Top 10 Toronto Maple Leafs Busts of the Last 20 Years
Over the past few seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been really good at drafting and developing, but that wasn’t always the case.
There are plenty of players that get drafted or signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs who show promise but fizzle out unexpectedly.
Was it because the Leafs didn’t dedicate themselves to development as much as they do now or was it self-inflicted by the player?
Every example is completely different, but it seems to happen more than we think.
Over half of the current Maple Leafs roster is filled with players who were either drafted by the team or played a significant amount of time with the Marlies before being called up, or both.
The current players that were drafted high by the Leafs that are now superstars are Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly and William Nylander. Whereas those players like Zach Hyman, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson are all examples of the development process.
All seven of these players were all listed high on the Leafs prospects boards and through hard work and determination ended up making the NHL and having a real impact for their team.
However, as mentioned above, there are a number of highly touted prospects drafted or signed by the Leafs that fans hoped would turn into those players just listed, but didn’t.
Here are the top 10 highly touted prospects that never made an impact with the Leafs.
#10. Stuart Percy
There were plenty of expectations for Percy when the Leafs drafted him with the 25th pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
Percy was looked at as a great two-way defenseman who could help with the offense but also use his hockey IQ to make great defensive plays. The hype for Percy really started to accelerate after the 2011 CHL Memorial Cup.
During the biggest tournament in junior hockey, Percy played outstanding and was named to the All-CHL Memorial Cup team. Some of the all-stars beside him that year were: Andrew Shaw, Devante Smith-Pelly, Jonathan Huberdeau and Jordan Binnington.
By looking at the players beside during that Memorial Cup run by his Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors, it’s really unfortunate that he was never able to excel at the NHL level, like his peers.
After playing a full season with the Toronto Marlies and performing decently, Percy started the 2014-15 season with the Leafs and was hoping to make an impact. However, he wasn’t able to replicate his play in the AHL at the NHL-level and ultimately was sent down after nine games.
Percy has remained in the AHL since and unless something drastic changes, will most likely be an AHL-lifer at this point.
#9. Antoine Bibeau
Before Frederik Andersen, the Leafs went through a ten-year stretch of mediocre goaltending, and some thought that Bibeau could be the next great one.
Although it takes longer for goalies to develop than forwards, it’s been seven years since Bibeau was drafted in the 6th round by the Leafs and although he’s no longer in the organization, it’s unclear whether he’ll ever get a chance in the NHL.
Bibeau’s run as a junior goaltender was spectacular and looking back, it very well could have just been a flash in the pan.
During the 2013-14 season, Bibeau helped lead the Val d’Or Foreurs to the CHL Memorial Cup. Similar to Percy who we talked about before, Bibeau showed that he could perform at junior hockey’s highest level.
Although Bibeau wasn’t able to help his team win the Memorial Cup, he was still named the top goaltender of the tournament which is a huge honor. He even beat out Tristan Jarry for this award, who is currently a star goaltender for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
While playing with the Marlies, Bibeau was given a great opportunity to lead the team and showcase his skills for the next step, but was eventually passed up for Kasmir Kaskisuo and Garret Sparks.
After being traded by the Leafs in 2017, Bibeau continues to play in the AHL, hoping to make the jump sometime soon.
#8. Greg McKegg
The St. Thomas, Ontario native was drafted by the Leafs in the third round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Also drafted that year was a similar style player as McKegg, named Brad Ross who narrowly missed out on this list. Both were left-handed shots listed at similar weight and height and could score. Although Ross was drafted 19 spots ahead, it felt like there was more potential for McKegg as the two began their professional careers.
McKegg had 37 goals and 85 points during his draft year and then followed that up with 49 goals and 92 points a year later. Despite having already been drafted, almost scoring 50 goals in the Ontario Hockey League is a tremendous accomplishment, as he finished third in goal scoring and eighth in total points that season.
Ryan Fulford of Bleacher Report described McKegg as the following in 2012, prior to his first full AHL season.
“An offensively gifted player, McKegg has been pegged as a ‘steal’ by many prognosticators and pundits, but his long-term potential is much debated. He’s a bit of a “tweener”: a player who isn’t a true top-six forward but isn’t a third-liner either.”
Unfortunately McKegg never ended up being a steal and was neither a top-six forward or a third-line player like Fulford suggested.
McKegg has bounced around the league and has been able to establish a steady role with the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers over the last two years, but it’s taken him almost a decade to do so.
Regardless, Leafs fans will always be forever grateful for McKegg as he’ll be the trivia answer for years for the question of “Who was Zach Hyman traded for?”
#7. Jeremy Bracco
But Stephen, Jeremy Bracco is only 23 years old? How could he make this list, already?
Well, it’s pretty simple. Bracco’s skill is exceptional and anyone who has watched him play would say the same thing.
The best description for Bracco is a poor-man Mitch Marner. Yes, that’s right. His edge-work is world-class and he’s so shifty with the puck. He creates incredible offense when he has the puck because he can score himself or can deke around any defender, which gets one of his teammates open.
For someone this skilled, it shouldn’t take them five years to make the NHL and based off the current NHL stoppage, it’ll be at least six years until he plays an NHL game.
It would be one thing if he was given a few games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and then he fizzled out, but he hasn’t played in one NHL game yet. People continue to assume that Bracco is Toronto’s best trade-chip paired with a Johnnson or Kapanen to get a defenseman, but with zero NHL games under his belt so far, I’m not sure if that’s right.
For goalies and defenseman, five years would be fine in my opinion for a player to develop in junior and the AHL before being called up. However, for a forward this skilled, it’s crazy to think that his development hasn’t garnered him an opportunity yet.
Even after leading the Marlies in scoring with 79 points in the 2018-19 season, Bracco has continued to be passed over by forwards like Adam Brooks, Pierre Engvall, Nic Petan, Mason Marchment and Trevor Moore.
Bracco is about one year away from being complete bust.
#6. Jesse Blacker
It must have been because he’s a hometown kid, but Blacker was given a ton of hype that he didn’t deliver on.
Jeff Langride of Bleacher Report wrote the following about Blacker:
“I don’t know when Jesse Blacker will make the Leafs roster full time, but when he does, the Leafs just might have a new hometown hero.”
For a comparison like that, you’d think that it was John Tavares joining the Toronto maple Leafs.
Blacker was taken 58th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and was apart of the 2009 Memorial Cup winning Windsor Spitfires.
Upon joining the Marlies, Blacker was looked at as a great skating defenseman who could move the puck out of the defensive zone and make plays
Although he was never a goal-scorer per say in junior hockey, his assist numbers were solid and he was someone who wasn’t going to cost you when he was on the blue-line. Throughout his development, Blacker continued to improve but could never get to a point where he would be an NHL defenseman.
On Leafs prospects lists, Blacker was always in the top-10 and was even in the top-five some years as many expected him to make the leap to the NHL.
Although Blacker continues to collect a paycheck as a professional hockey player, he’s doing it in the KHL. Blacker unfortunately only ended up playing one game in the NHL.
#5. Matt Frattin
The Hockey’s Future description of Frattin would make any team excited and the Leafs were definitely hopeful of the player that he would become:
“Frattin uses his excellent shot to back defenders off down the wing and shows good hands when opportunities arise in close. Due to a quick, hard release he often catches goalies off guard. He has a squatty build at 6`1 and 206 pounds. He is not afraid to do the dirty work in the corners, but is at his best when posted up in the slot. His added strength over his four NCAA years has strengthened his skating ability. He’s extremely dangerous off the rush and can find ways to jump into open-ice; a snipers trademark.”
Drafted out of the AJHL in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the Leafs knew that Frattin would be attending the University of North Dakota and weren’t expecting him to make an impact soon.
However, after finishing his university career with 36 goals and 60 points in 44 games, while being a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, the Leafs were hoping they’d drafted a stud ready for the NHL.
Unfortunately that was not the case. Frattin struggled at the NHL-level, but also seemed too good for the AHL, so he found himself in a weird spot. He was a player that had enough skill to play hockey at a high level, but not quite good enough for a regular NHL spot.
Also, if he ended up scoring on that breakaway in Game 7 of the 2013 NHL Playoffs to seal the win for the Toronto Maple Leafs maybe he wouldn’t have made this list. However, that unfortunately didn’t happen so Frattin gets the nod as a player who never met expectations.
#4. Robbie Earl
Drafted 187th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Earl was not looked at initially as a player who would make an impact with the Leafs.
I mean, there are not many sixth round picks that fans expect to jump into the line-up right away, but that changed quick with Earl’s play in the NCAA.
After developing his skill set and playing three years at the University of Wisconsin, Earl decided to forgo his senior year and join the Toronto Marlies.
It looked to be the right decision because Earl had just won the National Championship with Wisconsin and was named the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player. Not only was he spectacular during his teams run to the championship, but he had 24 goals and 50 points in his last season, only finishing second to Joe Pavelski in team scoring.
Pavelski was also American, 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, shot left-handed and was just drafted to the NHL, but in the seventh round, so many thought that Earl and him would have a similar career path.
Unfortunately, Pavelski has gone on to have five 30-plus goal seasons in the NHL, while Earl played just 47 total games in the NHL.
Earl had a 30 point and 47 point season with the Marlies before getting called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but after a nine-game try-out he was sent back down before being traded to Minnesota one year later.
#3. Matt Finn
Mark Ritter of The Hockey Writers wrote an article in 2012 entitled “Was Matthew Finn The Steal of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft?”
The answer: No.
Within that article, Ritter describes Finn game and it’s possible to understand at that time why Finn looked bound for the NHL.
“Finn’s skill set includes great skating, the ability to rush the puck, a physical element, the ability to run the power play, decent size, tremendous leadership skills and a good two-way game.”
After taking Morgan Rielly earlier in the draft, the Leafs grabbed Finn with the 35th overall pick. At the time, Brian Burke thought that he selected two defenseman who would secure the teams blue-line for the next decade. That can be said about Rielly but not about Finn, as his NHL dreams were Finn-ished quickly.
Finn’s junior career with the Guelph Storm was spectacular as he was named to the CHL Memorial Cup All-Star team. He also finished his Storm career with 161 points, which is third among all defenseman in team history.
After four years of junior, playing for the Marlies was the next step for his development, but Finn only played 28 games with the team and spent some time in the ECHL with the Orlando Solar Bears.
Finn was eventually traded alongside four other prospects for Michael Grabner in 2015, and has not had a sniff at the NHL yet. At 26 years old and currently playing in Austria, don’t expect Finn’s NHL dreams to become a reality.
#2. TJ Brennan
The Erik Karlsson of the American Hockey League is TJ Brennan.
He may not have been drafted by the Leafs, but he was still only 24 years old when the Leafs signed him in 2013. Brennan had yet to make an impact on an NHL roster and as someone who was drafted 31st overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, he was still considered a prospect at that time.
Brennan played three seasons in Toronto’s system, with a brief stint in Rockford from 2013 to 2016 and was one of the most gifted offensive defenseman the Marlies has ever seen.
- 2013-14 season: 76 games – 25 goals – 47 assists – 72 points
- 2014-15 season: 19 games – 3 goals – 13 assists – 16 points
- 2015-16 season: 69 games – 25 goals – 43 assists – 68 points
Putting up a point per game in any league as a defenseman is impressive, but multiple 25-goal seasons as a defenseman in the AHL is incredible. During that time-frame, Brennan was named an AHL First Team All-Star team twice.
Other defenseman who have been named as AHL First Team All-Star’s are P.K. Subban and Sami Vatanen, so Brennan is in a very exclusive club.
As much as Brennan was offensively gifted, his crutch was the defensive side of the game.
Although goals are a primary part of the game, if you can’t play solid defense at the NHL level, you’re not going to last long and that’s what happened with Brennan.
#1. Justin Pogge
It stings writing this name as the number-one player on this list, but it’s true.
Pogge was the chosen one. He was supposed to follow the likes of Felix Potvin, Curtis Joseph and Ed Beflour.
After being drafted 90th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, fans hoped that the Leafs had selected the best goaltender of that draft class. Fun fact: Pekka Rinne wins that award, and he was selected in the 8th (!) Round.
Despite having a good season with the Calgary Hitmen after being drafted, the Leafs decided to draft goaltender Tuuka Rask with the 21st overall selection a year after Pogge.
Although it didn’t seem like a big deal to draft a goaltender with that pick because it would be a long time before Rask even played in the NHL, he quickly became expendable thanks to Pogge’s play.
2006 was a magical year for Pogge. First, he won a Gold Medal as the starting goaltender for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships, and then followed that up by winning the CHL Goaltender of the Year. With 11 shutouts, a 1.72 GAA and .926 SV%, the Leafs felt that Pogge was going to be the goaltender of the future.
However, like the rest of the players on this list, that didn’t happen.
Pogge must have been drinking “Michael’s Secret Stuff” like Bugs Bunny in Space Jam during the 2005-06 season, because he was never able to replicate that year again.
Although he was given the opportunity to develop with the Marlies and would eventually get to play seven games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he never worked out.
Next. Who Is the Absolute Worst Coach in Leafs History?. dark
The most depressing part of Pogge’s career is not the fact that he never excelled as an NHL number-one goaltender, but the fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs fans have had to watch Rask win a Stanley Cup and Vezina Trophy with a Bruins team they despise.
Oh well, you win some and you lose some, and in the circumstance of all 10 players listed, they definitely lost.