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.

Erik Portillo

Born: September 3, 2000
Height: 6’6″
Position: Goaltender
Birthplace: Göteborg, Sweden
Catches: Left
Draft: 2019 BUF, 3rd round, 5th pick (67th overall)

Erik Portillo has the potential to have been the steal of the 2019 draft but he is far from becoming a household name for many years. He is a tall Swedish goaltender who wasn’t included in the NHL Central Scouting Rankings because he didn’t rank in the top 12 for European goalies.

Portillo posted 1.99 goals against average and a .931 save percentage playing for Frölunda Under 20 in the Swedish SuperElit league. He is an interesting prospect for multiple reasons. Primarily because of his size and movement. Despite his imposing height, he has better agility and athleticism than most other big keepers.

The Toronto Maple Leafs should be interested because Portillo will be a mature player when he’s ready to make the jump to the pros as he is on track for a drawn-out development. Portillo will spend next season playing for Dubuque of the USHL. He will then continue his career in the NCAA while studying at Michigan University.

This should mean a total of five years before he’s available to play in the NHL. The extra developmental time without the same pressures of living up to a pro contract should work in Portillo’s favour.

Since he was drafted by the Buffalo Sabers, who are already stacked with goaltending prospects, it should make the price of a trade extremely affordable. There are no guarantees that Portillo becomes a valuable player or even plays in the NHL, but if the price is right, it’s worth the risk.

Justin Bergeron

Born: September 14, 2000
Height: 6’1″
Position: Defenseman
Birthplace: Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
Shoots: Left
Undrafted

Justin Bergeron is a defenseman playing for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the QMJHL. He saw big gains throughout this past season. In fact, NHL Central Scouting did not have Bergeron ranked until he stepped up his game in the latter half of the year.

He finished as the 153rd ranked North American skater. That improvement wasn’t enough for a team to take a risk on selecting him though one should at least invite him to camp.

Bergeron is an offensive defenseman with great foot speed. He is a player who isn’t afraid to put pucks on net with accurate shooting. In his 65 games with the Huskies, he racked up 57 points from16 goals and 41 assists.

He was also an incredible +56. Bergeron’s production continued in the playoffs. In 19 games he tallied 8 goals and 12 assists.

Since Bergeron was skipped over in the draft, it would make acquiring him just a matter of signing a contract. Once the final round ended and his name wasn’t called, he immediately became a free agent and free to accept an offer from any organization.

Ideally, that offer comes from the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is a true longshot that Bergeron ever becomes an everyday NHL player but the organization should be willing to watch him develop on the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. It would be a very low-risk signing with the potential of a payoff if Bergeron could continue to take strides in his hockey maturity.

Kody Clark

Born: October 13, 1999
Height: 6’1″
Position: Right Wing
Birthplace: Chicago, IL, USA
Shoots: Right
Draft: 2018 WSH, 2nd Round, 16th pick (47th Overall)

Kody Clark is the highest-drafted player on our list. His road to the NHL may be difficult because his numbers at Major Junior have not been overly impressive. He has, however, shown steady improvement through his three years in the OHL with the Ottawa 67’s.

Clark has made our list to be acquired by the Maple Leafs because of his lineage. His father is a legend in Toronto and was the first Leaf ever selected first overall in the NHL Entry Draft.

In 1985, Kody’s father, Wendel Clark, did not have to wait long to hear his name. He helped take the franchise to the playoffs the very next year and eventually was named team captain.

Kody is a far different player than his old man. Instead of dropping the mitts, he is outracing his opponents to pucks and ensuring he’s the first forward back to help his defensemen. Clark prides himself on his two-way game and has even modeled his style of play after former Maple Leaf, Connor Brown.

Clark has already signed his entry-level deal with the Washington Capitals and was assigned back to his junior club. The Capitals will surely be hoping to see better production from Clark if he ever makes the leap all the way up the hockey ranks.

The Toronto Maple Leafs should be interested in Clark because he is a legacy. Wendel’s number has been retired but it would be spectacular for young fans to see a Clark in Toronto skating around in number 17. Nepotism is obviously not the best way to scout, but in Clark’s case, he also has the tools to be a useful player for his team.

Dmitri Voronkov

Born: September 10, 2000
Height: 6’4″
Position: Left Wing
Birthplace: Angarsk, Russia
Shoots: Left
Draft: 2019 CBJ, 4th Round, 21st pick (114th Overall)

Dmitri Voronkov has already had an interesting career. In a short time span, he has played for several teams and has either been incredibly successful or completely snake bitten.

Voronkov played in the YHL, an under 18 developmental league. In his rookie season, he went off for 51 points in 37 games. 35 of those were goals, with an additional 16 assists. This production earned him the opportunity a year later at the next level in Russia, their junior league, the VHL.

In 14 games in the VHL, he was a non-factor. He wasn’t trusted with much ice time and failed to register even a single point. In the YHL that same season, he was a whole different player. He skated 19 games and scored 27 goals and 23 assists for a total of 50 points.

The following year, the 2018-19 season, he had mixed results. Voronkov played in several tournaments, joined a new YHL team and even managed to play three games in the KHL, Russia’s top league.

The Columbus Blue Jackets can be patient with Voronkov and hope that his development allows him to find the consistency he’s searching for. With the upside of being a sniper, Voronkov has the potential to have been a steal in the fourth round. Unfortunately, he’s still too raw of an athlete.

Like most of the others on the list, the Leafs can buy low with little risk. There is a possibility that Voronkov never takes that next step or he may choose to play the remainder of his career in Russia. If it doesn’t cost Toronto much to acquire him, it would be a good idea to get his rights.

Very few long-shot prospects ever pan out to have successful NHL careers but once in a while, a team gets very lucky. For the Leafs, they just need to put themselves in a position to benefit from some luck.