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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)
The Maple Leafs have long-range plans for some of their European prospects and winger Vladislav Kara was someone that had to show something last season to be on their radar……and he did. The 6’2”, 187 lb winger was selected in the fourth round (124th overall) in the 2017 Draft after scoring 11 goals in 31 games and four playoff goals as an 18-year-old in Ak-Bars Kazan’s junior-level MHL club.
Kara played in the second-level VHL and 11 KHL games in 2017-18 and mostly in a depth role for Ak-Bars in 2018-19, scoring only five points (3 goals, 2 assists) in 41 games. In 2020, the left winger averaged nearly a point per game in the VHL but did not get much more opportunity to play quality minutes in the KHL.
Kara was dealt to Severstal Cherepovets in July 2020 and given a larger role with a middle-of-the-pack club, but struggled after a strong debut with his new club, scoring three points (1 goal, 2 assists) in 17 games before being moved to Moscow Spartak in December, where he went scoreless in six regular season games and four playoff games.
In 2021-22, Kara played the entire year in the second-level VHL, averaging nearly a point-per-game and scoring 17 goals for Yugra Khanty-Manskysk. With perhaps a bit of desperation entering the picture to make something of his hockey career entering his mid-20’s, Kara led Podolsk Vityaz with 20 goals.
The Leafs retain his rights indefinitely with no NHL-KHL transfer agreement in place. If Kara repeats his goal scoring exploits this season, there will be some interest from Toronto in bringing the winger over to play in North America
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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