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Prospect Info: Marlies/Prospects Thread

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acrobaticgoalie said:
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.

Imo he is a very solid goalie who could use a little tweaking to his game just like that Woodley article had suggested. He's had some bad luck with injuries as well as him losing his game after his dad died. If he can stay healthy and is reinvigorated by playing for his favourite team as well as being reunited with his favourite goalie coach I think he could be very solid for us and have a chance to be a top 7-15 goalie. Which is what we need from him. He is not as bad as a lot of posters think he is from reading into his numbers too much on a bottom feeder last year and he has a proven track record of showing up in playoffs.

As for Samsonov, up til now I haven't been overly high on him. I would say he is more the opposite of Murray. Very athletic goalie with good tools but he can be a little too active. One thing I haven't liked watching him in the past is that there is times where he gets beat from clean shots that he could've stopped but looked like he wasn't confident to make the save and looked like he was chasing the puck as opposed to being ahead of it. A lot of this just comes with maturity and experience.

He has acknowledged that his game needs refining which is the first step. He is still young and has 1st round pedigree which had me excited when we signed him because he still has a chance to grow into his game like a Demko. Curtis Sanford seems to have done a great job with a few of Vancouver's goalies so I'm excited to see what he can do with both our guys. Having him as a backup at 1.8M I think will turn out to be a great signing.

I think both guys are capable of putting up numbers around a .918.
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I like your optimism.

I'm just hoping that the only swimming that either are doing are in the pool after games at this point......
 
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acrobaticgoalie said:
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.

Imo he is a very solid goalie who could use a little tweaking to his game just like that Woodley article had suggested. He's had some bad luck with injuries as well as him losing his game after his dad died. If he can stay healthy and is reinvigorated by playing for his favourite team as well as being reunited with his favourite goalie coach I think he could be very solid for us and have a chance to be a top 7-15 goalie. Which is what we need from him. He is not as bad as a lot of posters think he is from reading into his numbers too much on a bottom feeder last year and he has a proven track record of showing up in playoffs.

As for Samsonov, up til now I haven't been overly high on him. I would say he is more the opposite of Murray. Very athletic goalie with good tools but he can be a little too active. One thing I haven't liked watching him in the past is that there is times where he gets beat from clean shots that he could've stopped but looked like he wasn't confident to make the save and looked like he was chasing the puck as opposed to being ahead of it. A lot of this just comes with maturity and experience.

He has acknowledged that his game needs refining which is the first step. He is still young and has 1st round pedigree which had me excited when we signed him because he still has a chance to grow into his game like a Demko. Curtis Sanford seems to have done a great job with a few of Vancouver's goalies so I'm excited to see what he can do with both our guys. Having him as a backup at 1.8M I think will turn out to be a great signing.

I think both guys are capable of putting up numbers around a .918.
Click to expand...
Yup my thoughts are exactly the same as yours. I think the Samsanov signing was more or less a bet on his pedigree and not his current abilities. You're spot on with it being a great sign that he's acknowledged his game needs refining. That can be a difficult pill for a goaltender to swallow as they got to where they are by playing the way they did growing up. Unfortunately for Ilya, his game is not sustainable night in and night out. Similar to Mrazek last year, he is just way too busy in the blue paint. Which can prove to be disastrous for a team that struggle to box guys out on top of the crease like we did last season. Over playing shots from distance, combined with sloppy rebound control lead to a lot of swimming for Petr last season.

Conversely, guys like Reimer and going even further back J.S. Giguire, are guys that control their angles very well and play large. Their rebound controls have never been excellent, but the pucks tend to fall straight downward as they usually hit them square in the chest. They both also anchor themselves very well on their posts when those net front scrambles occur.

IMO Murray's style is a better fit for our defensive structure. We do a relatively decent job at defending despite the overwhelming narrative against that claim. We had the 7th best SCA and 9th best HDCA at all strengths throughout the course of the 2021-2022 season. We do a pretty good job at limiting chances off the rush and forcing a lot of shots from the perimeter. What we fail to do is limit second chance opportunities and clear the net front. Which proved costly when you had a guy like Petr swimming in the corners while the puck gets redirected down in front. As long as Murr can keep himself anchored to his posts and not lose his angle he should really thrive under our system IMO.

Call it optimistic, but I really am not overly worried about Murray. Like I said in the Murray thread, we were a combine 23-11-1 with Woll, Kallgren and Mrazek in the pipes last year, how much worse could Murray reall be??

Those guys collectively made 916 saves on 1028SA for a combined S% of .891

On a team that had the 4th best record and top 1/3rd in defensive metrics. Not to mention aside from 2 months of godly work from Jack, it was pretty well the same story with him. If not worse. Maybe I am not worried because the bar is extremely low, but I also think Murray's style is different than any of Freddy, Campbell, or Mrazek. In fact his style is more similar to Woll and Kallgren, but he is just better at it.

I really think he will turn it around, and I am not afraid to say that knowing I could look like a fool in a matter of months
 
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LeafChief said:
I'm really excited to track Minten and Moldenhauer this year. Also looking for a huge yera form Voit. Would love to see him play his way onto the US WJC at Christmas.
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Voit does seem poised for a big year, 80 pts last year while being 20 pts clear of his closest teammate along with an absurd primary points rate.

If he's healthy he could/should be a 100pt+ guy next season.
 
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idk if it was brought up elsewhere but we were #20 in Pronman's pipeline rankings of u23 talent. A bit higher than I expected tbh. Not that I'm down on our depth, but I think at the top end we're not that noteworthy atm.
 
TheDoldrums said:
idk if it was brought up elsewhere but we were #20 in Pronman's pipeline rankings of u23 talent. A bit higher than I expected tbh. Not that I'm down on our depth, but I think at the top end we're not that noteworthy atm.
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All our really good players are graduated, we still have a young core, just not Buffalo young.

#20 seems about right.
 
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fahad203 said:
He was 3-1 for sure but wasn't his games primarily against non playoff teams ?

I think there was this one game where leafs scored 7 goals or something against the Sabres for him to win
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A backup will most likely be playing against crappy teams .
 
theathletic.com

Corey Pronman's NHL Pipeline Rankings: No. 20 Toronto led by Matthew Knies

Ranking the top prospects and under-23 players in the organization. Plus, what to expect of every player.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

The Leafs haven’t had many high picks in recent years, but their system is at 20 due to the strong progress of the picks they have made, particularly second-round pick Matthew Knies who had a great freshman season. Their system lacks depth, but there’s a few players here who I think can help their club.

Note: Toronto’s first-round pick in 2020, Rodion Amirov, was diagnosed with a brain tumour this past season. Due to the seriousness of his medical condition, I felt it would be inappropriate to comment on Amirov in a player evaluation context.

Player Ranking

1. Matthew Knies, LW

19 years old | 6-foot-3 | 205 pounds | Shoots left

Drafted: No. 57 in 2021
Tier: Bubble top and middle of the lineup player

Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average

Analysis: Knies had a great season, being a top player in his conference as a freshman. He was an important part of Team USA’s U20 team and played a notable role for their Olympic squad. He’s a big, strong winger with great hands. He showed a lot of offensive touch, especially around the net this season. He’s a competive player who doesn’t shy from engaging physically, being able to beat opponents with skill or power. His skating isn’t amazing, but every other aspect of Knies’ game looks NHL quality that I can see him projecting as a quality top-six winger.

2. Rasmus Sandin, D

22 years old | 5-foot-11 | 183 pounds | Shoots left

Drafted: No. 29 in 2018
Tier: Bubble top and middle of the lineup player

Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Above NHL average
Compete: NHL average

Analysis: Sandin had a positive season in the limited role he got on a good Toronto team. Sandin is a great puck mover, who lacks NHL quickness, but is able to make a ton of plays due to his skill and brain. He makes great outlets and shows high-end creativity and vision from the offensive blue line. He’ll never be a great defender due to his size and feet, but he competes hard and his IQ will help him be competent enough defensively while being great offensively high in a lineup in time. He does need to stay healthy, though.

3. Nicholas Robertson, LW

20 years old | 5-foot-9 | 162 pounds | Shoots left

Drafted: No. 53 in 2019
Tier: Middle of the lineup player

Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: Above NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average

Analysis: Robertson missed time this season due to injury but when healthy he was a highly-productive AHL player. He’s an entertaining player to watch due to his offensive creativity and high effort level. Robertson is not the biggest and doesn’t have the prettiest skating stride but his skill, sense and compete to go with a great shot allow him to make the most of his toolkit. He scores wherever he goes, and I think down the line he can be a top-nine winger.

4. Topi Niemelä, D

20 years old | 5-foot-11 | 160 pounds | Shoots right

Drafted: No. 64 in 2020
Tier: Middle of the lineup player

Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: Below NHL average
Hockey sense: Above NHL average
Compete: NHL average

Analysis: Niemela had a great season — one of the most productive campaigns by a teenage defenseman in Liiga ever. Niemela’s toolkit doesn’t jump off the page to you. He’s a good, fluid skater but he’s not a burner nor is he that physically imposing. Niemela is super smart with the puck, though. His first pass is excellent, and he can make a lot of plays in the offensive half of the ice. I can see him becoming a third- or second-pair defenseman in the NHL.

5. Fraser Minten, C

18 years old | 6-foot-1 | 185 pounds | Shoots left

Drafted: No. 38 in 2022
Tier: Projected to play NHL games

Skating: Below NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: NHL average

Analysis: Minten can make things happen with the puck. He has a good stick, he can move pucks into seams and make plays under pressure. He also has a good wrist shot and can score from the circles. Minten’s skating is OK. He lacks quick burst but with his size, he’s able to get around guys enough. He competes well enough but can draft too much to the perimeter, though. I think he plays games as a bottom-six forward.

6. Roni Hirvonen, C

20 years old | 5-foot-9 | 164 pounds | Shoots left

Drafted: No. 59 in 2020
Tier: Projected to play NHL games

Skating: NHL average
Puck skills: NHL average
Hockey sense: NHL average
Compete: Above NHL average
Shot: Above NHL average

Analysis: Hirvonen has been a solid pro the last few years and a leading player against his age group at the junior level. He’s a highly-intelligent center who sees the ice at a high level. He can make the flashy skilled plays, but also has a high compete level and doesn’t shy from going to the net or engaging along the walls. Hirvonen isn’t the biggest or fastest, but he’s quick enough to play games. If he’s as good a pro as he is a junior, he’s a middle-six forward all day, but that’s the question on him and as of now I’m 100 percent convinced it’s going to work in the NHL at that level even if I think he gets games.
 
Would you say our prospect pool is better or worse than when our pool consisted of guys like Steen, Coliacovo, Wellwood, Bell, White, Stajan, Earl…
 
DuncanMacpherson said:
Would you say our prospect pool is better or worse than when our pool consisted of guys like Steen, Coliacovo, Wellwood, Bell, White, Stajan, Earl…
Click to expand...

Steen and Stajan each played over 1000 NHL games. 622 and 413 points each. Colaiacovo played 470, Jay Harrison 372, Wellwood 489, Bell and Pilar nearly 100 each. Ian White played 500 NHL games.

If our current prospects have that kind of impact in games played in the NHL, that would be a very good thing.
 
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Topi is back with Kärpät now as well and they have an exhibition on Friday morning against Luleå from Sweden. Hopefully he’s back in the top pairing spot he earned last season playing with Ohtamaa. They have 9 D on the roster so I’m not sure if that will be the case as I think they signed a Dman or two, but he should 100% be getting 20 minutes a night this season.
 
Fogelhund said:
Steen and Stajan each played over 1000 NHL games. 622 and 413 points each. Colaiacovo played 470, Jay Harrison 372, Wellwood 489, Bell and Pilar nearly 100 each. Ian White played 500 NHL games.

If our current prospects have that kind of impact in games played in the NHL, that would be a very good thing.
Click to expand...
Loved that Stempniak trade.
 
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