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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 summer, 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)
The Toronto Maple Leafs did not shy away from going the overage route under the draft model of former GM Kyle Dubas. One example of that is forward Nick Abruzzese. The Slate Hill, NY native was a late bloomer who joined the USHL’s Chicago Steel in 2017 before finding his game as a 19-year-old and leading the league with 80 points (29 goals, 51 assists).
Toronto selected the 5’9”, 160 lb. center in the fourth round (124th overall) of the 2019 Draft as a 20-year-old and a developmental project heading to Harvard University. Abruzzese scored 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists) with the Crimson, leading all NCAA freshmen in scoring and averaging 1.42 points per game (the second highest in Division I college hockey) in 2019-20, earning Ivy League Rookie of the Year and ECAC First Team honors.
Abruzzese was looking to build on his success in his sophomore year, but the Ivy League chose not to play in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he chose to have surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip.
Fully healthy in 2021-22, Abruzzese bounced back with a solid NCAA season (33 points in 28 games) and played well with fellow Toronto prospect Matthew Knies on Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. After the end of the Ivy League season, signed a two-year entry-level deal with the Leafs and played nine NHL games, scoring his first professional goal.
In his first full pro season, the 24-year-old showed off his playmaking ability with the AHL Marlies, finishing second on the club in assists (32), third in regular season scoring with 48 points, and added seven points in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Abruzzese also earned an NHL callup, registering a pair of assists in two games.
Hockey Prospect’s Black Book says that Abruzzese has “above average footwork and directional skating that allows him to play an up-tempo style and excels at making plays with the puck as he enters the offensive zone.”
Re-signed to a two-year, two-way deal, waiver-exempt at a league-minimum salary this season, Abruzzese could be a frequent option for recall if the Leafs are in need of reinforcements.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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