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CHECK OUT RUSS COHEN’S NHLDRAFTBUZZ.COM FOR INFO ON PROSPECTS AND NEWS IN THE HOCKEY WORLD
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)
#33 – Matthew Barbolini – F (Miami(OH) – NCAA, Toronto – AHL)
#32 – Nathan Mayes – D (Spokane – WHL)
#31 – Braeden Kressler – C (Flint/Ottawa – OHL
#30 – Jacob Frasca – C (Barrie/ Sault Ste. Marie.- OHL)
#29 – Chas Sharpe – D (Mississauga – OHL, Toronto – AHL)
#28 – Hudson Malinoski – C (Providence – NCAA)
#27 – John Fusco – D (Dartmouth – NCAA
#26 – Semyon Der-Argushintsev (Chelyabinsk Traktor – KHL)
#25 – Ty Voit – RW – (Newfoundland, ECHL, Toronto – AHL
#24 – Mikko Kokkonen – D – (Toronto – AHL)
#23 – Matt Lahey – D – (Nanaimo – BCHL)
#22 – Sam McCue – LW (Peterborough/Owen Sound – OHL)
#21 – Victor Johansson – D (Leksands Jr. – Sweden)
#20 - Alexander Plesovskikh - LW (Yugra - VHL)
#19 - Miroslav Holinka – C (Trinec Ocelari HC U20 – Czechia)
#18 – Rponi Hirvonen – C (Toronto – AHL)
#17 – Timofei Obvintsev – G (CSKA Red Army Jr. – MHL)
The Maple Leafs have adopted a shotgun approach with their goaltending prospects, with netminders playing either in Europe or the lower professional levels in North America under the age of 25. Joseph Woll is slated to become the first internal candidate to be Toronto’s full-time starter since James Reimer, but the club is hoping that someone like Dennis Hildeby, or Russians goalie Artur Ahktyamov or Vyacheslav Peksa will step up in the next few years.
The Leafs added another long-range prospect goaltending prospect at the NHL Draft in Las Vegas, selecting Timofei Obvintsev in the fifth round. The 19-year-old has been in the CSKA Moscow junior system since 2020 and had a 2.96 GAA in 16 starts last season.
The Ekaterinburg native is the prototypical physical frame (6’4”, 179 lb.) that NHL clubs are looking for, but his style is more of a hybrid approach, playing in the butterfly when it is called for, but also mixing it up and not dropping down in some instances. A super-gifted athlete, Obvintsev is raw and needs to play and mature, but has remarkable dexterity, moves extremely well laterally and is said to have the blocker of any netminder selected in the draft.
With Russia still banned by the IIHF, Obvintsev will not have a chance to play internationally but should get playing time in the MHL and possibly spot duty in the second-level pro VHL this season.
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