Toronto Maple Leafs November Prospect Update Vol. 2 – Europe

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a handful of lesser known but exciting prospects plying their way over in Europe, we give you a look into how their seasons are going so far.

Another month is down and all the Toronto Maple Leafs European prospects have been in action for their respective clubs. Whilst the big name prospects are all playing in North America, split between the CHL and the AHL, there remains some names to keep an eye on in Europe. If you aren’t up to date with the “going ons” of the European prospects, our previous months update is worth a read.

Whilst none of these names may currently be household ones, there was a time when many of us wouldn’t have given a second thought to many of the Toronto Maple Leafs later round European picks. Names like Egor Korshkov, Pierre Engvall, Jesper Lindgren and even Andreas Johansson have shown us that keeping tabs on the Europeans is something absolutely worth doing.

The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t been shy about dipping into their European prospect pool and giving opportunities to guys we may not have considered high end prospects.

As previously mentioned, the likes of Jesper Lindgren and Pierre Engvall are both full-time Marlies this season and the latter of the two was even considered to be a legitimate option for the Leafs roster to begin the season. Players who seemingly appear to be off the radar often get offered a role on the Marlies and an opportunity to try push their way into the NHL.

All information from this article: hockeydb.com, eliteprospects.com, and nhl.com

Let’s begin this November update by looking into the prospects currently plying their way in Russia.

Nikolai Chebykin

Drafted – 2016, Round 7, #182
Age-22, Winger, 6’4, 216lbs
Nikolai Chebykin has stepped his game up a little from our previous report, potting 5 points in his latest 10 games. Scoring at this rate certainly isn’t enough for Leafs fans to get excited about at the VHL level.

Another down note of late for Chebykin is his inability to stay out of the box. Chebykin is the second most penalised player in his league and that certainly isn’t a positive thing as he isn’t a fighter.

Vladamir Bobylyov

Drafted – 2016, Round 5, #122
Age-22, Winger, 6’3, 205lbs
Vladamir Bobylyov is the final of our minor league Russian forward prospects. Bobylyov has also had an improvement on his numbers from the last report, with an added 6 points in his last 10 appearances.

Bobylyov is bordering on no man’s land currently, he’s the oldest of the Russian prospects and since returning to Russia has really never truly found his feet. Bobylyov does have a North American aspect to his game, if there is absolutely any hope of him making it back here he needs to really amp up his offensive production and prove himself a power forward like fellow compatriot Yegor Korshkov.

Professional – SHL & KHL

Pontus Holmberg

Drafted – 2018, Round 6, #154
Age-20, Centre/Winger, 5’11, 179lbs
Pontus Holmberg is still grinding away with the Lakers of the SHL, he’s now at 5 points (2-3-5) in his first 16 games played. He has been given opportunities primarily as a middle 6 forward this year, an improved role from 2018-19.

There is much to like about Holmberg as a prospect. While he doesn’t have glamorous numbers, he has been a lock on a professional team for the best part of two years now and his production has come exclusively at 5 on 5.

Eemeli Rasanen

Drafted – 2017, Round 2, #59
Age-20, Right handed Defenceman, 6’7, 225lbs
I still don’t understand this, and I fear I never will. Eemeli Rasanen was drafted with a ton of potential, a monstrous right shot defenceman with very good production numbers and a real old school edge.

Rasanen seemingly wasted an opportunity to join the Marlies a couple seasons back and potentially join the ranks of Marchment, Gauthier, Dermott and others on the list of talented players with skating deficiencies that were fixed whilst in the system. Instead, he chose to waste away in the KHL, a decision he appears to be doubling down on.

The biggest concern remains Rasanen’s usage as a 20 year old. He was loaned to the Mestis while Jokerit had a break in their schedule where he was given good minutes and produced (1-1-2) in 4 games.

Since returning to the KHL he has returned to his usual- dressed but doesn’t play, routine. Currently his last game played at the KHL level was in September, 9 games ago!

Something needs to change here; this is currently a re-run of last season and proving to be a waste of potential.

Professional – Liiga

Mikko Kokkonen

Drafted – 2019, Round 3, #84
Age-18, Left handed Defenceman, 5’11, 198lbs
Mikko Kokkenen hasn’t carried his red-hot form from his draft year into this season just yet. He has split his time between the professional club, Jukurit and their junior set-up.

He’s point-less in his 9 games in the Liiga but is still getting over 16 minutes of ice time a game. Jukurit aren’t a good team and get heavily outshot in basically every game. Kokkonen is a real prospect and if he can remain at the Liiga level and slowly get his feet back under him, he is a realistic long term option the Leafs and Marlies will look at.

Martins Dzierkals

Drafted – 2015, Round 3, #68
Age-22, Winger, 5’11, 170lbs
Somehow still a prospect in the Toronto Maple Leafs system, Martins Dzierkals is still plugging away in Europe. The speedy winger was off to a great start, notching 4 points in his first 7 games with Jukurit.

That form was shortlived however, with Dzierkals only managing a solo assist in his last 6 appearances. Dzierkals is somewhat of a one dimensional player, he relies heavily on his speed and offensive toolkit.

He is basically exactly what the Leafs and Marlies have an overwhelming abundance of, only he believes he is above spending any time at the ECHL level. Which sadly for Martins, is likely where he falls in the Leafs depth chart.

No real loss here, nonetheless we will continue to give you updates on the young Latvian whilst he remains a Toronto Maple Leafs prospect.