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.

Vladislav Kara

Drafted – 2017, Round 4, #124
Age-21, Winger, 6’2, 205lbs
Vladislav Kara continued his early point per game pace with Ak Bars Kazan’s VHL team, earning a call up after putting up 15 points (5-10-15) in 15 games played.

Kara only played a single shift in his first game but made good on the decision to call him up, notching an assist in an improved 10:44 of ice time from his first game. He was awarded with additional minutes for his third appearance but has since had his usage slashed again.

Vladislav Kara is still an interesting prospect considering his age and ability to log minutes at the top level. If he is to be of value to the Toronto Maple Leafs, he needs to find a way to remain in the KHL and provide value as a 4th liner.

Semyon Kizimov

Drafted – 2018, Round 7, #211
Age-19, Right Winger, 6’0, 179lbs

Things haven’t got any brighter for Semyon Kizimov. He was held pointless in his first 11 games in our previous European report and has only managed to add 2 in his last eight games.

Kizimov has had a huge regression in scoring pace from last year where he was one of the better producers in his age group. His production dip has now caused his usage to also wither to that of a fourth line forward in the VHL.

Kizimov’s strength is his offensive game, if he can’t get that going it is hard to see him ever being considered a legitimate prospect at any level in Toronto.

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.