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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)
#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 – Roni Hirvonen – C (Toronto – AHL)
#17 – Timofei Obvintsev – G (CSKA Red Army Jr. – MHL)
#16 – Vyacheslav Peksa – G (Newfoundland – ECHL)
#15 – Cade Webber – D (Boston University – NCAA)
#14 – Ryan Tverberg – C (Toronto – AHL)
#13 – William Villeneuve – D (Toronto – AHL)
#12 – Alex Steeves – C (Toronto – AHL / Toronto - NHL)
CASE CLOSED - We found the Missing Os at the practice rink!
Even with the transition from Dubas to Treliving, the Leafs have continued to be aggressive in their pursuit of free agents from Europe, the CHL or the NCAA since they have expended significant draft capital over the last few years. One such addition was center Alex Steeves.
Steeves played his youth hockey in New Hampshire and two years with Dubuque in the USHL before heading to Notre Dame. In his last two seasons with the Fighting Irish, he combined for 60 points (26 goals, 34 assists) and ranked 10th in NCAA scoring in the 2020-21 campaign.
Taking advantage of the Leafs developmental staff coming out of college and working with skating guru Barb Underhill, Steeves quickly acclimated himself as a professional, scoring 23 goals and finishing third with 46 points with the AHL Marlies in 2022, and earning a three-game callup with the Leafs in December.
In 2023, his numbers were similar to his first pro season, with 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists) in 65 games, and earning another three-game NHL stint. Last season, he put up his best career numbers with the Marlies, with 57 points (27 goals, 30 assists) in 65 games and registered points in 16 straight games.
The 24-year-old has shown improvement at the AHL level but was unable to crack through the NHL lineup with Sheldon Keefe as head coach. After signing a one-year, two-way deal this summer, Steeves has reached a crossroads in his pro career, He will need to make an impression on new head coach Craig Berube to put himself on the Leafs radar and move ahead of players like Pontus Holmberg and Connor Dewar as a depth forward option, otherwise, it appears that his place in the organization will be as an AAAA player (to use baseball slang), someone too good for AAA, but not good enough to succeed in the Majors.
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