Toronto Maple Leafs Top 20 Young Leafs: No.17-20
VICTOR LOOV
BY: TORRIN BATCHELOR
The 20th ranked Young Leafs player in the system, voted by the EditorInLeaf.com writers, is Victor Loov.
Starting off our 2nd annual Top 20 Young Leafs ranking, coming in at No.20 is Victor Loov. Victor Loov was draft by the Leafs with the 209th pick in the 7th round of the 2012 NHL entry draft. The 6ft2, 201lb Dman has spent the last 3 seasons playing professional hockey in the SHL and AHL. While he will never be confused with Erik Karlsson, only putting up 15 points in 55 games with the Marlies last season. The talented Swede is a smooth puck handler, that has a poise beyond his years and excels at zone exits, either by skating the puck out or with short, crisp passes.
Besides his smooth skating and puck moving Viktor Loov will hit everything that moves, even when it’s not good for him. I don’t just mean bumping into guys, I mean obliterating them with open ice hip checks. Loov is a smart positional player, who rarely gets caught out of position. He will hit you, he will hurt you, he will go through you. In many ways he is very similar to current fan favourite Leo Komarov.
HockeysFuture says this about him:
Loov is a big developing two-way defenseman from Sweden. He can chip in offensively and also plays a sound defensive game. Loov moves the puck well with strong passing and also has the ability to skate the puck out of his own zone. Not overly proficient in any one area, his combination of size, eagerness to play the body, skating mobility, and superior passing skills, make him an interesting long-term prospect to watch.
With two full seasons of the AHL under his belt, and only a brief 4 game stint in the NHL (2 assists) to show for it, time is running out for the 23-year-old Loov. He will need to push for a place on a crowded Leafs D-corps full of one-way contracts and players fighting for spots. There is every chance that he won’t earn a spot out of training camp because of his eligibility to be sent to the Marlies without passing through waivers. However, he needs to prove to Babcock and company that he’s worthy of consideration and that should a trade or injury arise, Victor Loov’s name needs to be the first name on the call up list. If he stumbles, he may end up joining the endless list of players who never really made it to the NHL.
Loov has all the potential to be a legitimate No.3/4 shutdown defenceman in the NHL, whether that is with the Leafs or not remains to be seen. This isn’t a make or break year for the young Swede, but his rope is quickly running out and he needs to take a step forward in his development this year.
RINAT VALIEV
BY LAUREN KELLY
The 19th ranked Young Leafs player in the system, voted by the EditorInLeaf.com writers, is Rinat Valiev.
Valiev was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, 68th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He wasn’t selected in his original NHL draft year (2013) but was selected in the CHL Import Draft by the Kootenay Ice. He spent the next year playing in Kootenay, racking up 28 points in 55 games.
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He then threw down another 9 points in only 13 playoff games before the Leafs drafted him in the third round a year later. He spent most of last season playing with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL, and was called up by the Leafs on March 12th.
He played 10 games in the NHL and averaged 12:15 minutes a night. He didn’t have any points, but was even at +/-. Valiev scored 4 goals and 19 assists in 60 regular season games with the Marlies last season.
In terms of where our writers had Valiev ranked in their Top 20 lists, it did vary a little. None of Tim, Lauren, or John had him on their lists. Torrin and Sandy had him ranked 15th, and Nick and Conor had Valiev at 17.
HockeysFuture Describes him:
Valiev is a dynamic skating defenseman. He has offensive ability and is a strong stickhandler. He also displays an edge to his game and is willing to drop the gloves to protect teammates.
Valiev is regarded as a dynamic skating defenseman, with an offensive nature and controls the puck well. He also plays with an edge, and isn’t afraid to get rough when he needs to (at 6’2, 214lbs, Valiev has an NHL-ready frame).
His technical skill and positional awareness make him a very promising Leafs prospect. He still needs more development in the AHL to make the jump and stay on the Leafs roster. His brief stint up in the NHL last season was overall a positive one.
He made solid plays and didn’t look out-of-place, but he looked tentative at times and was the victim of some rookie mistakes, that at times resulted in costly turn overs.
In terms of where he projects on the Leafs long-term, he’ll likely slot in no higher than the 2nd defense pair once he makes the jump to the NHL.
As one of the Leafs better defensive prospects, Valiev adds to the team’s depth on the blueline and could become a dependable presence on the back-end a couple of seasons down the road. He has a large enough upside that makes him worth being included in our Top 20.
NUMBER 17 – FRANK CORRADO
BY: CONOR PENISTON
The 17th ranked Young Toronto Maple Leafs player in the system, voted by the EditorInLeaf.com writers, is Frank Corrado.
The 23-year-old Toronto native was selected 150th overall in the 2011 draft by the Vancouver Canucks. Having not featured prominently in the Canucks organization, he spent a lot of time just east of Syracuse playing with the Utica Comets in the AHL.
Corrado was claimed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs on the 5th October 2015, and despite being a frequent early season healthy scratch, he finished the season strong, appearing in 35 games. This was 7 more than he had achieved in three season with the Canucks, playing in only 11% of the NHL games he was available for.
Frank Corrado does bring a lot to the table, including strong puck moving abilities, a heavy right-handed shot, and is especially effective on the power play pulling the strings.
This was clear last season, in a game against the Anaheim Ducks where he made a check at centre ice, breaks forward with speed picking up a rebound and on moving the puck to his backhand, he slots it top shelf. Frank Corrado has often shown these brief flashes of game breaking skill, but they are too few and far between to tell if he can ever consistently get there.
HockeysFuture describes his game:
Corrado exhibits poise and control uncommon for a young defenseman. He has tremendous speed and closes gaps very well with it. He has strong recovery speed if he makes a gaffe with the puck. Corrado identifies simple plays and effectively sees them through. He can be counted on to move the puck safely out of the defensive zone.
There are however frailties to his game, his defensive zone coverage needs a lot of work, especially with Frederik Andersen needing some protection in his first few games. If Corrado doesn’t show any improvement in this area he will quickly be scratched by Babcock.
Another issue is his lack of point production in the NHL, 8 points in 67 games for a player whose asset is going forward and weakness is at the back is another worrying trait. If he can amass a similar number to his AHL days (39pts in 108 games) he might keep a roster spot.
What does the future hold for Frank Corrado from a Leafs perspective? At $600,000 for the season, he is worth the gamble, with potential still in him, it is an affordable risk. He will however have to work very hard at his defensive side of the game, especially with the talent of attacking D-Men at Babcock’s disposal. More than worthy of his spot inside our Top 20 Young Leafs rankings, he must improve in order to stay here though.
Recap & Conclusion
So Leafs Nation what do you think?
Our Top 20 Young Leafs Rankings thus far:
20. Victor Loov
19. Rinat Valiev
18. Travis Dermott
17. Frank Corrado
Keep in mind this ranking is by no means the be-all-and-end-all of prospect rankings and is meant purely to help pass the time until training camp and hockey related news starts kicking back up into gear, and hopefully has served to enlighten you on just how far the Young Leafs pipeline of talent has come and what to expect from them.
Let us know in the comments below or on twitter about which prospects deserve their spot? Which don’t? Which should be higher? Which shouldn’t have made the list at all? No matter what, I think we can all agree there is finally cause for hope in leafs Nation again, the SHANPLAN IS REAL!!!