The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL, but with players like Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson and Travis Dermott on their roster, the next step for the club is to keep replenishing the prospect pool to provide the Leafs with youngsters who can step up and replace veterans who retire, depart via free agency or are traded.
As we did last summer, we will rank the club’s top 25 prospects over the next few weeks based on their progress in either the NCAA, CHL, Europe or the American Hockey League and their potential to make the Leafs roster and make a contribution in the future.
Players are not eligible for the list if they are 25 years old or over, or if they have played more than 30 NHL games:
Top 25 list
#25 – Eemeli Rasanen – D (Jokerit – KHL / Toronto Marlies – AHL)
#24 – Pontus Holmberg – LW (Vaxjo HC – SHL)
#23 – Mikhail Abramov – C (Victoriaville – QMJHL)
#22 – Nick Abruzzese - C (Chicago – USHL)
#21 – Teemu Kivihalme - D (Karpat – SM-Liiga)
#20 – Riley Stotts – C (Calgary – WHL)
#19 – Filip Kral - D (Spokane – WHL)
#18 – Mikko Kokkonen – D (Jukurit – SM Liiga)
#17 – Jesper Lindgren - D (HPK – SM Liiga / Toronto – AHL)
#16 – Joseph Duszak - D (Mercyhurst – NCAA / Toronto - AHL)
#15 – Mac Hollowell - D (Sault Ste. Marie – OHL / Toronto - AHL)
#14 – Semyon Der-Argushintsev – C (Peterborough – OHL / Newfoundland - ECHL)
#13 – Mason Marchment – LW (Toronto - AHL)
#12 – Adam Brooks – C (Toronto - AHL)
#11 – Ian Scott – G (Prince Albert - WHL)
#10 – Dmytro Timashov – LW (Toronto - AHL)
#9 – Egor Korshkov - RW (Lokomotiv - KHL / Toronto - AHL)
#8 – Nick Robertson - LW (Peterborough - OHL)
#7 – Joseph Woll - G (Boston College - NCAA)
#6 – Ilya Mikheyev – RW (Avangard Omsk - KHL)
#5 – Pierre Engvall – LW/C (Toronto - AHL)
#4 – Trevor Moore – LW/RW (Toronto – AHL / Toronto – NHL)
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#3 – Timothy Liljegren – D (Toronto – AHL)
2018 Ranking – 1
Kyle Dubas said the only thing that prevented Timothy Liljegren from making his NHL debut last season was a lengthy mid-season injury, but the 20-year-old has a chance to crack the Toronto lineup with a good showing at training camp this month.
Liljegren was one of the top rated defensive prospects in the 2017 Draft, but his stock plummeted as a bout of mononucleosis kept him from participating in the World Junior and shift between four teams at various levels in the Swedish Hockey League, and he slipped to the Leafs pick at #17 overall.
Gifted with excellent skating and the ability to push the attack, Liljegren is the type of blueliner that has the tools necessary to succeed in the new NHL. Toronto had the option of keeping Liljegren in Sweden with Rogle BK after signing him to an entry-level contract, but the club decided to provide a more stable environment and begin his transition to the North American game by assigning him to the AHL Marlies.
Liljegren had 17 points (1 goal, 16 assists) as a rookie, but was limited to 44 games during the regular season due some bumps and bruises early in the year and being loaned to Team Sweden for the 2018 World Junior in Buffalo.
In the Marlies run to the Calder Cup, head coach Sheldon Keefe managed the youngster’s ice time carefully, keeping him mostly on the bottom pairing. Liljegren had four assists in 20 games, but was poised and did not make the bad decisions that inexperienced players tend to make in pressure situations.
In his second professional campaign, Liljegren missed over two months and the 2019 World Junior with a high ankle sprain, but put up similar offensive numbers (3 goals, 12 assists in 43 games), and played more difficult minutes, matching up often against the opposition’s top lines during the regular season and the playoffs.
Keefe indicated that Liljegren made great strides at the defensive end of the ice, and that may increase his chances of earning a spot on the bottom pairing at some point this season.
The #Marlies PP finally executes. A blast from Timothy LIljegren is deflected by a net-front Sam Gagner. TOR is within one. 5-4. @TLNdcpic.twitter.com/G96vkihSsT
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