Toronto Maple Leafs - 2022 Entry Draft - 2nd Rd Pick (38th OA) - Fraser Minten (C)

[TheDoldrums]

Bedard has the passion

 

[Juniorhockeyguru]

Shocked he made the team. When they drafted him I though he was still 2 years away from being 2 years away. Congrats Kid

Could be just 9 games.

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

I think it's because we rushed Schenn I typically am overly cautious about promoting the kids at 18-19-20 years old but I have to remember we rushed Schenn, put him in a big role on a bad team.

Minten at his age can probably handle 3rd line centre duties, he's not being asked to do a lot and we're a much better team than we were back then.

Not just that but the Leafs brass put him on an old school training regimen and made him put on too much weight. He weighed something like 240lbs. As it was, he wasn't the most fleet of foot, so adding like 20lbs and throwing him into the fastest league in the world wasn't exactly putting him into a position to succeed.

 

[TheMadHatTrick]

It feels for too long the Vets were given spots over our young players. Nice to see that ending.

It's reminding me of the old days when young guys like Kaberle and Markov came out of nowhere, impressed in camp and made the team.

 

[Cleetus]

Bedard has the passion

so free agent Bedard to the leafs confirmed

 

[Obo]

so free agent Bedard to the leafs confirmed

Play him with McDavid or split them up?

 

[Cleetus]

Play him with McDavid or split them up?

split them up matthews, McDavid, Bedard not bad centre depth lol

 

[SprDaVE]

Scale of CHL 2 way C's that made the NHL as teens

Sutter-Stajan - bottom 6'ers
Fisher- High end 3C / low end 2C
Couturier - high end 2C / low end 1C
O'Rielly- 1C
Bergeron - HOF Elite 1C

I'm not letting myself hope for anything more than a Fisher, and that would make me very happy. Despite his being a hated Sen I always loved the way Fisher played when I was a kid/teen.

Hard to gauge where Minten will land because he had 1 pretty mediocre draft year and then slightly better in his +1 season. It's remarkable he looked so good in training camp with the way his season went last season.

 

[kb]

Hard to gauge where Minten will land because he had 1 pretty mediocre draft year and then slightly better in his +1 season. It's remarkable he looked so good in training camp with the way his season went last season.

In all fairness he started the year injured, and there was no way he was going to play ahead of Stankoven or Bankier when he returned.

Crazy depth on that team, they had 7 players with 61 or more points, and one D who had 52 points.....in 32 games (Olen Zellweger).

 

[SprDaVE]

In all fairness he started the year injured, and there was no way he was going to play ahead of Stankoven or Bankier when he returned.

Crazy depth on that team, they had 7 players with 61 or more points, and one D who had 52 points.....in 32 games (Olen Zellweger).

Not even just the point totals. Just watching him play, he certainly didn't stand out at all. He was just OK, especially in the playoffs.

 

[Juniorhockeyguru]

Not even just the point totals. Just watching him play, he certainly didn't stand out at all. He was just OK, especially in the playoffs.

Same with the year before in the playoffs. I believe he'll be back in Kamloops after 9 games.

 

[TheDoldrums]

split them up matthews, McDavid, Bedard not bad centre depth lol

Imagine the internal competition for 2C between Matthews, McDavid and Bedard.

Minten at 1C of course.

 

[fahad203]

Wish the kid all the best
Playing in NHL is a dream denied to many many hockey players.

I hope he enjoys the ride, whatever, the outcome is in the future

 

[horner]

Same with the year before in the playoffs. I believe he'll be back in Kamloops after 9 games.

If he goes after 9 games , he will have learnt what he can be
But
If he didn't have the chemistry between knies , I would have said yes.
If he wasn't
- physically strong enough and getting stronger
- if he didn't have the high IQ for the game
- if he wasn't mature
- he has learnt different ways to win the draw to be an effective center man.

If he can keep this up he will stay

 

[Gallagbi]

Same with the year before in the playoffs. I believe he'll be back in Kamloops after 9 games.

Hes had a great camp, but I cant see him sticking around either

 

[thusk]

Not even just the point totals. Just watching him play, he certainly didn't stand out at all. He was just OK, especially in the playoffs.

He came back of injury and was probably not at 100%... so his playoff are pretty hard to evaluate

Hes had a great camp, but I cant see him sticking around either

If he can transfer what he did in pre-season into season. Continu to show great defensive ability and be excellent in forechecking, they are no reason to dont keep him even if he only finishing next season at 30 points

 

[Peasy]

I thought he had zero chance making the team this year.

He proved me wrong once, so I'm not going to say theres no chance hes up the entire year.

If hes able to stay up with the big team and can end up putting around 30 points that would be quite the unexpected and exceptional season for him.

 

[Leafs87]

Kid earned it. Not sure he’ll be kept for more than 9 but none the less he impressed. I knew a few guys were down on this pick early in the summer. I imagine he’ll get the 9 games stretched until the world juniors, join team Canada and join the WHL in January to close out the season. He looks good, but his offensive game can still use some grooming

 

[Burnie97]

It's reminding me of the old days when young guys like Kaberle and Markov came out of nowhere, impressed in camp and made the team.

If he ends up anywhere as impactful as them ... that's a big win.

I figure he only gets 9 games max but you never know. It'd be awesome to see him do well enough to stay at 3C. It helps round out the forward group but it's a lot to ask of him right now. Rooting for him. Always like to see guys who do well in camp actually get rewarded.

 

[thusk]

I thought he had zero chance making the team this year.

He proved me wrong once, so I'm not going to say theres no chance hes up the entire year.

If hes able to stay up with the big team and can end up putting around 30 points that would be quite the unexpected and exceptional season for him.

If hes playing well on 3rd linr and better than other leafs option and so making leafs a better team, i dont know why he should not...

Minten and knies meybe theyre only19 and 20 but still better than half of leafs foward defensive side of the puck, more physical and better on 1v1 battle than most leafs player... Its very rare for young player to be as good in those 2 part of the game. ( for what we saw in pre-season). So if they can adapt to NHL caliber and play wasn't go too fast for him and play the same exact way he did in pre-season. Theyre 0 chance he go back in CHL.

 

[Judas Tavares]

I think a lot of that is some posters do a little video scouting and convince themselves the guy they like is undoubtedly the player professional scouts should also prefer.
I get why they do the video scouting, it's enjoyable and I do it too but I go into it with the understanding that i'm an amateur and have no expectations that my list would resemble that of a professional. So while that approach may deprive me of a rare "told you so" opportunity it undoubtedly saves me from myself more often than not.

It's a mix.
There's the video scouting. - A two minute highlight reel and this guy is the saviour.

There's the good old measuring tape scouting. - Over 6'1" good, under bad.

And there's media hype. - Craig Button says in a 30 second segment someone would be a good pick? Well I don't know any other players, we need to go with this guy!

I get it's easy to get attached to certain players, but it goes a little far with the crying and hot takes when their player isn't selected. I remember being here in 2009 and someone was so determined the Leafs needed to take Magnus Paajarvi, they named their username after him. I think there was a meltdown when he wasn't the selection. Many other examples, each year, each round.

I haven't bothered entering the Cowan thread but likely don't have to to know exactly how it went.

We aren't scouts. Hoping for the best with Minten, excited to see how he can develop.

 

[Juniorhockeyguru]

His emotional maturity is well beyond his years.

 

[TheDoldrums]

The team actually made a fairly big statement by keeping him here, because it necessitated the Lafferty trade. The fact that they chose to go that route tells me they legitimately think he could be here all season. You don't give away a regular NHLer for very little just to give a kid 9 games.

 

[I am toxic]

In all fairness he started the year injured, and there was no way he was going to play ahead of Stankoven or Bankier when he returned.

Crazy depth on that team, they had 7 players with 61 or more points, and one D who had 52 points.....in 32 games (Olen Zellweger).

Not sure if this was already posted back when it came out, hopefully gives some insight into Fraser's season last year.

 

[BertCorbeau]

The team actually made a fairly big statement by keeping him here, because it necessitated the Lafferty trade. The fact that they chose to go that route tells me they legitimately think he could be here all season. You don't give away a regular NHLer for very little just to give a kid 9 games.

IIRC when he was drafted he was praised for his maturity and two way game.. the question was his offensive ability. A lot of his production did come on the PP last season, but as you mention he was buried behind some talent. When they went to the WJC Minten shined leading Kamloops.

Excited for the kid, I just hope the move to the NHL at this age and his role on the Leafs doesn’t stifle his offensive development.