The Toronto Maple Leafs countless number of players on loan overseas have already started their 2020-21 season. Here’s an update on the notable ones.
Due to the circumstances of COVID-19 holding off play for leagues in North America, a number of players settled to go on Loan overseas to keep up their games. Notable Toronto Maple Leafs names include Yegor Korshkov, Filip Hallander, Denis Malgin, and Mikko Lehtonen.
Today we look at where these players have ended up, what their stats look like, and a possible ETA for them to make the jump to the big leagues.
We Begin with Korshkov.
Yegor Korshkov
Age: 24
H/W: 6’4″/214 lbs
POS: RW
Current Team: Yaroslavl Lokomotiv (KHL)
Last season Korshkov spent the majority in the AHL with a very sub-par Marlies team. The Russian winger put up 16 goals and 25 points in 44 games – not too bad for his first trip onto North American ice.
This season Korshkov chose to return back to the KHL and the team the Leafs drafted him from, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. In 13 games so far Korshkov has put up 5 goals and 11 points in 13 games while logging 15:59 TOI/G as well as maintaining a 17.2 SH% with the club.
Standing at 6’4″, 214 Yegor uses his size to establish a strong NetFront presence. That along with his ability to find the open man at will has the potential for Korshkov to become a full-time NHL power forward over the next couple of years.
One area for improvement for the winger could be to play the body more. With his size, it would be nice to see that number rise over the course of the season.
Sure sometimes KHL hockey doesn’t always translate to NHL but, Korshkov’s most productive season next to the current one was his last season with the Marlies. He has started to elevate his game and teams should watch out or they may not see this big man coming.