Toronto Maple Leafs Top Ten Prospects 2019 (Part 2)
5. Jeremy Bracco
Taken in the second round, 61st overall in 2015 Jeremy Bracco has had his ups and downs since being drafted, but he remains a very good prospect.
The highly skilled right winger was ranked sixth on our list last year.
Bracco is a somewhat small, skilled winger, coming in at 5’10 190, which may have disqualified him from NHL consideration a decade ago, but it barely matters today.
The Toronto Maple Leafs could have drafted Travis Konecny back in 2015, but they elected to trade down twice and ended up with Travis Dermott, Jeremy Bracco and Martin Dziearkals. Despite the emergance of Konecny with the Flyers, I’d have to give the Leafs a win for that series of trades as Dermott is a very good top four defenseman and Bracco looks like he’ll eventually get to the NHL.
Bracco has taken a massive step forward in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization this season. He saw the press box for a good chunk of his first AHL season, under the request of Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe that he bulk up and add some muscle, and this year he’s taken his game to another level and is currently lighting it up with 33 points in 34 games.
The one thing you can say about Bracco’s game is that he has elite playmaking skills and has a very unique style of skating. He has 26 assists on the year and could very well see an NHL debut coming up if he continues to produce at this rate.
4. Ian Scott
Drafted 110th overall in the fourth round of the 2017 draft Ian Scott comes in at number four on our rankings. He was not ranked last year.
Scott probably made the biggest jump out of any Toronto Maple Leafs prospect. He was looking rather underwhelming since his draft year and had the setback of playing for a weak team in the WHL.
This season, however, he did a complete 180 and has put together a monster season for the Prince Albert Raiders. He currently has a record of 24-3-1 with a save percentage of .940 and a goals against average of 1.68. Obviously no one can maintain those kind of numbers, but they are certainly a good sign.
Scott represented Team Canada at the World Juniors this season, and because he turns 20 in a couple of days, he will likely debut for the Toronto Marlies next season.
With Scott and Joseph Woll, it’s looking like the Leafs have some solid goalie depth to back up and eventually take over for Frederik Andersen.
Although, with that said, be aware that no position is harder to predict than that of goalie. Scott may end up being anywhere from the next Martin Brodeur to the next Justin Pogge. You just can’t tell.
3. Carl Grundstrom
If there is one thing most of the guys on this list have in common it’s that they were not high draft picks. The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Carl Grundstrom in the second round, 57th overall, in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
The Leafs lucked out in the second round of the 2016 draft and selected Grundstrom with their pick, after he was originally projected to be a late first rounder. Nothing better than getting a first round talent in the later rounds, and that’s exactly what happened here.
Grundstrom produced very well in the SHL last season and has had a very successful rookie AHL season, putting up 23 points in 33 games for the Toronto Marlies.
He was #4 on our list last year, and this year he moves up to #3.
The most attractive part about Grundstrom’s game is the fact that he doesn’t really lack anything. He can definitely chip in offensively and also plays a solid defensive game and loves to throw the body when he plays.
Other than right-handed defenseman, left wingers are maybe the most difficult position to fill, and Grundstrom looks like he could be ready to take over when Patrick Marleau hangs up the blade, or even sooner.
It’s looking more and more likely that Grundstrom will make the Maple Leafs full time next year and in the long run, could be a very good second or third line winger.
2. Timothy Liljegren
The Toronto Maple Leafs lucked into Timothy Liljegren when the former top five ranked player fell down the draft board all the way into their lap at 17th overall.
Leafs fans were incredibly excited when the team managed to pick up Liljegren in the 2017 NHL Draft. He was originally projected to be the second overall pick of the draft, but after coming down with a case of mono and missing a good chunk of his draft year, he struggled to find his game and as a result, slipped down to 17th overall.
The hype train may have gotten a bit out of control with Liljegren, and it does not appear that he’ll ever be a #1 superstar defenseman, but very few players are. He projects as a solid top four with a very high ceiling. He is highly skilled and if he ever puts everything together it is not impossible that he becomes a top pairing player.
He is currently in his second season with the Toronto Marlies and has put up eight points in 19 games so far. He’s an elite skater and plays a solid offensive game from the back end, so it’s likely he will get an extended look at training camp next year.
Whether or not he makes the team next year, he will without a doubt end up as a top four defenseman for the Maple Leafs if his development goes smoothly.
He was #1 on our list last year, but this year he is making room for a newly drafted defenseman.
1. Rasmus Sandin
The left-shooting Sandin was selected 29th overall in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, and he rocketed past Timothy Liljegren to become the Toronto Maple Leafs top prospect.
Small for a defenseman at 5’11 183, Sandin makes up for it with his high skill level.
The 2018 NHL Draft was the first one that GM Kyle Dubas ran on his own, so it seemed fitting that he selected a defenseman from the team he used to manage, the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds.
The Toronto Maple Leafs traded down from 25th Overall and selected Sandin at 29th, and so far it’s looking like a very, very good pick. The 18 year old Swede is currently in his first season with the Toronto Marlies and has 10 points in 18 games so far, and just recently represented Sweden at the World Juniors where he put up four points in five contests.
He plays a very safe game and has a high level of hockey IQ, so like Liljegren, it’s almost without a doubt Sandin will become a mainstay on the Maple Leafs top four eventually.
When all is said and done, the Maple Leafs have a strong prospect system and have lots of promise in terms of youngsters looking to sport the blue and white in the future. While they may lack players with high end skills, that is because they recently graduated at least three elite players from prospect to NHL player (Marner, Matthews and Nylander) as well as current NHLers Trevor Moore, Frederik Gauthier, Travis Dermott, Garrett Sparks, Connor Brown and Andreas Johnsson.
Leafs Prospects at the World Juniors. dark. Next
And those are just the players the Leafs drafted, as they have also graduated Zach Hyman and Kasperi Kapanen from the Marlies to the Leafs.
Thanks for reading!
All statistics obtained from www.eliteprospects.com and www.hockeydb.com