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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 club under former GM Kyle Dubas replenished their prospect pool to provide the Leafs with young prospects. It will now be up to new GM Brad Treliving to continue that work.
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 and are 25 years old or younger:
#40 Rodion Amirov
Note: In honor of Amirov after his passing earlier this month, we will keep him on the Leafs prospect list.
#39 Ryan Chyzowski - LW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#38 Dryden McKay - G (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#37 Wyatt Schingoethe – C (Western Michigan – NCAA)
#36 Zach Solow - RW (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#35 John Fusco – D (Dartmouth – NCAA)
#34 Kalle Loponen – D (Koo Koo Kouvola/HPK – Finland SM-Liiga)
#33 Noah Chadwick - D (Lethbridge - WHL)
#32 Semyon Kizimov - RW (Nizhnekamsk/Yekaterinberg - KHL)
#31 Max Ellis – RW (Toronto – AHL)
#30 Mikko Kokkonen – D (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#29 Keith Petruzzelli - G (Newfoundland - ECHL, Toronto - AHL)
#28 Braeden Kressler – C (Flint – OHL)
#27 Hudson Malinoski – C (Brooks Bandits – AJHL)
#26 Veeti Miettinen – RW (St. Cloud St.- NCAA
#25 Dmitry Ovchinnikov – LW (Sibir Novosibirsk – KHL, Toronto - AHL)
#24 Brandon Lisowsky – (Saskatoon – WHL)
#23 Dennis Hildeby - G (Farjestad - SHL, Toronto - AHL)
#22 Ryan Tverberg – C (Connecticut – NCAA, Toronto - AHL)
#21 Vladislav Kara - LW (Podolsk Vityaz - KHL)
#20 Semyon Der-Argushintsev - C (Toronto - AHL)
#19 Nikita Grebyonkin - RW (Khabarovsk/Magnitogorsk - KHL)
#18 Easton Cowan – LW (London – OHL)
#17 Artur Akhtyamov – G (Neftyanik Almetievsk – VHL)
#16 Vyacheslav Peksa - G (Ak-Bars Kazan - MHL/VHL/KHL)
#15 Michael Koster - D (Minnesota - NCAA)
#14 Ty Voit – RW (Sarnia – OHL)
#13 Fraser Minten - C (Kamloops - WHL)
The Maple Leafs once again used trading down at the NHL Draft as a strategic maneuver to solve a troublesome issue. Former GM Kyle Dubas swapped the 25th overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal to clear the albatross contract of goalie Petr Mrazek to Chicago, and in the exchange acquired the Hawks second-round pick. At #37 overall, Toronto selected Kamloops Blazers center Fraser Minten.
The Vancouver native impressed early on with the WHL club, averaging nearly a point-per-game in the COVID-abbreviated 2020-21 season, scoring 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists) in 67 games, and 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists) in 17 playoff games in his first full season. Last year, the 19-year-old got a late start in junior after being injured at Leafs training camp but recovered nicely and improved his offensive totals (31 goals, 36 assists in 57 games) and played in the Memorial Cup with the host Blazers.
Fraser Minten doing an Auston Matthews celly after scoring a Memorial Cup goal pic.twitter.com/wIkKyPYj7p
Minten plays classical piano off the ice and is an extremely intelligent young player, and those smarts are reflected in his two-way game on the ice. His offensive game continues to mature, and at 6’2”, 192 lb, the Vancouver native could end up being a shutdown center down the line.
Hockey Prospect’s Black Book describes Minten as a "safe two-way center, a competitive player, but balances it with good hockey sense. He really manages ice well for a player of his ilk. He’s certainly a physical presence, especially on the forecheck. His forechecking is a strength – he anticipates defensive zone passes well and employs good stick positioning while applying pressure.
His skating isn’t amazing right now, but he shows some surprisingly good bursts from time to time. The overall skating package is going to grade up higher for us now because it seems so obviously projectable. He actually has greater length to his stride than meets the eye, it’s just that the power isn’t fully fleshed out yet.”
Minten attended Team Canada’s summer camp for the 2023 World Junior and could make the club if he continues to show progress in his third full WHL season.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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