Toronto Maple Leafs Postseason Overseas Prospect Update
A Number of Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects have already completed their seasons overseas and several of them have made great advances in their development.
The KHL, MHL, VHL, and the Czech Leagues have all wrapped up and began playoffs; meanwhile, the Swedish leagues and the Finnish leagues are coming to an end with teams only having a handful of games to play.
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a number of Prospects playing overseas this year. Notable names include Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Artur Akhtyamov, Rodion Amirov, Topi Niemelä, and Filip Král.
For the sake of labeling them as prospects, only players drafted in 2017 and after will be discussed.
We begin our postseason update of these players with Russian winger Rodion Amirov:
Rodion Amirov
Age: 19
H/W: 6’0″/168 lbs
POS: LW/RW
2021 Team: Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)
Drafted: 15th Overall (Round 1) 2020 NHL Entry Draft
Rodion Amirov played almost the entirety of the 2020-21 season in Russia’s top league, the KHL. Amirov would appear in 39 games throughout the year while playing an average of 13:54 a night.
Despite such low ice-time in the 39 games, he would put up 9 goals and 13 points, topping last year’s total of only 2 points in 21 games (stats en.khl.ru).
Absolutely laser shot by 19-year-old Rodion Amirov! 9th goal of a season! pic.twitter.com/Iz5POcVIzY
— KHL (@khl_eng) February 27, 2021
Amirov would also play in the 2021 World Junior Championship Tournament where we got to see the young Russian Winger play first hand. In the tournament, Amirov tallied 2 goals and 6 points in 7 games.
Beyond the numbers, it’s easy to tell that although small in stature and strength, Amirov has the potential to become a top-six NHL forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Amirov plays a quick transition game accompanied by soft hands, a strong stick, and a quick-release – sounds pretty Leaf-like right?
In sevem postseason games this year, Amirov has remained pointless but he and his team, Salavat Yulaev, have a chance on Tuesday to keep their season alive after falling down 3-0 in their series with Ak Bars.
Following the conclusion of Amirov’s KHL season, it’s speculated by some that he will look at contract options with the Toronto Maple Leafs and perhaps will join the Marlies in AHL, much like fellow Russian Semyon Der-Arguchintsev is set to do later this month.
Artur Akhtyamov
Age: 19
H/W: 6’1″/157 lbs
POS: G
2021 Team: Ak Bars Kazan (KHL)/Bars Kazan (VHL)/Irbis Kazan (MHL)
Drafted: 106th Overall (Round 4) 2020 NHL Entry Draft
Artur Akhtyamov’s season was spent all across the vast leagues in Russia as well as the U20 WJC.
In 3 games in the KHL, Akhtyamov posted a .904 SV% with a record of 0-1-1. In the VHL, a record of 5-4-4 with a SV% of .927, and in the MHL a record of 5-4-4 with a SV% of .935 – not bad numbers for a young goaltender bouncing around from league to league and team to team (stats eliteprospects.com).
In December Akhtyamov would join fellow Toronto Maple Leaf Prospects in the 2021 World Junior Championship where he would play as the Russian Backup Goalie. In the one game he appeared in, he posted a SV% of .944 and secured a victory. The Russians finished fourth in the tournament.
Like Amirov, Akhtyamov has a lot of room to grow physically and with time, that will come. Ahktyamov still has a good foundation in the net though with good positional saves and quick reflexes on second chances.
Goalies have a tendency to take longer than almost anyone else to develop, so odds are that we’re still a few years away from seeing Akhtyamov getting a shot on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev
Age: 20
H/W: 5’11″/170 lbs
POS: C
2021 Team: Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL)/Toronto Marlies (AHL)
Drafted: 76th Overall (Round 3) 2018 NHL Entry Draft
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (SDA) had a pretty successful first professional season. He would join Torpedo of the KHL midway through the year on Loan and appear in 16 games for the club.
Der-Arguchintsev missed just over two months of the season from a knee injury but returned in February just in time for the end of the season and playoffs.
Like Amirov, SDA saw pretty good ice time in the KHL for a 20-year-old. In the 16 games, SDA would see an average of 14:34 which was about second-line minutes. The Russian center would tally 2 goals and 6 assists (stats en.khl.ru).
SDA’s KHL season came to a conclusion just a couple of weeks ago following a 4 game series sweep from Ak Bars Kazan. SDA is already labeled on the Marlies roster and is set to join them following a quarantine from traveling to North America. It’s possible he could appear in games for the club before the end of the month and start getting accustomed to the Toronto Maple Leafs system.
Awaiting the return of a Nick Robertson injury, SDA and Robertson will be reunited once again to assist a struggling Marlies team who sits 4th out of 5 teams in the Canadian AHL division.
Topi Niemelä
Age: 18
H/W: 5’11″/165 lbs
POS: D
2021 Team: Kärpät (Liiga)
Drafted: 64th Overall (Round 3) 2020 NHL Entry Draft
After being drafted in the third round in October by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Topi Niemelä has put together an all-impressive season.
Niemelä has spent the season split between Kärpät of the Liiga, the top league in Finland, as well as their U20 Team.
With the U20 Karpat team in Finland, Niemelä put up four points in 6 games before being promoted to the mens team. With the mens team as an 18-year-old, Niemela has played 15 games with an ATOI of 15:30 and has put up four assists (stats liiga.fi).
Unfortunately on February 16th, Niemela took a hard crash into boards going for a puck and suffered an undisclosed injury. The defenseman is expected to be out for another 2-3 weeks.
Here’s the video of Leafs prospect Topi Niemela’s injury in the third period with Karpat yesterday. He did not return to the game. No update from the team since. pic.twitter.com/OEyCWKKmEe
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) February 17, 2021
Prior to injury in December, Niemela put on a clinic at the WJC in Edmonton. Niemela chalked up 6 assists and 8 points in 7 games while assisting Finland in capturing a bronze medal.
Niemela’s puck-moving ability and great play on both sides of the puck resulted in Niemela being named the tournament’s Top Defenseman. This comes just a year after fellow Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Rasmus Sandin won the same award at the 2020 Tournament.
Keep in mind, Niemela has done all of this in a season as an 18-year-old. With the Liiga’s regular season coming to an end soon, Niemela may be able to join the team back in the playoffs and get back on track with a great season.
The future looks bright for Niemela and finding the defenseman in the third round this year makes GM Kyle Dubas look like a genius once again.
Filip Král
Age: 21
H/W: 6’1″/176 lbs
POS: D
2021 Team: HC Kometa Brno (Czech)
Drafted: 149th Overall (Round 5) 2018 NHL Entry Draft
Král in English translates to “King” and that’s exactly what the Czech defenseman Filip Král has been in a sneaky good season with the Czech league.
Last season, Král put up 49 points in 53 games with the Spokane Cheifs of the WHL. With the pandemic, Král decided to stay in his home country this year and play with HC Kometa Brno.
Playing with Brno, Král put up 15 assists and 21 points in 48 games. In 7 games in the Czech playoffs, Král has put up 5 points in 7 games while playing upwards of 25:30 a night. His team is currently down 2-0 in their second-round series versus Trinec (courtesy Hokej.cz).
With the impending end to Král’s Czech season and having signed a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs in April of 2020, it is expected that he will come to North America to join the Marlies where he can continue his development in the Leafs system.
The Rest of the Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects
Other Maple Leaf Prospects playing overseas this year include Mikko Kokkonen, Roni Hirvonen, Filip Hallander, Axel Rindell, Kalle Loponen, and Dmitri Ovchinnikov.
Mikko Kokkonen, a Defenseman with Jukurit of the Liiga has played 44 games with a total of 9 points, playing 21:51 a night while serving as an Assistant Captain at the young age of 20. Kokkonen also went to Edmonton for the WJC where he put up 1 assist in 7 games while also serving as an Assistant Captain for Team Finland (stats liiga.fi).
Roni Hirvonen, Centre with Ässät of the Liiga has played 46 games while notching 6 goals and 19 points, playing 2nd line minutes at 16:09 per night. Hirvonen also traveled to Edmonton in December where he would put up 6 points in 7 games (stats liiga.fi).
Filip Hallander, Centre with Luleå HF of the SHL, has played 48 games and put up 22 points – not really much progression over the 14 in 27 games last year. Perhaps just an off year from the young Swede (stats eliteprospects.com).
Axel Rindell, Defenseman for Jukurit of the Liiga, has played in 41 games and put up 23 points while playing 20:25 a night. The offensive upside is apparent with Rindell, being third on team scoring along with 3 game-winning goals as a defenseman (stats liiga.fi).
Kalle Loponen, Defenseman with Kärpät’s U20 team in Finland has put up 11 goals and 33 points in 36 games, good enough for first in league scoring by a defenseman (stats eliteprospects.com).
Winger Dmitri Ovchinnikov split the season between the MHL and the KHL with Sibirskie Novosibirsk. In the KHL, Ovchinnikov played in 16 games and tallied only one assist, with very little playing time. In the MHL, Ovchinnikov played 40 games, and put up 20 goals and 51 points; he lead the league in points per game by players with 31 games or more played with 1.28 (stats eliteprospects.com).
Next. Leafs Top 10 Prospects. dark
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t developed a star player from beyond the first round since Tomas Kaberle in the late 90s. As you can see from this list, the odds of that being corrected in the near future are strong.