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The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Pierre Engvall, and Justin Holl), but the club under GM Kyle Dubas has 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 upcoming 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 - Vladislav Kara – LW (Yugra - VHL)
#39 - Kalle Loponen – D (Koo Koo Kouvola/JyP HT – Finland SM-Liiga)
#38 - Jeremy McKenna – RW (Wichita – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#37 - John Fusco – D (Harvard – NCAA)
#36 - Noel Hoefenmayer – D (Newfoundland – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#35 - Ryan Chyzowski - LW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#34 - Braeden Kressler - C (Flint - OHL)
#33 - Nikita Grebyonkin - RW (Stalnye Lisy - MHL, Magnitogorsk - KHL)
#32 - Vyacheslav Peksa - G (Ibris Kazan - MHL)
#31 - Dryden McKay - G (Minnesota Duluth - NCAA)
#30 - Bobby McMann - C (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#29 - Pavel Gogolev – LW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto – AHL)
#28 - Joe Miller – C (Chicago – USHL)
#27 - Veeti Miettinen – RW (St. Cloud St. – NCAA)
#26 - Brandon Lisowsky - LW (Saskatoon - WHL)
#25 - Max Ellis - RW (Notre Dame - NCAA, Toronto - AHL)
#24 - Axel Rindell – D (Karpat – Finland SM-Liiga)
#23 - Mac Hollowell - D (Toronto – AHL)
#22 - Artur Akhtyamov – G (Ak Bars Kazan – MHL/VHL/KHL)
#21 - Semyon Der-Argushintsev - C (Toronto - AHL)
#20 - Curtis Douglas - C (Toronto – AHL)
#19 - Mikhail Abramov – C (Toronto – AHL)
#18 - Dennis Hildeby - G (Farjestad - SHL)
#17 - Ty Voit – LW (Sarnia – OHL)
#16 - Filip Kral - D (Toronto - AHL)
#15 - Nick Moldenhauer - RW (Chicago - USHL)
#14 - Rodion Amirov – LW (Ufa Salavat – KHL)
#13 - Ryan Tverberg – C (Connecticut – NCAA)
#12 - Joseph Woll – G (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#11 - Mikko Kokkonen – D (Pelicans – Finland SM-Liiga)
#10 - Fraser Minten - C (Kamloops - WHL)
#9 - William Villeneuve – D (Saint John – QMJHL)
#8 - Dmitry Ovchinnikov – LW (Sibir Novosibirsk – MHL/KHL, Toronto - AHL)
#7 - Roni Hirvonen – C (HIFK Helsinki – Finland SM-Liiga)
#6 - Alex Steeves – C (Toronto - AHL/NHL)
#5 - Nick Abruzzese - C (Harvard – NCAA/Toronto - NHL)
#4 - Pontus Holmberg – LW (Vaxjo HC – SHL /Toronto - AHL)
#3 - Topi Niemela - D (Karpat - Finnish SM-Liiga)
#2 – Nick Robertson – LW (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#1 – Matthew Knies – LW (Minnesota – NCAA)
The Toronto Maple Leafs had only three picks in the 2021 NHL Draft after dealing their first and fourth to Columbus for Nick Foligno, and third-rounder to Calgary for goalie David Rittich. With their first pick at #57 overall, the Leafs selected big winger Matthew Knies.
The 6’3”, 205 lb winger was born in Arizona and played most of his youth hockey in the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes chain before two seasons in the USHL with the Tri-City Storm. Knies posted two straight 40+ point seasons and was committed to the University of Minnesota when the Leafs drafted him.
Elite Prospects says Knies “establishes body positioning drives his value in every dimension of the game. He tries to be first on every puck at all costs, getting his leg in front of his opponent’s, then coming across their body with his hips to seal off the defender. “
The Hockey Prospect Black Book gave the Phoenix, AZ native an A grade and ranked 13th overall on their 2021 Draft Prospect list, calling the 6’3”, 210 lb. winger “a dynamic power forward with one of the most extensive tool kits out of any draft-eligible player featured in this class.”
The 19-year-old made an impressive showing at the World Junior Summer Showcase in August with seven points (4 goals, 3 assists) in six games, which put Knies on the track for the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships. The tournament was suspended less than a week in, but the big winger’s size and speed along with his success as a freshman with Minnesota put him on the radar for the NHL-less Olympic games in Beijing, where he scored a goal and assist in four games for Team USA.
Knies finished his college season strong and his scoring helped the Golden Gophers reach the Frozen Four, but he chose not to turn professional and join the Leafs before the postseason.
#LeafsForever prospect Matthew Knies scored a goal and an assist last night in Minnesota’s 4-1 win over Wisconsin. He has 4 goals and 3 assists in his first 10 games of college hockey. pic.twitter.com/Jds0DR7f20
This appears to have been a wise choice, as the young forward said during the summer development camp in Toronto that he did not feel his game was advanced enough to play in the NHL. Knies will return to Minnesota for his sophomore campaign, but all indications are that he will sign with Toronto after his year in the NCAA is complete.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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