 – Pontus Holmberg – LW (Vaxjo HC – SHL
#19 – Filip Kral - D (HC Prerov / Kometa Brno - Czech)
#18 – Ian Scott – G (Toronto - AHL)
#17 - Joseph Duszak - D (Newfoundland - ECHL / Toronto - AHL)
#16 – Mac Hollowell - D (Newfoundland – ECHL / Toronto – AHL / TuTo Turku – Finland Mestis)
#15 -Topi Niemela – D (Karpat – Finland SM-Liiga)
#14 – Semyon Der-Argushintsev (Center, Peterborough Petes – OHL / Torpedo - KHL)
#13 – Adam Brooks – C (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#12 – Mikhail Abramov – C (Victoriaville – QMJHL)
#11 – Joseph Woll – G (Toronto – AHL)
#10 – Alexander Barabanov – F (SKA St. Petersburg – KHL)
#9 – Egor Korshkov - RW (Lokomotiv - KHL - Traded to Carolina)
#8 – Mikko Kokkonen – D (Jukurit – Finland SM-Liiga)
#7 – Filip Hallander – C (Lulea – SHL)
#6 - Timothy Liljegren – D (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#5 – Mikko Lehtonen – D (Toronto – NHL, traded to Columbus
#4 - Nick Abruzzese - C (Harvard - NCAA)
#3 – Rodion Amirov – LW (Ufa Salavat – KHL)
#2 - Nick Robertson - LW (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
The Toronto Maple Leafs once again displayed their penchant under GM Kyle Dubas in recognizing players with a high level of skill at the 2019 NHL Draft in Vancouver by selecting winger Nick Robertson. The Leafs did not have a first round pick after trading it to the Los Angeles Kings for defenseman Jake Muzzin, and selected Robertson late in the second round (53rd overall).
As with junior teammate and 2018 draftee Semyon Der-Argushintsev, Robertson was one of the youngest players available in the 2019 draft class. The younger brother of Dallas Stars Calder Trophy contender Jason, Robertson and his family moved from California to Michigan to the Toronto area, where he played Bantam, Midget and in the OJHL before joining the OHL Peterborough Petes in 2017.
Robertson is extremely skilled, an excellent passer, and is adept at creating offensive chances at one end and harassing attacking players at the other. As a 17-year-old, he scored over a point per game (27 goals, 28 assists) in 54 games and exploded last season, leading the OHL with 55 goals, making an impression with a five-point performance for Team USA at the 2020 IIHF World Junior, and capping off a great year playing four games in the Stanley Cup play-in round vs. Columbus.
The concerns and questions with Robertson are his size, strength and skating ability. Against the Blue Jackets and in six games with the Leafs this season, Robertson has shown flashes of being a player that could be an effective scorer in the NHL, but he appears to be easy to knock off the puck, but those concerns were less apparent at the American Hockey League level.
The 19-year-old would normally have been relegated to playing another year in junior, but with the OHL shutdown Robertson has had the benefit of playing against older professionals at two levels, which could be very helpful for his future as soon as next season.
The Maple Leafs organization is deeply saddened today to learn of the passing of Miroslav Fryčer.
A life dedicated to the game, Miroslav played 7 seasons in the blue and white, and is still amongst the Leafs top 50-point scorers of all-time.
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