Toronto Maple Leafs: Marlies Power Rankings Recap

Much has changed recently in how the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Marlies conduct business.

As training camp slowly approaches, we begin to reach the final segments of the 2018 Marlies power rankings. What a ride it’s been. Although, before we conclude with parts 5 and 6 in the near future, it’s important to recap what’s come before first.

So, in case you’ve missed anything up until now, here’s a quick refresher to get you back up to speed.

Part One

Part one covered spots 1-5, including a few rather intriguing names.

While a number of veterans made their anticipated leaps to the top of the list, a collection of blue chippers put themselves in a sterling position as well. Who could they be?

Take a look.

“I’m higher on Timothy Liljegren than most seem to be, stemming from the belief that we’ve yet to see just how effective the kid is at the AHL level when healthy.

Recovering from mono is a hard enough undertaking in its own right, let alone accompanied by the added wrinkle of facing professional competition for the first time in your career. As a rookie, Liljegren hit the ice despite being 18 months younger than the next closest player in his league, nevertheless earning himself a defined role within the AHL’s deepest defence corps.”

Part Two

Part two really opens up the field of play.

Venturing outside the top 5 are where evaluations make a hard turn into the subjective. One person’s number six may be another’s number seven, and vice versa. These are mine. And if you disagree, as always, tell me about it using as much profanity as possible.

“What else can I say about Trevor Moore?

Something about Moore’s game tugged at me from the moment I first saw him in last September’s rookie tournament, urging me to keep tabs on him as he entered into his sophomore go around with the Marlies.

Boy, am I ever glad I did.

Moore’s haul of 33 points in 68 games last won’t dazzle the boxscore vultures. Only, that’s not the point. To judge Moore strictly on a statistical plane is to ignore the arsenal of value he otherwise brings.

As most prospects from Moore’s age bracket fall victim to padding their stat lines by way of cheating, Moore never wavered from matters at hand, opting instead for team success over that of his own.”

Part Three

As we move on to part three, reactions get more divisive.

Kicking this portion off with everyone’s favourite shutdown defender, Martin Marincin, was a real sticking point for some. Apparently, a bulk of this fanbase consists of those for whom Marincin’s phenomenal 2017-18 season apparently flew under the radar.

He’s a new man, folks. Give it a read to see why.

“I want to kick part 3 off with a fact:

During the 2017-18 season, Martin Marincin was one of the AHL’s best defencemen.

Whether you read that as a good thing or a bad thing is up to you.

Set aside your preconceived beliefs of Leaf-Marincin for a moment. They serve no purpose here. We all remember Marincin’s bevvy of turnovers, brain gaffes, and meltdowns from whenever he so much as mistakenly wandered into the general vicinity of a puck.

Everyone does. That dead horse has been beaten for so long it’s aged into the saltiest of jerkies.

This isn’t about Leafs-Marincin. It’s about Marlies-Marincin. And Marlies-Marincin was really, really good.

Placing so high on this list serves many purposes, most notably as a glowing testament to the player development prowess of the Marlies’ staff.”

Part Four

And finally, part four, perhaps the most intriguing of all. A number of enticing talents occupy this portion of the rankings, landing so low due to prior off years while also sitting poised to rebound in a big way.

12 months from now, I doubt any of these guys fall so low again. Give it a read.

“This is what makes Subban’s arrival so tantalizing.

His ceiling, were all to go according to plan, has the potential to dwarf that of his peers. Signing with the Leafs will effectively surround Subban with a team of development professionals at the apex of their industry, a claim neither the Canucks or Kings organizations could make during either of Subban’s prior respective stints.

As regime change and internal inconsistency stalled his development, Subban will be given all the necessary resources to take his game where he wants it to go.

And where exactly could that be? Well, look no further than the aforementioned Holl.”

Well, there you have it! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled as I roll out the finale in the coming days.