What Do The Toronto Maple Leafs Have In Mike Koster?

In the fifth round of this year’s draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Chaska, Minnesota native Mike Koster.

While Koster was taken in the fifth round of the draft, he still could be a steal for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has shown during his time with Chaska High School and the Tri-City Storm that ha could be an asset for an NHL club. Sure, there is a long shot of Koster cracking an NHL lineup one day, but if his development goes well then he could be of value for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the future.

Last season, Koster appeared in 55 regular-season games. Sixteen of those games were played with Team Northeast of the UMHSEHL. During that stint, he posted two goals and ten assists. Koster also played in three playoff games and mustered up two goals.

In addition to his time spent with Team Northeast, he had suited up in 24 games for Chaska High School. Koster was the second highest producer for Chaska (19 goals and 40 assists). He was two points shy of tying the leading scorer for Chaska, but he failed to out-produce Montréal Canadiens prospect Rhett Pitlick (28 goals and 33 assists). Once the regular season concluded, Koster appeared in two playoff games for Chaska and tallied two points (one goal and one assist).

The Minnesotan had also played in 15 games for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL. With the amount of talent that the Storm had last season, Koster was competing for ice time against some tough competition including Zac Jones (New York Rangers prospect) and Ronald Attard (Philadelphia Flyers prospect). Since Koster was not getting the same amount of ice time as he was used to with Chaska High School, his offensive production dropped slightly, but he was still invaluable for the Storm. At the end of his stint with the Storm, he had tallied 2 goals and 4 assists.

Next season, he will more than likely be back with the Storm. He will have the opportunity for more ice time with Jones and Attard on their way to the NCAA. That means that Storm head coach Anthony Noreen will be able to take Koster under his wing and truly help him develop the necessary skills to be a successful collegiate hockey player (Koster has committed to the University of Minnesota for the 2020-21 season).

Player Profile

Date of Birth: April 13, 2001

Position: Defense

Shoots: Left

Height: 5’9″

Weight: 172 lbs

2018-2019 Teams: Team Northeast (UMHSEHL), Chaska High School (USHS-MN) and Tri-City Storm (USHL)

Skating, Puck Control & Transition Play

Koster is a stellar puck-moving defenseman, while it appears from his stats that he is an offensive specimen, he looks more like a Travis Dermott or a Nick Jensen. He is serviceable defenseman who can glide up the ice and carry the puck without many flaws. His transitional play is solid. Not only can he skate up the ice and evade the opposition, but he will make accurate passes in the neutral zone to help set up a clean zone entry.

In addition to Koster’s puck control and transition play, he is a strong skater. Koster has wheels and he will show them off at a consistent rate. Not only is his speed exceptional, but his edge-work is flawless. Koster uses his inside and outside edges throughout his stride. He also manages to skate backwards with no issues. Koster leans on his arms to help him glide backwards and can transition quickly from backwards to forwards and vice-versa.

In the clip below from Leafs Prospects, you can check out Koster’s beautiful puck control and skating ability.

Aside from puck control and neutral zone play, he will often ensure that he is the first defenseman back. Koster is far from a stay at home defenseman, but his defensive awareness is worth noting. He will look for opportunities to enter in puck battles along the boards. Koster will push into his opposition, forecheck and poke check to attempt to grab the puck.

Shooting & Offensive Awareness

As I mentioned previously, Koster’s offensive production from his days at Chaska likely will not translate to the NHL level in the future, but he does have a solid shot. In the clip below from BSM Hockey, you can check out a Koster goal from his high school days. Koster shows you just how dominant his wrist shot is.

Not only does he have a strong shot, but he will oftentimes look for opportunities to get more involved in the offensive zone. Koster will often look for the ideal moment to create an offensive pinch and he is not afraid to complete one in any situation.

Handedness

The one thing that you quickly notice about Koster is that he can play on both the left and right side without flaw. With Koster’s tendency of being the first defenseman back into the defensive zone, this allows coaches to play around with Koster and which side of the ice that he will line up on.

You might believe that Koster would be less effective at puck control/movement when he is playing on his wrong side, but that is far from the case. Koster has proven that he can move the puck up the ice consistently no matter what side he is playing on.

Given the huge demand for quality right-handed defensive puck movers and the lack of them, Koster could potentially step up for the Leafs in the future on the right side if needed.

Fantasy Perspective

Koster is still considered to be a long-shot to crack the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup, but if his development plays out quite well, there is a chance that he could be an asset for Toronto. Also, if the Leafs have right-handed defensive issues in the future similarly to some of the issues that they have had recently, they can lean on Koster to jump in on the right side and be a strong puck-moving defenseman.

stats from eliteprospects.com