5 Long-Shot NHL Prospects that the Toronto Maple Leafs Should Acquire

The Toronto Maple Leafs are always trying to improve their roster. The team can help its future by finding one or multiple diamond in the rough prospects.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a young group of superstar players, but in the NHL, long term success requires a consistent invigoration of talent. That is why the Leafs should be collecting the rights to as many prospects possible.

The development of young players occurs at different rates.

There is a long history of players who have been drafted in late rounds or gone undrafted and gone on to have long successful careers.

Look no further than to current Maple Leaf star goaltender Frederik Andersen. He was selected in the seventh round in 2010 as the 187th overall pick by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Under Reid Mitchell, The Director of Hockey and Scouting Operations, the organization is already scouring the planet to find athletes. When they do, they have options.

If a team with ownership rights isn’t enamored with a prospect, Leafs executives can likely pry the player away. If undrafted, a shot at the NHL may be enough to bring a prospect to a training camp tryout or even a minor league deal.

Young players with high upside are a valuable commodity. Either they play in the system and help the NHL or developmental teams compete or they can be used in trades. Based on the scouting reports, team general managers will seek out players that they like and attempt to acquire them cheaply.

Buying low on long-shot prospects usually doesn’t pan out but it just takes one breakout player to make the risk worthwhile. There are many young players who may have already been counted out, but continue to have a lot of promise in their hockey careers. We will highlight five of them that the Maple Leafs should consider.