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Leafs Prospect Rankings - #40 & #39

November 17, 2020, 5:27 PM ET [76 Comments]
Mike Augello
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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 played more than 40 NHL games:

#40 – J.D. Greenway – D (Maine – NCAA)



Greenway was one of three players selected by Toronto in the 2016 NHL Draft from the US National Development Program. The third rounder is a physical specimen (6’5”, 212 lb.) like his brother Jordan (winger for the Minnesota Wild) and the hope was that his game would develop at the University of Wisconsin.

That path has encountered some problems. After playing 34 games as a freshman and attending the WJC Summer Showcase last summer, Greenway was scratched for all but 12 games as a sophomore and announced in May that he is leaving the Badgers to play for Dubuque of the USHL.

After scoring 33 points in 58 games for the Fighting Saints, Greenway transferred to the University of Maine, but did not make a big impact as an upper classman. The 22-year-old still has a lot of rough edges and has not showed any marked improvement over four years, but the Leafs to retain his rights until he completes his senior season with the Black Bears.



#39 – Eemeli Rasanen – D (HPK – Finland SM-Liiga)



After selecting Timothy Liljegren in the first round at the 2017 NHL Draft in Chicago, the Leafs drafted the second of four blueliners at #59 overall, selecting Rasanen from the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs.

The 6’6”, 220 lb. defenseman likened his style to that of Buffalo’s Rasmus Ristolainen and uses his size to his advantage along the boards and is known for being an effective passer. After a good first season in the OHL, Rasanen took a slight step back in his second year with the Frontenacs (scoring only 33 points in 61 games) and was a late cut from Team Finland’s World Junior squad in December 2018.

The hulking defenseman opted to return to Finland rather than playing another year in the OHL to play against tougher competition and with no clear path to consistent playing time with youngsters Liljegren and 2018 top pick Rasmus Sandin ahead on the AHL Marlies depth chart.

That plan has not worked out, as Rasanen fell victim to the numbers game and injuries and played only 29 KHL games for Jokerit and 19 games for the lower division Klekko-Vanta over two seasons. This year, the 21-year-old has shifted to the SM-Liiga and has played eight games for HPK.

The Leafs have yet to sign Rasanen to an entry-level contract and may not be in any rush to do so, since his rights have been extended while he plays in Europe. His size may intrigue Toronto's management, but they will have to see some positive signs to even extend him an AHL contract.

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