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Leafs Top-40 Prospect List - #9

September 7, 2022, 3:34 PM ET [92 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 (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)



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.

Along with fellow 2020 selection Ryan Tverberg, the Sherbrooke, Quebec native moved up more than 20 spots in the prospect rankings in the last 12 months. Villeneuve was selected in the fourth round (122nd overall) and was considered a bit of a project by former Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley, in spite of the impressive numbers posted in the QMJHL in his draft year.

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.



In 2020-21, Villeneuve got some game experience with the QMJHL playing a partial schedule due to COVID, with 20 points (3 goals, 17 assists ) in 33 games for the Sea Dogs and played two games for the AHL Toronto Marlies on an amateur tryout.

Last season, after signing a three-year, entry-level contract in September, the 20-year-old displayed a bit of a metamorphosis, posting excellent offensive numbers (8 goals, 48 assists in 64 games) playing major minutes, but also displaying a dramatic improvement in his own zone, with a +60 plus/minus rating during the regular season. Villeneuve capped off an impressive campaign by registering two assists in a 6-3 victory over Hamilton in the Memorial Cup Final.

The expectation is that Villeneuve will see significant playing time in the American Hockey League this season, with the hopes of being on an NHL track over the next few seasons.

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