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)
#15 – Pavel Gogolev – LW (Vasby IK – Swe-1, Toronto – AHL)
#14 - Pontus Holmberg – LW (Vaxjo HC – SHL)
#13 – Mikko Kokkonen – D (Jukurit Mikkeli – Finland SM-Liiga, Toronto - AHL)
#12 – Joseph Woll – G (Toronto – AHL)
#11 - Dmitry Ovchinnikov – F (Sibir Novosibirsk – MHL/KHL)
The Leafs had a dozen selections in the 2020 NHL Draft and with all but one of their picks, they opted to select Europeans or players bound for US colleges who had a longer development window. After selecting winger Rodion Amirov in the first round and goalie Artur Akhtyamov in the fourth, Toronto once again went to Mother Russia in the fifth round (137th overall), picking winger Dmitry Ovchinnikov.
One of the high risers on this year’s prospect list, Ovchinnikov attracted attention last season after scoring more than a point-per-game with Sibirskie Snaipery Novosibirsk of the junior level MHL and earning a two-game look in the KHL as a 17-year-old.
The 5’11”, 163 lb forward can “shoot the puck well due to a plus level of coordination that features a fast and consistent release point. Additionally, he was capable of masking his release point before firing it faster than goaltenders could get set,” according to the HockeyProspect.com Black Book. “(Ovchinnikov’s) playmaking ability is good and he’s capable of looking off his intended passing targets at a consistent rate. The way he handles the puck is slightly behind his playmaking and shooting ability, but it didn’t stop him from making some highlight reel plays where he used his deking to go through multiple players when we scouted him.”
The one concern about Ovchinnikov overall is the fluidity of his skating stride and his proficiency in stops and starts, but that has not held him back this season. The 19-year-old finished in the top 15 of MHL scoring (20 goals, 31 assists) in spite of playing just 40 games.
Ovchinnikov scored his first KHL goal this week in spite of limited ice time with Sibir and could be in the mix for Team Russia at the upcoming 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships.
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