Prospect Info: Marlies/Prospects Thread

[hockeywiz542]

Analysis | The Leafs are going to need help from within. Here are the candidates

There aren’t going to be gems like Calder Trophy finalist Michael Bunting in every crop of free agents, so the Leafs will have NHL jobs available in the fall.

www.thestar.com

FORWARDS

Pontus Holmberg

The five-foot-11 centre’s name was the first one out of Dubas’s mouth when asked about prospects. He’s 23, shoots left, was drafted in the sixth round in 2018 and put up a couple of good years in Sweden. The Leafs have done well with players who develop overseas (Engvall was another). Holmberg joined the Marlies for the final six games of their season, putting up two goals and two assists. He was also on Sweden’s Olympic team. “We feel he’ll challenge for the roster,” said Dubas.

Nick Robertson

It feels like time for the 20-year-old left-winger to get a clear shot at a top-six role. If Mikheyev leaves as a free agent, Robertson could get a chance. But injuries have been an issue: He played just 26 games with the Marlies, 10 with the Leafs. It won’t be the end of the world if the 2019 second-rounder needs another year of seasoning. “One thing he really elevated was his shot selection,” said Marlies coach Greg Moore. “Shooting from anywhere can be good at times, but he was a lot more selective in getting into the right areas, possessing the puck or extending the possession to get those better looks, to get those higher quality chances.”

Alex Steeves

The undrafted rookie centre from Notre Dame jumped to the front of the queue by putting up 23 goals in 58 games with the Marlies, despite starting the season injured. He got into three NHL games and has some versatility. “He did a really good job at problem-solving his way through the schedule, the season, the workload,” said Moore. “If he found himself in a little bit of a dip, he was quick to come out of it by asking the right questions, going through the right process of figuring out what’s needed. And if he wasn’t producing it, how else he can have an impact.”

Nick Abruzzese

Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe had positive things to say about the Harvard product and how plays didn’t end on his stick, that he always found a way to keep the action going. The 22- year-old, a fourth-round pick in 2019, finished the season in the NHL and scored his first goal. Some seasoning with the Marlies might be in order, however.

Curtis Douglas

How does six-foot-eight, 249 pounds sound? If he makes the NHL, he’d be one of the biggest centres ever. The Marlies signed him to an AHL contract and he was so impressive (13 goals, 21 assists) that the Leafs gave him to a two-year, entry-level deal. “He came in here and got a lot of confidence early,” said Marlies GM Ryan Hardy. “He probably produced to a level that I didn’t expect. I also felt that his competitiveness, his ability to fight ... I’m certainly glad I wasn’t on the other end of those events. You look at him and you start to project what he could be as he continues.”

Bobby McMann

Like Douglas, he signed an AHL deal to start the season and earned an entry-level contract. McMann ended up with 24 goals, a record for Marlies rookies (Josh Leivo had 23 in 2013-14). He’s 25, though, and a bit like a late-blooming Adam Brooks. “When I met with him (early in the season) I challenged him,” said Hardy. “I said, ‘Hey, I love your work ethic. I love your mindset. I love the power that you bring. I want you to continue to evolve your game and make more east-west plays and be a little more creative.’ For him to come in here and break that record for rookie scoring just speaks to the quality player he is.”

Joey Anderson

Acquired from the New Jersey Devils for Johnsson, Anderson is 23 and has 58 NHL games to his credit. After a 26-goal season with the Marlies, it’s time to assert himself as a bona fide NHLer. He finished the year as a healthy scratch on the Leafs playoff roster.

DEFENCE

Joseph Duszak

The 24-year-old was a second-team AHL all-star (seven goals, 44 assists) and will be knocking on the door — with the Leafs or another team. The restricted free agent is undersized at five-foot-nine, but shoots right and can run a power play.

Topi Niemelä

The 20-year-old, drafted in 2020, is one of the top defencemen in Finland. He recently signed an entry-level deal and will be at training camp. If he doesn’t make the Leafs, he’ll return to Finland.

Kristians Rubins

The 24-year-old worked his way up from the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers and got into three games with the Leafs. He’s six-foot-four, and the Leafs have shown patience with big-bodied defencemen (Justin Holl was another) who sometimes take longer to develop.

GOALTENDING

Joseph Woll

Woll’s NHL cameo (3-1-0 with a shutout) backs up what many scouts believe: Some goalies are simply better in the NHL than they show in the AHL, given the quality of players around them and chances they face. A late-season injury hurt his progress, but he got a new deal and should get as long a look as Erik Källgren will for the Leafs backup job.

 

[aingefan]

Not saying its likely, but it'd be pretty funny after all the bellyaching about Marchment, if Malgin turned into a legit top 6 scoring threat.

How bout sign them both and line em up with JT?
Tongue in cheek.
I can see Malgin succeeding in TO because of his talent, but signing here has gotta be a powder keg in his mind .
Saner heads don’t always prevail in the big smoke.

 

[Prominence]

I was looking at uconn’s team for next year. I think they are going to be really bad. They lost kondelik, firstov to the pros while schlaine is going to northern michigan for some reason. Their best incoming prospect is matthew wood, but he’s expected to arrive in 23-24. Not that tverberg was a product of his linemates, but my expectations of him next year are going to be tempered.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

5 prospects with exclusive rights expiring to keep an eye on

Even with multiple teams still in action in the Stanley Cup playoffs,...

theleafsnation.com

All of them, and Evan Vierling who was also not listed here, are guys that I can see the Leafs having interest in. Maybe not with a DP (only McDonnell, Vierling, and McClennon are eligible to be selected anyways), but with either an ELC (for Johansson and Oberg) or an AHL contract (for Francis). McDonnell, McClennon, and Vierling would be TBD depending on how much they explode in their OA years, but I think they would get at least an AHL contract as well.

 

[aingefan]

The two Swedes sound interesting being right shots and having decent size and okay pedigree.

 

[Duke16]

5 prospects with exclusive rights expiring to keep an eye on

Even with multiple teams still in action in the Stanley Cup playoffs,...

theleafsnation.com

All of them, and Evan Vierling who was also not listed here, are guys that I can see the Leafs having interest in. Maybe not with a DP (only McDonnell, Vierling, and McClennon are eligible to be selected anyways), but with either an ELC (for Johansson and Oberg) or an AHL contract (for Francis). McDonnell, McClennon, and Vierling would be TBD depending on how much they explode in their OA years, but I think they would get at least an AHL contract as well.

I'm surprised McDonnell isn't signed by Tampa of all teams. He has a lot of tools they like with their support pieces.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

If Minnesota is expected to go deep, any thoughts on when Knies might become available to join the squad? Last year it was about 10 games left. Not sure how many more weeks the NCAA playoffs went after that.

 

[Americanadian]

If Minnesota is expected to go deep, any thoughts on when Knies might become available to join the squad? Last year it was about 10 games left. Not sure how many more weeks the NCAA playoffs went after that.

The NCAA season ended 2 days after Minnesota's season ended. If they didn't make the frozen four it would have ended 10 days prior.

 

[SprDaVE]

Not really a blue chip prospect or anything, but his production has been very good. Well worth the shot if he doesn't get re-drafted as an overager (seems doubtful... but you never know).

Leafs have done well getting these sort of players on AHL deals. Could be someone like that... but we'll see.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Not really a blue chip prospect or anything, but his production has been very good. Well worth the shot if he doesn't get re-drafted as an overager (seems doubtful... but you never know).

Leafs have done well getting these sort of players on AHL deals. Could be someone like that... but we'll see.

Anyone on that list in the article is good.

Others who may be worth an AHL contract (or even an ELC) not on that list:
- Evan Vierling (NYR)
- Jake Wise (CHI)
- Tyler Weiss (COL)
- Brett Stapley (MTL)
- Cole Guttman (TBL)
- Samuel Walker (TBL)

All of them are forwards. Only a couple of the defensemen looked interesting, but we don't need RD and we should look at CHL LD to fill the last Growlers spot.

 

[LeafChief]

So Minnesota isn't signing D Filip Johansson (who they used a 1st round pick on). He obviously hasn't lived up to his draft position but he isn't worth a contract? He's been that bad?

Played on Sweden's WJC team two years in a row as well.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

So Minnesota isn't signing D Filip Johansson (who they used a 1st round pick on). He obviously hasn't lived up to his draft position but he isn't worth a contract? He's been that bad?

Played on Sweden's WJC team two years in a row as well.

They are effectively trading his rights for the 56th overall pick.

That is a good swap for them TBH. I think they can get a better prospect out of the 56th overall pick than what he has amounted to. He may still become a decent 4/5, but you can find higher upside guys than that with that 2nd round pick.

Would not be surprised if some other team (possibly even the Leafs) signs him in a couple of years though. He is not spectacular in any sense but there is always room for solid, safe, and reliable puck movers in the NHL, even if his offensive game never takes off. Offense was never a big part of his game in the first place.

If he adds another 20lbs to his frame and models himself after Jonas Brodin (they play very similar styles), there is still a long and fairly illustrious NHL career in Johansson's future.

 

[McSnypsky]

So where does Dryden McKay start next year? anyone think he can reproduce those college numbers in the AHL?

 

[Fogelhund]

So where does Dryden McKay start next year? anyone think he can reproduce those college numbers in the AHL?

ECHL


Only time will tell.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

So where does Dryden McKay start next year? anyone think he can reproduce those college numbers in the AHL?

As @Fogelhund said, I would say he is the ECHL starter to replace Petruzzelli, who should enter the 3-man AHL rotation with Woll and Kallgren next year.

I doubt he can reproduce the numbers in the AHL. He played on a team that was full of older guys in a weak conference. Maybe the ECHL, but I think he is mostly just depth and competition for Petruzzelli.

 

[Brobust]

Not really a blue chip prospect or anything, but his production has been very good. Well worth the shot if he doesn't get re-drafted as an overager (seems doubtful... but you never know).

Leafs have done well getting these sort of players on AHL deals. Could be someone like that... but we'll see.

He's 19, so doesn't he re-enter the draft?

 

[SprDaVE]

He's 19, so doesn't he re-enter the draft?

D+2 CHL prospects that are not signed re-enter the draft one last time then are free agents if not drafted.

 

[Apex Predator]

Not really a blue chip prospect or anything, but his production has been very good. Well worth the shot if he doesn't get re-drafted as an overager (seems doubtful... but you never know).

Leafs have done well getting these sort of players on AHL deals. Could be someone like that... but we'll see.

In franchise hockey manager this guy became a 50 goal scorer for me!

 

[nuck]

I was looking at uconn’s team for next year. I think they are going to be really bad. They lost kondelik, firstov to the pros while schlaine is going to northern michigan for some reason. Their best incoming prospect is matthew wood, but he’s expected to arrive in 23-24. Not that tverberg was a product of his linemates, but my expectations of him next year are going to be tempered.

His stats might suffer a little but being the top offensive guy means he gets played to death so it might be a positive developmentally. I am looking forward a lot to seeing him a year stronger.

 

[Brobust]

How I ran an NHL Combine Interview

Leading up to the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, I was invited by Dr. Meg Popovic, then the Director of Player Well-Being for the Toronto Maple Leafs, to create a better interview process for prospects at the Buffalo combine.
Up to that point I had never been part of such an interview, either as an athlete or a team staff member. However, I had experienced life under a microscope via some unusual life experiences (which you can read about on Bill West’s newsletter), so the pressure and stakes associated with the scenario were not new to me.

From the outset, I disagreed with the traditional draft combine process, which consisted of a variety of physical tests (pull-ups, jumps, etc.) that didn’t strongly correlate with future NHL performance and in-person interviews that sometimes lacked seriousness (“what’s your sprit animal?”).

If I sat down with a prospective player for 15 minutes, I would most want to know two things:

• Does this player have strong hockey-specific pattern recognition skills relative to his peers
• Does this player love the game and have the desire to improve when challenged

And so I build out a testing methodology which relied on temporal occlusion, a video-based technique well-understood by baseball, volleyball and tennis researchers seeking to understand “game sense” and anticipation.


Two players stood out from the pack:

• Nick Robertson for his intensity and interest for video analysis (“would make an excellent hockey ops intern for TOR,” I noted)
• Nick Abruzzese for his uncanny ability to read the play (“elite hockey IQ”)

I made the test more difficult for Abruzzese than anyone else, and yet he was still able to recall details and accurately predict where the puck was headed with close to a 100% accuracy.

TOR ended up selecting both players in Vancouver weeks later.

 

[WTFMAN99]

How I ran an NHL Combine Interview

It's interesting and I appreciate trying to get more out of the draft interview than they would have otherwise.

I liked seeing Abrusezze in the Olympics but definitely didn't seem as effective in the NHL. Seemed to lack explosiveness in skating and wasn't really ahead of the play.

Maybe following the video and predicting where the puck should/could go doesn't necessarily translate to high hockey IQ?

Just a thought though, maybe they can refine what they ask or do with players even more.

 

[LeafChief]

It's interesting and I appreciate trying to get more out of the draft interview than they would have otherwise.

I liked seeing Abrusezze in the Olympics but definitely didn't seem as effective in the NHL. Seemed to lack explosiveness in skating and wasn't really ahead of the play.

Maybe following the video and predicting where the puck should/could go doesn't necessarily translate to high hockey IQ?

Just a thought though, maybe they can refine what they ask or do with players even more.

Abbruzzese at the Olympics and Abbruzzese during his stint with the Leafs were like watching two different players.

Need to see more of that Olympic/NCAA Abbruzzese. He needs AHL time for sure.

 

[Brobust]

Abbruzzese at the Olympics and Abbruzzese during his stint with the Leafs were like watching two different players.

Need to see more of that Olympic/NCAA Abbruzzese. He needs AHL time for sure.

Joining late season and playing 10 minutes a game isn't something I'd focus on too much. But I do think he's at least 1 year away from challenging for a roster spot.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Abbruzzese at the Olympics and Abbruzzese during his stint with the Leafs were like watching two different players.

Need to see more of that Olympic/NCAA Abbruzzese. He needs AHL time for sure.

Olympics still on the bigger ice? That might have worked in his favour.

Interested to see how he comes into camp next year. I expect he’ll be with the Marlies.

 

[SprDaVE]

Another AHL goaltender signing.