Maple Leafs: Prospect Report: Put Some "Leip-Stick" On It

Every Tuesday throughout the NHL season we will be updating you on the development, potential and realistic expectations for key Toronto Maple Leafs prospects with up-to-date stats, analysis and scouting reports.

Finally, it can begin! The long overdue, rebuilding of our Toronto Maple Leafs has begun. In case you haven’t heard:

I won’t lie, it took me longer than I’d care to admit to come up with the pun in the title. Was it worth it? I’m sure one of you will tell me in the comments. Usually in this feature we focus on a position, or a group of related prospects. Since we’re heading into Trade Deadline season, lets focus on the futures side of the trade, specifically the potential fan favourite in prospect Brendan Leipsic. Make no mistake, as much as this trade was about getting a 2015 1st round pick, it was equally about getting a quality prospect like Leipsic.

So who and what exactly is Brendan Leipsic?

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Going back a bit to his junior days where he was apart of a dominant Portland Winterhawks team on a line with Nicolas Petan (WPG) and Ty Rattie (STL) in 2012-13. It was with them that he posted a dominant 49G – 71A – 120PT season in only 68 games, tying Petan for the CHL scoring lead.

During his overage year in 2013-14 he again teamed up with Nicolas Petan and newcomer Columbus prospect Oliver Bjorkstrand to post a slightly less dominant 39G – 52A – 91PT campaign.

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Leipsic, although short in stature and small in frame, plays a big man’s game and hits anything that moves.

He has a great, quick wrist shot and plus skating that makes him dangerous in all areas of the offensive zone. He has been compared favourably to Brendan Gallagher and Brad Marchand – the Habs and Bruins super pests. Having the ability to score and get opponents off of their game makes him a valuable commodity.

Combine that with his unmatched work ethic and competitive edge and he could be a very value piece and fan favourite for years to come.

Hockeysfuture.com as usual, does a great job of breaking down his game:

Leipsic is a small, energetic winger who hits everything that moves and makes life miserable for his opponents. The speedy forward is offensively skilled, a gifted finisher, and can produce on the power play. He needs to add strength, more consistency throughout the season, and play on the edge without going over the line. The physical winger could project into a top-six forward at the NHL level but at worst, a checker with some offensive upside.

At best the Leafs are looking at a 20+ goal, 60+ point shift disturber who can play in their top 6, at worst they are looking at a more offensively gifted Leo Komarov.

Either way the Leafs really scored with this prospect and combined with Nashville’s 1st round pick this year, they have really started this rebuild off right. Leipsic will report to the Marlies where he will immediately become the teams 2nd leading scorer behind Connor Brown.

Upside: Top 6 Super Pest Goal Scorer / NHL Ready: 2016-2017

Next week we’ll continue breaking down well-known and lesser known prospects from the pipeline. Who knows maybe Toronto will go on a trading spree and we’ll have several more exciting prospects to talk about.

As always feel free to comment below.

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