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, Toronto - AHL)
#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)
#10 - Mikhail Abramov – C (Victoriaville – QMJHL)
#9 – Adam Brooks – C (Toronto – AHL/NHL) (claimed by Montreal)
#8 - Roni Hirvonen – C (Assat Pori – Finland SM-Liiga)
#7 - Timothy Liljegren – D (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#6 - Matthew Knies – LW (Tri-City – USHL)
#5 – Nick Abruzzese - C (Harvard - NCAA)
#4 - Topi Niemela – D (Karpat – Finland SM-Liiga)
The Toronto Maple Leafs went heavy on European prospects in 2020, which was likely a tactic implemented because of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a longer development window.
GM Kyle Dubas once again moved down in the 2020 NHL Draft to get extra picks, trading a mid-second rounder to Ottawa for a late second (Roni Hirvonen) and a third round pick which the Leafs used to select Finnish defenseman Topi Niemela.
“He's a really good defender, really quick to close gaps, take away time and space.” Leafs former Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley said in last October. “(Niemela is) a first pass guy, not necessarily going to run your power play. Good instincts....not the biggest guy, so not overly physical at this time since he's playing against men, (but) one of the best defensive instincts in the entire draft.”
Niemela played 58 games over two seasons in the SM-Liiga with Karpat as a 17 and 18 year old and tallied 11 points (1 goal, 10 assists) as a 17-year-old with Karpat, but had a coming out party at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships, leading all defensemen in scoring with eight points (2 goals, 6 assists) in seven games and earning the prize for the tournament’s top blueliner.
The speedy Finn was extremely effective distributing and rushing the puck as a power play quarterback and in spite of not being a big defender showed a willingness to stand up physically to the opposition.
“He’s a strong skater in both directions and has very impressive lateral movement.” EP Rinkside’s Lassi Alanen said prior to the draft. (Niemela is) a confident player with the puck, showing no fear against forecheckers in Liiga. He can distribute the puck through layers on the breakout and also has the feet to carry the puck up the ice himself. Defensively, he was able to hold his own against pro-level opposition.”
Niemela’s confidence after thriving on the international stage has been apparent this season in Finland, as he has been more willing to join the offensive attack and currently leads Liiga in defensive scoring with 18 points (4 goals, 14 assists) in 21 games.
Just 19 years old, Niemela will once again play for his country in the World Juniors this December in Alberta and is on track to be signed by the Leafs to an entry-level contract in 2022.
*******
Toronto will take on the New York Rangers in the second game of their three-game homestand on Thursday. The two clubs met last month at Scotiabank Arena, with the Broadway Blueshirts winning 2-1 in overtime on an Artemi Panarin goal.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that forward Ondrej Kase will be a game time decision after being dinged up at the end on the Nashville game on Tuesday blocking a point shot.
Jack Campbell (9-3-1, 1.68 GAA, .943 save %) will match up for Toronto against Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin (8-2-2, 2.42 GAA, .930 save %).
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»