Prospect Info: Marlies & Prospect Discussion

[LeafChief]

There are some NCAA drafted players that will become FA on Aug 15.

Any interesting ones posters have their eye on?

Farinacci is probably the most interesting of the bunch.

 

[Legion34]

Weight is more concerning and should/can be able to be addressed. Being 1 or 2 inches shorter than most other NHL dmen should not significantly hamper his potential for an NHL career.

Other than goalie, the importance of height is overstated by most. It's going to be hard to notice the difference between two players that are within 2" of each other while they're on the ice. As long as he puts enough weight on that he can avoid injury and not be easily pushed around, his size may still be a small hurdle, but certainly not the biggest concern in today's NHL... especially for an offensive dman.

To put it in another light, he's the same height as Brad Marchand. Height isn't as important as it's made out to be.

Defense is an entirely different position.

There are not a lot of great 5 8 d in NHL history.

That’s like being a 5 10 goalie. It’s not impossible.

But there is a massive difference between 5 8.25 and 5 11

 

[meefer]

Defense is an entirely different position.

There are not a lot of great 5 8 d in NHL history.

That’s like being a 5 10 goalie. It’s not impossible.

But there is a massive difference between 5 8.25 and 5 11

Yup, that 2.75 inches is a massive difference...at least that’s what the ex told me.

 

[andora]

Yup, that 2.75 inches is a massive difference...at least that’s what the ex told me.

Hmm.. either you are very unlucky or she was a top shelf freak

 

[meefer]

Hmm.. either you are very unlucky or she was a top shelf freak

Simply a stab at self-deprecating humour. I is what I is and life is good, she was top-shelf, I was hitting above my weight category with her...but she did have her own kind of freak Cheers.

 

[andora]

Simply a stab at self-deprecating humour. I is what I is and life is good, she was top-shelf, I was hitting above my weight category with her...but she did have her own kind of freak Cheers.

Lol amen

 

[LeafChief]

Taking a deeper look into John Farinacci, he would probably be a solid add considering how little prospect depth we have at centre on the Marlies.

 

[The Iceman]

Defense is an entirely different position.

There are not a lot of great 5 8 d in NHL history.

That’s like being a 5 10 goalie. It’s not impossible.

But there is a massive difference between 5 8.25 and 5 11

It is the 150ish lbs that to me is a bigger thing.

 

[Namikaze Minato]

Taking a deeper look into John Farinacci, he would probably be a solid add considering how little prospect depth we have at centre on the Marlies.

Same could be said for Jay O'Brien, honestly. Decent stats at BU, bit older and was a former mid first rounder for the Flyers (they get a comp pick if he goes unsigned by them).

Could be worth a shot to try and further the depth down the middle of the Marlies.

That being said I know nothing of him as an actual player.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Same could be said for Jay O'Brien, honestly. Decent stats at BU, bit older and was a former mid first rounder for the Flyers (they get a comp pick if he goes unsigned by them).

Could be worth a shot to try and further the depth down the middle of the Marlies.

That being said I know nothing of him as an actual player.

I thought he had a chance to be something like diet cola Mike Richards in the draft year and boy was I wrong but our centre depth blows so I wouldn't mind signing him.

 

[Mitch nylander]

What's the plans with our 3 signed european keepers (Akhtyamov, Peksa, Hildeby).. Who's staying in NA and who's being loaned back?

& for those who are better with scouting goalies, what would your reports be on the 3?

 

[Leaf Lander]

Funny Noone has ranked our prospects this summer

 

[uncleben]

Funny Noone has ranked our prospects this summer

This thread alone:
Mitch nylander's Top 10 + Goalies
hockeynorth's Top 10
RoadWarrior's Top 18

Top-ranked Leafs prospect in the Polls Forum annual league-wide thread

Ongoing: Nick Barden's Top 10
Ongoing: Nick Richard's Top 20
Ongoing: Cathy Squire's Top 25
Ongoing: Mike Augello's Top 40
Jul 6: Josh Kloke's Top 25 (no paywall)
May 24 / 25: Brian S' Top North America / Top Europe
Apr 10: Peter Harling's Top 10


You've just got to look for them!
As per every year, there was more talk about it around the draft and the development camp, then it lulls, and then we'll get more rankings and in depth dissections of the prospects usually starting in September, before the season starts. EditorInLeaf and Steve Dangle usually put out content in September, NHL.com will usually put out a prospect summary/ranking for every team throughout September, sites like DobberProspects will freshen up their information with new loans/assignments and player ratings in October, etc.

 

[Leaf Lander]

This thread alone:
Mitch nylander's Top 10 + Goalies
hockeynorth's Top 10
RoadWarrior's Top 18

Top-ranked Leafs prospect in the Polls Forum annual league-wide thread

Ongoing: Nick Barden's Top 10
Ongoing: Nick Richard's Top 20
Ongoing: Cathy Squire's Top 25
Ongoing: Mike Augello's Top 40
Jul 6: Josh Kloke's Top 25 (no paywall)
May 24 / 25: Brian S' Top North America / Top Europe
Apr 10: Peter Harling's Top 10


You've just got to look for them!
As per every year, there was more talk about it around the draft and the development camp, then it lulls, and then we'll get more rankings and in depth dissections of the prospects usually starting in September, before the season starts. EditorInLeaf and Steve Dangle usually put out content in September, NHL.com will usually put out a prospect summary/ranking for every team throughout September, sites like DobberProspects will freshen up their information with new loans/assignments and player ratings in October, etc.

They always had it on the leafs forum since forever

 

[GrandBison]

Hi Guys, ECHL Lions fan here, do you guys know what's happening with the Growlers right now? There is no one with an ECHL contract on their roster. We want our Canadian rivalry alive!

 

[uncleben]

Hi Guys, ECHL Lions fan here, do you guys know what's happening with the Growlers right now? There is no one with an ECHL contract on their roster. We want our Canadian rivalry alive!

Here is the protected list the Growlers submitted at the end of the season:

Newfoundland Growlers – Adam Holwell, James Melindy, Evan Neugold, Derian Plouffe, Todd Skirving, Jordan Escott, Barret Kirwin
(ECHL announces Protected Lists)

-Neugold didn't play pro hockey last year and I don't think he'll play again
-Plouffe signed in Norway instead
-Holwell signed in Scotland
-Skirving just signed his contract today, Growlers Re-Sign Todd Skirving
The first contract for the whole team

It was also the shortest protected list in the league by quite a bit, though the Growlers have essentially always been filled by the Marlies, so it does make some sense.
And to that end, the Leafs just got a new GM so he may be feeling things out with our Minor League GM, Ryan Hardy, who oversees the Marlies and Growlers - the Marlies just got a new head coach and the old Growlers head coach, Eric Wellwood, was promoted to assistant coach of the Marlies with no replacement named, so I gather they're taking their time to regroup before settling in on what the roster will actually look like.



From the Marlies (others may be better at projecting who's likely to start on the Marlies), there's a decent amount of competition that will likely be sent down to the ECHL to start: Nolan Dillingham, Tyler Weiss, Tate Singleton, Neil Shea, Brock Caufield, Jackson Berezowski, Jonny Tychonick, and Grant Cruikshank are all new additions that will likely get ECHL time; Keenan Suthers, Zach Solow, Matteo Pietroniro, and Tommy Miller are guys who split time last year between the A and E and may do so again.

From the Leafs, the following prospects may be sent to the E (briefly or otherwise) for pro experience before graduating to the A: Ty Voit, Braeden Kressler, Ryan Tverberg (doubt it)

And goalies... Leafs are sitting on Samsonov, Woll, Jones, Hildeby, Akhtiamov, Peksa, Petruzelli all signed to contract. Hildeby and Petruzelli will both be in the minors and I can't remember if both Akhtiamov and Peksa committed to coming over to North America this season... but it'll be a lot of split time between the pipes wherever any of them land, especially if Jones gets sent down for cap reasons (vs sitting as a healthy scratchy in the NHL every night). This also doesn't factor in either of the Growlers starters from last year, Dryden McKay and Luke Cavallin, who have yet to sign anywhere for this upcoming season. Cavallin is young enough, the organization should hold onto him in the minor leagues to see what happens, imo.




TL;DR: All of that is to say, the team is taking it real slow, but while the roster is not "set", they're definitely set on waiting to see what leftovers they'll get from the Leafs and Marlies.

 

[daethfromabove1979]

What's the plans with our 3 signed european keepers (Akhtyamov, Peksa, Hildeby).. Who's staying in NA and who's being loaned back?

& for those who are better with scouting goalies, what would your reports be on the 3?

I expect Hildeby will be the only one with the Marlies this year.

 

[weems]

Here's a question for anyone that closely followed the Marlies when they won the championship under Keefe.

Did they play very similar to how the big club has played? Were they hyper focused on puck possession and not that physical of a team?

Treliving made some comments when innitially hired that talked about potentially playing a different style, so it will be interesting to watch if that actually plays out or if we play pretty much the same as before.

 

[LaPlante94]

Here's a question for anyone that closely followed the Marlies when they won the championship under Keefe.

Did they play very similar to how the big club has played? Were they hyper focused on puck possession and not that physical of a team?

Treliving made some comments when innitially hired that talked about potentially playing a different style, so it will be interesting to watch if that actually plays out or if we play pretty much the same as before.

Pretty much the same system but those Marlies during that Calder Cup win played like they wanted to win and I think that's the biggest difference from the NHL squad. They hounded the puck and never stopped moving their feet and they really attacked the net. I guess you could say they played more like how Carolina plays these days. It also helped that Johnsson went crazy those playoffs too haha.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Looks like Easton’s gonna be playing with Kaspar Haltunen next season. Glad he’s got another high end prospect to play with.

 

[supermann_98]

Pretty much the same system but those Marlies during that Calder Cup win played like they wanted to win and I think that's the biggest difference from the NHL squad. They hounded the puck and never stopped moving their feet and they really attacked the net. I guess you could say they played more like how Carolina plays these days. It also helped that Johnsson went crazy those playoffs too haha.

Johnsson went crazy as did Marchment and even Holl from what I remember. I always though Keefe’s undying loyalty towards Holl was because of the Calder cup Marlies win.

 

[notbias]

Johnsson went crazy as did Marchment and even Holl from what I remember. I always though Keefe’s undying loyalty towards Holl was because of the Calder cup Marlies win.

I think his undying loyalty is made up... he sat him multiple times and only player him again cause Liljegren was worse.

 

[Fogelhund]

""

 

[ACC1224]

""

He looks like he's 12.

 

[Fogelhund]

He looks like he's 12.

Just turned 18 in May... and yes, he looks young, or maybe we are just getting old, or both?

I think it's going to be a few seasons before he's ready to play for us... which brings me to a question.

If you were drafted out of the CHL, you can't play in the AHL, until either you've played four seasons in the CHL, or you are 20 on January 1st....

So, Easton won't be 20 on January 1st, until 2026... which "might" suggest three more OHL seasons, and AHL eligibility in 2026/27.

However, he played 7 OHL regular season games in 2021/22 and 5 playoff games. Does this officially count as an "OHL Season"? If so, he has two more OHL seasons left, and he'd be eligible for the Marlies, for the 2025/26 season.

So the question for the board being... is 7 OHL games, enough to be considered a season?