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The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Pierre Engvall, and Justin Holl), but the club under GM Kyle Dubas has 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 upcoming 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 - Vladislav Kara – LW (Yugra - VHL)
#39 - Kalle Loponen – D (Koo Koo Kouvola/JyP HT – Finland SM-Liiga)
#38 - Jeremy McKenna – RW (Wichita – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#37 - John Fusco – D (Harvard – NCAA)
#36 - Noel Hoefenmayer – D (Newfoundland – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#35 - Ryan Chyzowski - LW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#34 - Braeden Kressler - C (Flint - OHL)
#33 - Nikita Grebyonkin - RW (Stalnye Lisy - MHL, Magnitogorsk - KHL)
#32 - Vyacheslav Peksa - G (Ibris Kazan - MHL)
#31 - Dryden McKay - G (Minnesota Duluth - NCAA)
#30 - Bobby McMann - C (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#29 - Pavel Gogolev – LW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#28 - Joe Miller – C (Chicago – USHL)
#27 - Veeti Miettinen – RW (St. Cloud St. – NCAA)
#26 - Brandon Lisowsky - LW (Saskatoon - WHL)
#25 - Max Ellis - RW (Notre Dame - NCAA, Toronto - AHL)
#24 - Axel Rindell – D (Karpat – Finland SM-Liiga)
#23 - Mac Hollowell - D (Toronto – AHL)
#22 - Artur Akhtyamov – G (Ak Bars Kazan – MHL/VHL/KHL)
#21 - Semyon Der-Argushintsev - C (Toronto - AHL)
#20 - Curtis Douglas - C (Toronto – AHL)
#19 - Mikhail Abramov – C (Toronto – AHL)
#18 - Dennis Hildeby - G (Farjestad - SHL)
#17 - Ty Voit – LW (Sarnia – OHL)
#16 - Filip Kral - D (Toronto - AHL)
#15 - Nick Moldenhauer - RW (Chicago - USHL)
#14 - Rodion Amirov – LW (Ufa Salavat – KHL)
#13 - Ryan Tverberg – C (Connecticut – NCAA)
#12 - Joseph Woll – G (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#11 - Mikko Kokkonen – D (Pelicans – Finland SM-Liiga)
#10 - Fraser Minten - C (Kamloops - WHL)
#9 - William Villeneuve – D (Saint John – QMJHL)
#8 - Dmitry Ovchinnikov – LW (Sibir Novosibirsk – MHL/KHL, Toronto - AHL)
#7 - Roni Hirvonen – C (HIFK Helsinki – Finland SM-Liiga)
#6 - Alex Steeves – C (Toronto - AHL/NHL)
#5 - Nick Abruzzese - C (Harvard – NCAA/Toronto - NHL)
The Toronto Maple Leafs have not shied away from going the overage route under the draft model of GM Kyle Dubas. One example of that is forward Nick Abruzzese.
The Slate Hill, NY native was a late bloomer that joined the USHL’s Chicago Steel in 2017 before finding his game as a 19-year-old and leading the league with 80 points (29 goals, 51 assists).
Toronto selected the 5’9”, 160 lb. center in the fourth round (124th overall) of the 2019 Draft as a 20-year-old and a developmental project heading to Harvard University. Abruzzese scored 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists) with the Crimson, leading all NCAA freshmen in scoring and averaging 1.42 points per game (the second highest in Division I college hockey) in 2019-20, earning Ivy League Rookie of the Year and ECAC First Team honors.
The Slate Hill, NY native was looking to build on his success in his sophomore year, but the Ivy League chose not to play in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Abruzzese chose to have surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip.
Last season, the 23-year-old had a solid season with the Crimson (33 points in 28 games) and played well with fellow Leafs prospect Matthew Knies on Team USA at the Beijing Olympics last February and after the end of the Ivy League season, signed a two-year entry-level deal with the Leafs.
Abruzzese has “above average footwork and directional skating that allows him to play an up-tempo style and excels at making plays with the puck as he enters the offensive zone” according to HockeyProspect.com’s Black Book.
Abruzzese had a pair of assists in the Leafs 6-2 victory over Dallas at the Traverse City Prospect Tournament on Thursday, and it is expected that barring a stupendous training camp, he will play in a top six role with the AHL Marlies to gain pro experience this season.
Some great work by Nick Abruzzese and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev bangs it home at the side of the net to give the #LeafsForever the lead pic.twitter.com/R5LJmiyw1e
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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