Toronto Maple Leafs: Monthly Prospect Update Vol. 1 – Europe

Welcome back to the second part of my four-part monthly Toronto Maple Leafs prospect update.

Last time, we took a look at how the Toronto Maple Leafs’ CHL rookies were doing over the first quarter of their seasons. The list was headlined by young guns Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Sean Durzi, and Ian Scott. Today, we’re going to shake things up a bit and take a look at how the future is shaping up overseas.

Nikolai Chebykin (LW, 7th Round, 182nd Overall in 2016)

Since their management overhaul took place in 2015, the Maple Leafs have an odd trend of selecting a random Russian prospect that nobody has ever heard of in each NHL draft. In 2016, it was Nikolai Chebykin. The big Russian forward is playing for Toros Neftekamsk of the VHL this season (Russia’s version of the AHL) and has registered four goals in 12 games. There’s little to no coverage where Chebykin is playing and so far his totals haven’t jumped off of the paper, so if he becomes anything in the Leafs’ organization, it’s going to be a long-term project.

Martins Dzierkals (LW, 3rd Round, 68th Overall in 2015)

Remember in the last paragraph when I mentioned the fact that the Leafs always take a random Russian prospect? Yeah. This guy was Exhibit A (Dzierkals is Latvian, but for this article, we’ll group him in with the Russians).

Nobody had ever heard of Dzierkals when the Maple Leafs selected him in 2015, but he spent the next few seasons playing in North America which put his name out there a little bit more. After not amounting to much across the pond and requesting a trade, however, he signed with Riga Dynamo of the KHL where he’s so far put up 3 assists in 19 games. His future with the Maple Leafs is uncertain, but at this point, they still own his rights.

Pontus Holmberg (LW, 6th Round, 156th Overall in 2018)

Holmberg is easily the most intriguing out of all of the Leafs’ Euro prospects in my opinion. At the 2018 Draft, they swung a last-minute deal with the Buffalo Sabres, dealing their 2019 6th Round pick in exchange for the 156th overall pick in 2018 (kind of a pointless trade for Buffalo to be honest). Anyways, they used that pick to select Pontus Holmberg, and so far, he’s definitely impressed. He’s playing his first full season for Vaxjo HC of the SHL and has seven points in 16 games so far. He’s making a late case to make Sweden’s World Junior team this season as well, so it seems like the Leafs had their sights set on Holmberg and feared he wouldn’t be around for their next pick.

Vladislav Kara (LW, 4th Round, 124th Overall in 2017)

You know that random Russian thing I keep going on about? Yeah.. about that.

The Maple Leafs drafted Kara in the fourth round in 2017 and once again, nobody knew anything about him other than the fact that he was a young winger playing in Russia’s junior league. Kara is playing in the KHL for Ak Bars Kazan this season and so far has amassed two assists in 22 games. Much like Chebykin, if Kara becomes anything in the Leafs’ organization, it’s going to be the result of a long-term project.

Semyon Kizimov (RW, 7th Round, 211th Overall in 2018)

Heh.. yeah. This again.

For the fourth time in this article (and not the last, believe it or not), we’ve got another random Russian player who nobody heard of prior to the draft pick and is possibly still unheard of by the majority of fans. Kizimov was drafted out of Russia, playing for Ladia Togliatti of the MHL (Russia’s equivalent to the CHL) and is spending this season playing in his hometown for Lada Togliatti of the VHL (That extra “I” is very important). So far, he’s put up seven points through 18 games and once again, will be a long-term project if he becomes anything with the Leafs.

Yegor Korshkov (LW, 2nd Round, 31st Overall in 2016)

Ok, last time. I promise.

Leafs brass shocked everybody in 2016 by taking Yegor Korshkov with the first pick of the second round in 2016, with big names such as Rasmus Asplund, Jordan Kyrou, and Alex DeBrincat still on the board. They managed to select Carl Grundstrom, a projected first rounder, with their late second but the Korshkov pick still had fans scratching their heads.

He’s put up decent totals during his time with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL, but Korshkov has stated that he wants to earn first line minutes in Russia before coming over to Canada. That time is unknown and for now set back, however, as Korshkov suffered an injury in his second game of the season and is still sidelined to this day.

Jesper Lindgren (D, 4th Round, 95th Overall in 2015)

The Maple Leafs drafted the Umea native out of the Allsvenskan league (Sweden’s equivalent of the AHL) back in 2015, but after an underwhelming showing in the SHL in his post-draft season that saw his team suffer a relegation to the Allsvenskan league, he remained there until 2017-18 where he signed with HPK of the SM-Liiga in Finland. He’s off to a solid start this season with six points in 17 games and will look to continue his development overseas before coming across the pond.

Eemeli Rasanen (D, 2nd Round, 59th Overall in 2017)

What is there to know about Rasanen? Well, he’s an absolute monster on skates standing at 6’7 and 209lbs. He loves to hit and he can chip in offensively. After spending the last two seasons playing for the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL, Rasanen signed a two-year deal overseas playing for Jokerit of the KHL. So far, he’s put up one goal through six games after being sidelined with an injury since September 27th.

Thanks for reading! Tune in next time where we’ll look at Leafs’ prospects playing in The States.

All statistics obtained from hockeydb.com and eliteprospects.com