Do the Toronto Maple Leafs Have a New Top Prospect?

The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect pipeline is no longer bursting at the seams, but plenty of prospects are primed to be flushed out next season: Rasmus Sandin, Nicholas Robertson, Joey Anderson, Adam Brooks, and Timothy Liljegren.

Who makes the cut is yet to be seen, but rest-assured (to remain cap-compliant) the Toronto Maple Leafs are depending on this influx of young, semi-fresh meat to remain a competitive team.

At the other end of the prospect-pipeline is new, raw talent flowing in, and every year, the World Junior Hockey Championship (WJHC) sets the stage to gauge the world’s best junior-eligible players as they face off, head-to-head.

I had always figured Rodion Amirov was the Leafs  top catch, but sure enough, I was mistaken. In my opinion, with the graduation of Rasmus Sandin, the Leafs have a new top prospect.

Toronto Maple Leafs 2021 WJHC

Six Leafs prospects played in the 2020-21 WJHC; interestingly, none from North America:

Russian-three

1. (f) Mikhail Abramov – 2019, 4th round, #115
2. (f) Rodion Amirov – 2020, 1st round, #15
3. (g) Artur Akhtyamov – 2020, 4th round, #106

Finnish-three

1. (d) Mikko Kokkonen – 2019, 3rd round, #84
2. (f) Roni Hirvonen – 2020, 2nd round, #59
3. (d) Topi Niemela – 2020, 3rd round, #64

The WJHC can be a transformative event – where players turn into household names and prospects become prizes – and is a good place to re(assess) players coming through the pipeline. (World Junior Stats from IIHF.com).

Amirov screams top prospect simply by being the highest drafted and putting up 2 goals and 4 assists in 7 games. But, Hirvonen – the 2nd-highest drafted – put up the same offensive numbers.

This could go on and on, so consider this:

Rasmus Sandin would eventually go on to become Leafs’ top prospect (minding Nick Robertson) not because he was drafted 29th overall and had superior stats in the WJHC, but because he had found himself in good company:

World Junior Best Defenseman Award

• 2020 – Toronto Maple Leafs, Rasmus Sandin
• 2019 – Montreal Canadiens, Alexander Romanov
• 2018 – Buffalo Sabres, Rasmus Dahlin
• 2017 – Ottawa Senators, Thomas Chabot
• 2016 – Columbus Blue Jackets, Zach Werenski

Topi Niemela

A product of Liiga (Finnish Elite League), right-shooting defenseman Topi has been developing his game with the Oulun Karpat professional ice hockey organization since the age of seventeen (2019-20).

Standing 5’11 tall at 165 lbs, Topi has built a solid, well-rounded game that is most notably defensibly-responsible. Early in January 2021, Topi stood out and shined on the biggest stage in junior hockey and positioned himself amongst the game’s brightest young stars.

Topi captured a WJHC bronze medal – Finland beat Russia 5-1 – logging the 2nd most ice time (20:04) on team Finland, trailing Winnipeg Jets top-prospect defenseman Ville Heinola (2019, 1st round, #20).

In seven games, Topi led all tournament defensemen in points with 2g and 6a, placing 11th in tournament scoring; in comparison, Colorado Avalanche top-prospect defenseman Bowen Byram (2019, 1st round, #4) finished with 1g and 4 a, captaining Canada to a silver medal.

At tournament’s end, IIHF Directorate Awards were handed out:

• Best Goaltender: Devon Levi, Canada
• Best Defenseman: Topi Niemela, Finland
• Best Forward: Tim Stutzle, Germany

From being drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs less than a year ago, in the 3rd round, 64th overall, Topi Niemela has leapfrogged Rodion Amirov and Nick Robertson to become the Leafs  top prospect.

Considering Topi’s breakthrough performance, count on the Leafs getting him acclimatized to North America as soon as next season.  He’ll need time to hone his skills and bulk up – akin to Sandin – and will continue developing his game relative to time on ice (TOI).

Expect him to be at Leafs training camp, but he’s not going to be tearing things up. He’ll either return to Karpa or play with the Marlies. But hey, one can hope.

If Topi Niemela follows a similar trajectory of previous WJHC Best Defenseman Award winners, the Leafs will be open-arms when he comes flushing out the pipeline in a year or two, much like now with Rasmus Sandin.