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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), but the focus of prospect development under former GM Kyle Dubas and the last few seasons under Director of Amateur Scouting Wes Clark seemed to be on skill players, while GM Brad Treliving has begun to transition with a focus on young players with size.
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 contribute in the future.
Youngsters like Bobby McMann, Joseph Woll, Nick Robertson, Pontus Holmberg, and top-rated Matthew Knies have graduated, but here is a list of players eligible for the list who have not played more than 40 NHL games and are 25 years old or younger:
#40 - Wyatt Schingoethe – C (Western Michigan – NCAA)
#39 - Zach Solow - RW (Toronto - AHL)
#38 - Semyon Kizimov - RW -(Yekaterinberg - KHL)
#37 - Robert Mastrosimone – LW. (Toronto – AHL)
#36 - Marko Sikic – RW (Sarnia – OHL, Newfoundland/Norfolk – ECHL)
#35 – Jacob Bengtsson – D (Boston College – NCAA)
#34 – Nicolas Mattinen – D (Straubling – Germany-DEL)
#33 – Matthew Barbolini – F (Miami(OH) – NCAA, Toronto – AHL)
#32 – Nathan Mayes – D (Spokane – WHL)
#31 – Braeden Kressler – C (Flint/Ottawa – OHL
#30 – Jacob Frasca – C (Barrie/ Sault Ste. Marie.- OHL)
#29 – Chas Sharpe – D (Mississauga – OHL, Toronto – AHL)
Another example of the Leafs taking a swing on a big player is Chas Sharpe, a 6’3” 194 lb. blueliner who missed an entire season due to the Ontario Hockey League shutting down because of COVID, but grew into an offensive and leadership role with the Mississauga Steelheads and signed a two-year AHL deal in April.
The Orillia, ON native made his OHL debut in 2019-20, played 29 games as a 16-year-old with the Steelheads before the OHL season was postponed in March, 2020. Sharpe showed progression once play resumed in 2021-22 and in three seasons saw his offensive numbers increase from 28, to 31 in 2022-23, to 53 points (19 goals, 34 assists) last season.
The right-handed blueliner served as Steelheads team captain in his final OHL season and has some offensive skills as a power-play quarterback with a good point shot, but he will need to hone his skills at the defensive end of the ice to make any progress as a pro.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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