*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.
*******
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/or 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)
#12 William Villeneuve – D (Toronto - AHL)
#11 Alex Steeves – C (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#10 Joe Miller – C (Harvard - NCAA)
#9 Nick Moldenhauer - RW (Chicago - USHL)
#8 Nick Abruzzese – C (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
#7 Bobby McMann – F (Toronto – AHL/NHL)
The Maple Leafs under former GM Kyle Dubas was more proactive at giving developmental projects time and opportunity. Toronto added undrafted free agents from Europe, US colleges, and the CHL, which has resulted in bringing in NHLers Ilya Mikheyev, Trevor Moore, and Mason Marchment.
Big winger Bobby McMann spent four years in the NCAA and a stint in the ECHL before establishing himself in the American Hockey League with a 20-goal season in 2021-22 and earning an NHL two-way contract.
The 27-year-old forward played three years in the AJHL before attending Colgate University. After four years in the ECAC, McMann played with Wichita while the AHL was shut down by the pandemic, and in his first season with the Marlies, scored 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) in 21 games. After scoring 24 goals in 61 games, the Alberta native signed a two-year contract.
Bobby McMann is a north-south player and not much of a playmaker. But he has size, straight line speed, and can put the puck in the back of the net. I like him in the bottom-six this upcoming year.
Here's all of his non-empty net goals and a couple notable assists from 22-23. pic.twitter.com/y5MYYP3bhN
Proving that year was not a fluke, McMann scored at a rapid pace with the Marlies (21 goals in 30 games) and earned an NHL call-up in January, using his size to make an impression on head coach Sheldon Keefe. After being returned to the AHL, he suffered a knee injury and was out for the remainder of the regular season, but came back for one playoff game vs. Rochester.
“A big-bodied all-around forward that has good offensive instincts and excellent positional awareness during unfolding plays.” Elite Prospects said. (McMann) plays a power game, drives the net hard, (and is a) fluid skater that has room to improve near the top of his acceleration to become more explosive. His maturity, character, and willingness to do what it takes to win are embodied by his humility in taking the time to improve upon and learn all aspects of multiple roles. Explosive shot release and proficient puck handling ability. Huge potential as an effective two-way forward with skill.”
McMann started Leafs training camp still recovering from injury, and may have an outside shot of making the NHL roster, as he is no longer waiver-exempt.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»