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 – J.D. Greenway – D (Maine – NCAA)
#39 – Eemeli Rasanen – D (HPK – Finland SM-Liiga)
#38 – Jeremy McKenna – RW (Moncton – QMJHL)
#37 – Ryan O’Connell – D (Ohio State – NCAA)
#36 – Veeti Miettinen – RW (St. Cloud St. – NCAA)
#35 - Semyon Kizimov – RW (Lada Togliatti – VHL / Torpedo – KHL)
#34 - Kalle Loponen – D (Karpat – Finland SM-Liiga)
#33 - Vladislav Kara – LW (Cherepovets Severstal – KHL)
#32 - John Fusco – D (Harvard – NCAA)
#31 - Wyatt Schingoethe – C (Waterloo – USHL)
#30 - William Villeneuve – D (Saint John – QMJHL)
#29 - Joe Miller – C (Chicago – USHL)
#28 - Axel Rindell – D (Jukurit – Finland SM-Liiga)
#27 - Kristians Rubins - D (Toronto - AHL / Frederikshavn - Denmark)
#26 - Justin Brazeau - RW (Newfoundland - ECHL / Toronto - AHL)
#25 – Dmitry Ovchinnikov – F (Sibir Novosibirsk – MHL/KHL)
#24 – Artur Akhtyamov – G (Ak Bars Kazan – MHL/VHL/KHL)
#23 – Noel Hoefenmayer – D (Ottawa – OHL / Wichita ECHL)
#22 – Roni Hirvonen – C (Assat Pori – Finland SM-Liiga)
#21 – Teemu Kivihalme - D (Toronto - AHL)
#20 – Pontus Holmberg – LW (Vaxjo HC – SHL
#19 – Filip Kral - D (HC Prerov / Kometa Brno - Czech)
#18 – Ian Scott – G (Toronto - AHL)
#17 - Joseph Duszak - D (Newfoundland - ECHL / Toronto - AHL)
#16 – Mac Hollowell - D (Newfoundland – ECHL / Toronto – AHL / TuTo Turku – Finland Mestis)
#15 -Topi Niemela – D (Karpat – Finland SM-Liiga)
#14 – Semyon Der-Argushintsev (Center, Peterborough Petes – OHL / Torpedo - KHL)
#13 – Adam Brooks – C (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#12 – Mikhail Abramov – C (Victoriaville – QMJHL)
#11 – Joseph Woll – G (Toronto – AHL)
#10 – Alexander Barabanov – F (SKA St. Petersburg – KHL)
#9 – Egor Korshkov - RW (Lokomotiv - KHL - Traded to Carolina)
#8 – Mikko Kokkonen – D (Jukurit – Finland SM-Liiga)
#7 – Filip Hallander – C (Lulea – SHL)
#6 - Timothy Liljegren – D (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#5 – Mikko Lehtonen – D (Toronto – NHL, traded to Columbus
#4 - Nick Abruzzese - C (Harvard - NCAA)
#3 – Rodion Amirov – LW (Ufa Salavat – KHL)
#2 - Nick Robertson - LW (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#1 – Rasmus Sandin – D (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
In his first draft as Leafs GM, Kyle Dubas traded down in the first round with St. Louis to get an extra third round pick and selected defenseman Rasmus Sandin, a player he was quite familiar with due to his ties to the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds. After scoring 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists) in 51 games in his first season in North America, the Leafs signed Sandin to an entry-level contract and followed the same developmental model they used with 2017 top pick Timothy Liljegren, opting to play him in the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies instead of a year in Sweden or a second season in the OHL.
The 5-foot-11, 186 lb. blueliner is the prototype of the type of defenseman that most NHL clubs are looking for, someone who can play at both ends of the ice, skate well, carry the puck, make smart decisions and good passes to create offense.
Sandin’s hockey IQ and maturity helped in his quick adjustment to pro game with the Marlies, where he scored 28 points (6 goals, 22 assists) in 44 regular season games and 10 assists in 13 playoff games. After another strong start in the the AHL, Sandin scored 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in seven games at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship and was named the tournament’s top defenseman.
With Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin injured, the Leafs were forced to promote Sandin to the NHL. The youngster showed flashes of the talent that could make him a future top-four defenseman, but there were also signs in the 28 games that he needed to get stronger to win puck battles along the boards. Those aspects prevented Sheldon Keefe from considering Sandin as an option in the play-in round after Muzzin was injured.
2021 showed early signs of being a lost year, as Sandin resided on the practice squad and played just one NHL game before being sent to the AHL and suffering a broken foot in his first game with the Marlies. After being inactive for nearly two months, the Leafs gave the 21-year-old an opportunity to play and after three games, Sandin has inserted himself into the discussion of being a part of the playoff roster.
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