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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) (Note – Mattinen turned 26 in March)
Treliving’s quest to put his personal stamp on the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect pool by adding players with a larger stature may be the motivation in signing former Leaf draftee Nicolas Mattinen.
Mattinen has taken a circuitous route to the Leafs, who originally selected him in the sixth round of the 2016 Draft (the same draft that included Auston Matthews and Joseph Woll. Leafs Asst. GM Mark Hunter knew the Ottawa native from his affiliation with the OHL London Knights, as he was part of the 2016 Memorial Cup winner that included Mitch Marner and Stanley Cup winner Matthew Tkachuk.
The 6’5” 224 lb. defenseman played another season with London, and split time between Flint and Hamilton in 2018, but was caught up in the management switch that saw Hunter and Lou Lamoriello leave and Kyle Dubas take over with the Leafs. Toronto did not sign Mattinen before their rights expired and he played another year as an overager in Hamilton and Oshawa before heading home to play two years of Canadian college hockey at the University of Ottawa.
He won the U Sports Defenseman of the Year in 2021-22 and signed a tryout contract at the end of the season with the AHL Laval Rockets, but did not get an offer from the Montreal Canadiens for an AHL deal and headed to Europe, where he scored 42 points (12 goals, 30 assists) in 46 games in the Austrian league, and followed that up with an even more impressive offensive showing in the more competitive DEL, where he led the league in defensive scoring with 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists).
Nearly eight years after being drafted, the Leafs came calling and signed Mattinen to a one-year, two-way deal.
“Internally, I always felt like I could play (in the NHL). I just kept working on my game and internally believing that ‘If you’re good enough, they’ll find you.’ Toronto found me for the second time….” Mattinen said to Joshua Kloke of the Athletic.
The blueliner will likely get a good look at training camp, but as a right-hand shot with his size, maturity, and newly found offensive abilities, he could get a chance in the NHL if he plays well in the American Hockey League.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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