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Leafs Top 25 Prospects: #2 – Jeremy Bracco

September 4, 2019, 2:21 PM ET [208 Comments]
Mike Augello
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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)
#3 – Timothy Liljegren – D (Toronto – AHL)


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#2 – Jeremy Bracco – RW (Toronto – AHL)

2018 Ranking – 5



There are prospects that get elevated because of intangibles or traits in their game and others who are underestimated for the same reason. In spite of being a winner at every level of hockey and breaking out in his first full professional season, there are still those who believe Jeremy Bracco will not be successful in the NHL.

Bracco was selected in the second round in the 2015 NHL Draft after Mitch Marner and Travis Dermott with a draft pick acquired by then Assistant GM Kyle Dubas for trading down from #24 overall with the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Freeport, NY native played with Auston Matthews as a member of the US National Development Program and after a brief stint at Boston College, chose to leave the NCAA to play in the OHL. 2017 was a banner year for Bracco, who was a key contributor in Team USA’s gold medal victory at the World Junior and complied 83 points (25 goals, 58 assists) in 57 games with the Kitchener and Windsor, helping the Spitfires win the Memorial Cup.



In his first professional season, Bracco did not play consistently and often saw fourth line duty when he was in the lineup. That changed later in the season when the Leafs called up Andreas Johnsson, which allowed Bracco to move up to a scoring line and get more opportunities on the power play.

In 50 games, Bracco had 32 points (6 goals, 26 assists), but he scored nearly half of those points in the final month of the regular season with an increased workload. With Johnsson returning for the Calder Cup Playoffs, the winger was a healthy scratch for most of the Marlies championship run, but he returned to a top six role at the start of last season and took full advantage of the opportunity.

The 22-year-old finished second in the AHL in scoring with 79 points (22 goals, 57 assists) and led the Marlies with 16 points in the postseason.

Bracco is an excellent passer and playmaker, and is extremely effective on the power play, but has to get stronger to not be pushed off the puck in battles along the boards and improve his decision making at the defensive end of the ice to make the jump to the NHL.

With most organizations, the season that Bracco had would catapult him to a job in the NHL this season, but with Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen and William Nylander ahead on the depth chart at right wing, the only opportunity for him to break through early on would be if Marner’s contract impasse extends into the regular season.

The fact that Bracco was not dealt over the summer to acquire a defenseman or as a sweetener in deals to clear cap space is proof that the Leafs see significant value in him down the line.




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