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Throughout the season, we will check in on the Toronto Maple Leafs prospects to see how they are progressing. The 2020 Draft included a dozen picks and a great deal of promise.
Here is how the players selected from the 2020 Draft are doing:
Roni Hirvonen – C - 2nd round – 59th overall - Toronto (AHL)
The 22-year-old center had a career-high 28 points in his final season in Liiga for HIFK Helsinki and came over this summer to participate in the club’s rookie development camp. Hirvonen recovered from a scary mid-ice hit and took part in training camp. After playing two AHL games in October, Hirvonen was out of action for over three months with an eye injury but made his return on Saturday and had an assist in a 4-3 overtime loss to Hershey.
Topi Niemela – D - 3rd round – 64th overall – Toronto (AHL)
After lower-than-expected totals in his final year in Finland, Niemela performed well for the Marlies during the Calder Cup Playoffs last May and although not ready for the NHL, the 21-year-old has shown a great deal of promise so far, with 22 points (6 goals, 16 assists) in 36 games, but as with all young players consistency is an issue. After scoring goals in four straight games in December, the young Finn has gone goalless in 14 straight.
Topi Niemela jumps up into the play and buries his 6th of the season. His 4th game in a row with a goal. . With the assist Alex Steeves extends his point streak to 16 games pic.twitter.com/qoOIXhdfx9
Artur Akhtyamov – G - 4th round – 106th overall – Ak-Bars Kazan (KHL)
The 22-year-old goalie was sharing the duties early in the season with veteran Timur Bilyalov in the KHL. Akhtyamov was excellent as Biyalov’s backup ( 2.51 GAA and .921 save % in 17 games), but with the veteran getting most of the starts, the youngster was sent to Neftyanik Almetievsk of the second-level VHL in December, where is 6-5-2, with a 2.03 GAA in 13 starts.
William Villeneuve – D - 4th round – 122nd overall – Toronto (AHL)
After winning a Memorial Cup and an excellent season with Saint John, Villeneuve went through some growing pains in his first pro season but finished up with 25 points as a rookie with the Marlies. So far, after being part of an early season rotation, the 21-year-old blueliner has played regularly in November and has 14 points (1 goal, 13 assists) in 30 games.
Dmitri Ovchinnikov – F – 5th round – 137th overall – Toronto (AHL)
Ovchinnikov scored a pair of goals in a brief AHL stint at the end of the 2021-22 season but went back on loan to Novosibirsk to get more playing time, where he had an offensively disappointing 13 points in 68 games, but may have benefitted from a higher level of competition. After going scoreless in his first four games for the Marlies, Ovchinnikov is benefitting from the opportunity created by the Leafs calling up Bobby McMann. The 21-year-old scored his first AHL hat trick in a 7-3 win over Grand Rapids on November 10, and three goals in the next four games, but he only scored one goal in December and has not played since January 6.
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