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)
The Maple Leafs under Kyle Dubas have been more proactive at giving developmental projects time and opportunity. Toronto have added undrafted free agents from Europe, US colleges and the CHL, which has resulted in bringing in players like Ilya Mikheyev, Trevor Moore and Mason Marchment. They have also benefited from giving unsigned draft picks from other organizations a second chance, like former Chicago second round pick Justin Holl.
Noel Hoefenmayer has consistently been underestimated. The blueliner fell to the fourth round (108th overall) at the 2017 NHL Draft, but went unsigned by the Arizona Coyotes.
After re-entering the draft in 2019 and not being selected, the North York, ON native led all OHL defensemen with a career-high 82 points (26 goals, 56 assists) in 58 games with the Ottawa 67’s this season and won the Max Kaminsky Trophy (the OHL’s Most Outstanding Defenseman of the year).
Hoefenmayer’s offensive skills have never been in question, but over the last three years, he has improved his strength, skating, and defense, prompting the Leafs to sign him to a two-year AHL contract.
With the Newfoundland Growlers not playing this season, the 21-year-old started last season with the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder and registered 10 points in 23 games. Hoefenmayer graduated to the Marlies when the AHL got underway and the 22-year-old scored six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 18 games and was sent back to Kansas to play for the Thunder in the playoffs.
With the Growlers resuming a full schedule, Hoefenmayer will battle for a full time spot in the AHL or start the year getting playing time in Newfoundland.
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