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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 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)
The Maple Leafs turned towards Finnish prospects with six selections under Dubas in 2019 and 2020. The first was defenseman Mikko Kokkonen, selected in the third round of the 2019 Draft in Vancouver. Kokkonen was selected 84th overall out of the Finnish SM-Liiga, where he debuted as the youngest player in the league at 15 years old, played 56 games and scored 19 points (3 goals, 16 assists) in 56 games for Jukurit Mikkeli in his draft year.
The 6’0”, 200 lb. defenseman is considered an intelligent player and was physically mature at a young age, which helped him advance in the ranks, Unlike blueliners Rasmus Sandin and Sean Durzi selected in 2018, Kokkonen’s main shortcoming is his skating.
According to the HockeyProspect.com’s Mark Edwards, his footwork is decent, but his lack of speed hurts him when rushing the puck or when jumping into the play and he has trouble creating separation between himself and his coverage.
"(Kokkonen is) very smart (and a) good defender. (He) can still improve his foot speed, but like a lot of these kids, they all have work to do.” Former Leafs Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley said in 2019.
The 23-year-old played for Finland a pair of World Junior Championships in 2020 and 2021 and after completing his third year of professional hockey with Jukurit. Kokkonen then came over to North America and played 11 AHL games for the Toronto Marlies, scoring seven points (1 goal, 6 assists).
Returning to Finland in 2021, Kokkonen played 58 games with the Pelicans, scoring just 15 points (1 goal, 14 assists) before signing his NHL entry-level contract with the Leafs in March 2022. In his first full season in North America, the lefty shooter struggled early adjusting to the smaller ice and was demoted to the ECHL. He could not repeat his offensive success with just six assists in 36 games. In his second season with the Marlies, Kokkonen seemed to have a better handle on his game and was also able to contribute offensively, with 19 points (5 goals, 14 assists) in 65 games.
Kokkonen would appear to be at a crossroads in his career with the Leafs entering the final year of his ELC, with Treliving adding bigger defensemen like Cade Webber into the club’s depth mix.
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