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Things are looking pretty solid prospect wise forsure. No unreal prospects but tons of solid picks and depth. A few guys could potentially turn into very good key players.Prospect Pool Overview: Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have some notable names in the prospect pipeline. Tony Ferrari takes a deep look at what the team's future looks like.
Strengths
The Leafs have built up a prospect pool with talent and depth all over, but the wings are where they see their work pay off. All three forward positions look fairly strong, but with centers such as Hirvonen and Mikhail Abramov looking as if they may wind up playing wing at the pro level, they are bolstered on the flanks even more.
Robertson and Joey Anderson could have legitimate shots at making the NHL roster out of camp. Abruzzese will likely factor into the lineup at some point. Knies was one of the biggest surprises in college hockey last season. Dmitri Ovchinnikov is an incredibly exciting prospect who plays a good two-way game at a high pace. Veeti Miettinen is a highly skilled forward who has looked very good in the NCAA. All this and Amirov, possibly the most talented of the bunch is recovering from a major health issue and should be back on the ice this year.
Weaknesses
While center is a soft spot in the prospect pool, the biggest weak spot for the Leafs has been goaltender for a long time. Erik Källgren was a nice addition last year but he was signed out of the SHL and likely tops out as a good backup considering he turns 26 in October. Joseph Woll has been injury prone and inconsistent which has hurt his case as a legitimate prospect. The Leafs have looked to Russia in recent drafts taking Artur Akhtyamov and Vyachslav Peska but both are at least a few years away, as most goalies are, and neither really brings the promise of a starting goalie. With goaltending, specifically of the homegrown variety, having been an issue in Toronto for so long, it should be a bigger priority for the Leafs. Maybe 25-year-old Ilya Samsonov can be the answer after he signed with the club this summer.
Next Man Up: LW Nick Robertson
The American winger is only 20 years old, but Robertson feels he’s been around forever. A second-round pick in 2019, Robertson has been in the AHL for the last two seasons and has flashed the offensive prowess and high-motor forechecking game that he was known for coming out of the OHL but injuries have slowed him in each of the last two years. Robertson has also seen time at the NHL level, having played in the ‘Bubble Playoffs’ and then received cups of coffee in the regular season each of the past two years.
With the Leafs having an opening in their forward group, specifically on the left side, Robertson could be the answer. After a strong finish to his season last year and another offseason of training, the young goal scorer should be heavily looked at to fill the void in the forward group. If he can, he would provide a new element of danger and add to a second powerplay unit that has struggled over the last couple of years.
Prospect Depth Chart Notables
LW: Nick Robertson, Matthew Knies, Nick Abruzzese, Rodion Amirov, Dmitri Ovchinnikov
C: Roni Hirvonen, Mikhail Abramov, Fraser Minton, Ryan Tverberg
RW: Joey Anderson, Veeti Miettinen, Nicholas Moldenhauer
LD: Filip Král, Mikko Kokkonen, Mike Koster
RD: Topi Niemelä, William Villeneuve, Alex Rindell, Kalle Loponen
G: Erik Källgren, Joseph Woll, Artur Akhtyamov, Vyachslav Peska
Why not, he's been Finland's best player tonight, the guy has been putting many shots on net, creating chances all game, very calm in own end. Maybe we are watching different games.
Not sure how someone can't be impressed. He plays such a composed game with flashes of brilliance. Maybe some are expecting him to play up and down exciting hockey but thats not him. He played his best game today
I think this is a pretty good summary of the Leafs prospect pool but they forgot about Hildeby.Prospect Pool Overview: Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have some notable names in the prospect pipeline. Tony Ferrari takes a deep look at what the team's future looks like.
Strengths
The Leafs have built up a prospect pool with talent and depth all over, but the wings are where they see their work pay off. All three forward positions look fairly strong, but with centers such as Hirvonen and Mikhail Abramov looking as if they may wind up playing wing at the pro level, they are bolstered on the flanks even more.
Robertson and Joey Anderson could have legitimate shots at making the NHL roster out of camp. Abruzzese will likely factor into the lineup at some point. Knies was one of the biggest surprises in college hockey last season. Dmitri Ovchinnikov is an incredibly exciting prospect who plays a good two-way game at a high pace. Veeti Miettinen is a highly skilled forward who has looked very good in the NCAA. All this and Amirov, possibly the most talented of the bunch is recovering from a major health issue and should be back on the ice this year.
Weaknesses
While center is a soft spot in the prospect pool, the biggest weak spot for the Leafs has been goaltender for a long time. Erik Källgren was a nice addition last year but he was signed out of the SHL and likely tops out as a good backup considering he turns 26 in October. Joseph Woll has been injury prone and inconsistent which has hurt his case as a legitimate prospect. The Leafs have looked to Russia in recent drafts taking Artur Akhtyamov and Vyachslav Peska but both are at least a few years away, as most goalies are, and neither really brings the promise of a starting goalie. With goaltending, specifically of the homegrown variety, having been an issue in Toronto for so long, it should be a bigger priority for the Leafs. Maybe 25-year-old Ilya Samsonov can be the answer after he signed with the club this summer.
Next Man Up: LW Nick Robertson
The American winger is only 20 years old, but Robertson feels he’s been around forever. A second-round pick in 2019, Robertson has been in the AHL for the last two seasons and has flashed the offensive prowess and high-motor forechecking game that he was known for coming out of the OHL but injuries have slowed him in each of the last two years. Robertson has also seen time at the NHL level, having played in the ‘Bubble Playoffs’ and then received cups of coffee in the regular season each of the past two years.
With the Leafs having an opening in their forward group, specifically on the left side, Robertson could be the answer. After a strong finish to his season last year and another offseason of training, the young goal scorer should be heavily looked at to fill the void in the forward group. If he can, he would provide a new element of danger and add to a second powerplay unit that has struggled over the last couple of years.
Prospect Depth Chart Notables
LW: Nick Robertson, Matthew Knies, Nick Abruzzese, Rodion Amirov, Dmitri Ovchinnikov
C: Roni Hirvonen, Mikhail Abramov, Fraser Minton, Ryan Tverberg
RW: Joey Anderson, Veeti Miettinen, Nicholas Moldenhauer
LD: Filip Král, Mikko Kokkonen, Mike Koster
RD: Topi Niemelä, William Villeneuve, Alex Rindell, Kalle Loponen
G: Erik Källgren, Joseph Woll, Artur Akhtyamov, Vyachslav Peska
Haha fair enough. But that would be a very simplistic way of looking at it. He also has a 24-30 record in the ahl with a sub 900 sv%. I'm not saying it's impossible, I just don't see him making a major impact at this point. Maybe like a Ben Scivens kind of career. But I'm open to hearing why you think he is better than that.
Woll took a decent step last year. He was less aggressive in his side to side movement, did a better job of staying upright and in position and rebound control. I would say his puck tracking still needs work. He went from a .892sv% to a .907 with the Marlies and had a solid NHL debut going 3-1 with a .911sv%.
Off topic but since you're one of the few I trust on goalies here, from what you have seen, do you think Murray and/or are Samsanov are salvagable. See anything technical wise you believe that makes you confident?
Murray is a blocking style goalie. He is not overly active. Gets into position and makes himself large to make the stop as opposed to a more athletic reactionary style like a hybrid goalie. Guys like Rask, Campbell, quick etc. I would like to see him adopt a more reactionary style to add to what he is now so he is not overly dependent on just being in position. Guys like him and Reimer have weak glove hands because I believe they are relying too much on positioning. It seems like once they're set, the glove doesn't move.
Great info and detail. Nice to hear it from someone more in tune with this
Great info and detail. Nice to hear it from someone more in tune with this
I'm personally confident in Murray just gut feel. Samsonov we'll see I guess
I think that would be fantastic if even one of them put up that save %.
I hope so... this year we need to see some tangible career progress from Woll.
Even if both guys around a .910, that's probably all we need. We got 115 pts last year even with Mrazek being hot garbage, Campbell being sub par for like 70% of the season and 2 AHL goalies putting up around a .910.
