The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Pierre Engvall, Travis Dermott and Justin Holl, but the next step for the club under GM Kyle Dubas 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 year, we will rank the club’s top prospects over the next few weeks based on their progress in either the NCAA, CHL, Europe, ECHL or AHL and their potential to make the Leafs roster and make a contribution in the future.
Players are eligible for the list if they have not played more than 40 NHL games:
#40 - Jeremy McKenna – RW (Wichita – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#39 – Ryan Tverberg – C (Connecticut – NCAA)
#38 – Ryan O’Connell – D (Ohio State – NCAA)
#37 - Semyon Kizimov – RW (Lada Togliatti – VHL / Torpedo – KHL)
#36 - Wyatt Schingoethe – C (Waterloo – USHL)
#35 - Kalle Loponen – D (Karpat – Finland SM-Liiga)
#34 - Vladislav Kara – LW (Cherepovets Severstal/Moscow Spartak – KHL)
#33 - Kirill Semyonov – C (Avangard Omsk – KHL)
#32 - William Villeneuve – D (Saint John – QMJHL)
#31 - Ty Voit – LW (Sarnia – OHL)
#30 – Joe Miller – C(Chicago – USHL
#29 - Brennan Menell – D (Minsk Dynamo – KHL)
#28 - John Fusco – D (Harvard – NCAA)
#27 - Axel Rindell – D (Jukurit – Finland SM-Liiga)
#26 - Noel Hoefenmayer – D (Toronto - AHL)
#25 - Alex Steeves – C (Notre Dame – NCAA)
#24 - Teemu Kivihalme - D (Toronto - AHL)
#23 - Kristians Rubins - D (Toronto - AHL / Frederikshavn - Denmark)
#22 - Ian Scott – G (Toronto - AHL)
#21 – Veeti Miettinen – RW (St. Cloud St. – NCAA)
#20 – Artur Akhtyamov – G (Ak Bars Kazan – MHL/VHL/KHL)
#19 – Filip Kral - D (Kometa Brno – Czech, Toronto - AHL)
#18 - Joseph Duszak - D (Toronto - AHL)
#17 – Mac Hollowell - D (Toronto – AHL / TuTo Turku – Finland Mestis)
#16 – Semyon Der-Argushintsev - C (Torpedo – KHL, Toronto - AHL)
GM Kyle Dubas selected the youngest player available in the 2018 NHL Draft 76th overall in Semyon Der-Argushintsev after the Russian center scored 51 points (12 goals, 39 assists) in 68 games with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes.
Known for his playmaking, stick handling and hockey IQ, SDA signed an entry-level contract during the Leafs 2019 training camp before being sent back to the OHL. Not gifted with great speed, the Moscow native grew to 5’10” last season and put on some muscle, but took a step back in his third OHL season, dropping slightly to 46 points in 62 games and scoring only six goals.
Following the elimination of the Petes in the first round of the OHL Playoffs, Der-Argushintsev joined the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers at the end of the regular season and played nine playoff games on their way to a Kelly Cup title. In 2019-20, he posted a career-high 75 points (12 goals, 63 assists) in 55 games with the Petes playing alongside OHL goal leader Nick Robertson.
With the OHL shut down, the Leafs found a spot for the young forward in the KHL with Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo, where he posted six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 17 games. SDA only played six AHL games upon his return to North America, but had four assists with the Marlies.
After seeing him in action during the pre-season, the 21-year-old gets knocked off the puck easily and is not strong enough at this time, but he could have success in the American Hockey League this season.
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