Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Readiness Rankings
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a very strong farm system considering they do not have a top-of-the-draft, blue-chip, superstar prospect.
Over the last several seasons, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas has restocked the prospect pool through draft, even while using some of his picks in trades (Muzzin, Foligno, Marleau). The prospect pool was not very deep when Dubas took over as GM because while the Leafs were drafting their stars (Rielly, Nylander, Marner, Matthews) they failed to hit on most of their lower picks.
Although Dubas has traded a few prospects away to try and improve the team, the prospect pool is still one of the deepest Toronto has ever had. Not every prospect will turn out the way a team expected them to, so the more prospects you have, the better.
Some prospects develop faster than others, so just because a prospect was drafted four years ago, doesn’t mean a prospect drafted two years ago can’t be ahead of him in development.
For this list, I will not be including prospects such as Adam Brooks (25 year-old) or Rasmus Sandin (30 plus NHL games).
Nicholas Robertson
The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect closest to being NHL ready is second round pick Nick Robertson.
Making his NHL debut in the 2020 playoffs vs Columbus, Robertson made the unusual jump from the OHL to the NHL Playoffs. He may not have been an instant star, but he fared decently and scored a goal.
This past season was pretty much a write-off due to the pandemic and injuries. Robertson was hurt early in the season and ended up only playing six games with the Leafs.
During his NHL draft year, Nicholas Robertson scored 27 goals and 28 assists for 55 points in 54 games. The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Robertson in the second round of the 2019 NHL entry draft with the 52nd overall pick.
The following year, Robertson had an incredible season for the Peterborough Petes in the OHL. He scored 55 goals (1st place in OHL) and 31 assists for 86 points. This was an encouraging sign for Dubas and Leafs fans alike.
Last season, Robertson played in six games for the Toronto Maple Leafs and registered one assist. He also played in 21 games for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. With the Marlies, he registered five goals and 11 assists for 16 points.
This year Robertson will get a chance to make the team, but there is a good possibility that he starts in the AHL. He isn’t a blue-chipper by any means, but he has a high-end NHL quality shot that could potentially make him a star if the everything falls into place.
Coming into training camp he has the advantage of an entry-level contract and jobs up for grabs. Counting against him will be his age, size, experience, injury history and the glut of applicants for the available jobs.
(All Stats from: eliteprospects.com)
Prediction: NHL ready by 2021-22 season
Timothy Liljegren
Timothy Liljegren is the first defenseman on this list, and rightfully so. The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Liljegren in the first round of the 2017 NHL entry draft. He was selected with the 17th overall pick and projected to be Toronto’s right-shooting defenseman of the future.
Liljegren has spent the last four seasons playing with the Toronto Marlies with a few games here and there with the Leafs. During his time with the Marlies, Liljegren has scored 11 goals and 62 assists for 73 points in 148 games.
Most of the time, defensemen take longer than forwards to develop, but this season feels like it is a make-or-break season for Liljegren. He should be able to make the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup as the team’s seventh defenseman, which means whenever someone is inevitably injured, he will likely get his chance as an NHL regular.
If Toronto decides to go with only six defensemen, Liljegren will surely be the first call-up when the time comes. If he does start the season with the Marlies, he should be playing on the top pairing and get plenty of ice time.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2021-22 Season
Rodion Amirov
In the 2020 NHL entry draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Rodion Amirov with the 15th overall pick. The selection was a bit of surprise to some, but not those who’ve seen him play.
During his draft year, Amirov scored ten goals and 12 assists for 22 points in 17 games while playing in the MHL. He also recorded two assists in 21 games while playing for Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the KHL.
Last season, Amirov scored nine goals and four assists for 13 points in 39 games while playing in the KHL. He spent this off-season training in Toronto with the Maple Leafs training staff before heading back to Russia.
He was expected to play a big role with Salavat Yulaev Ufa this season, but suffered a broken collarbone during pre-season play. He will miss a minimum of four weeks with the injury. We will have to wait and see how long it takes for him to return to form.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2022-23 Season
Joseph Woll
if there is one type of prospect that takes longer to develop than a defenseman, it’s a goaltender. Joseph Woll was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2016 NHL entry draft with the 62nd overall pick.
After being drafted, Woll spent three seasons playing for Boston College in the NCAA. While playing at Boston College, Woll posted good numbers in both his GAA and his SV%. (GAA: 2.64/2.48/2.41) (SV%: .913/.915/.919)
Woll has spent the last two seasons playing for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. In his first AHL season, Woll posted a 3.75 GAA and a .880 SV% in 32 games. During his second season with the Marlies, Woll played 15 games and posted a 3.54 GAA and a .892 SV%.
It is good to see that his numbers were slightly better during his 2020-21 season than they were the previous season, but they will have be even better if he is going to make the jump to the NHL.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2022-23 Season
Topi Niemela
Topi Niemela is the second defenseman on this list. He is a two-way right shooting defenseman who plays smart in his own zone. Niemela was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2020 NHL draft with the 64th overall pick.
The 19-year-old will be playing in his first full season with Karpat in Liiga (Finnish Elite League) this season. He is not expected to put up big numbers as he only joins the rush when he knows he won’t get caught out of place.
Niemela can produce when needed as he showcased at the 2020 World Junior Championships. He recorded two goals and six assists for eight points in seven games for Team Finland.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2023-24 season
Roni Hirvonen
The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Roni Hirvonen in the second round of the 2020 NHL entry draft with the 59th overall pick. The 19-year-old playmaker is primarily a center, but can also play the wing.
Hirvonen will be playing for HIFK in Liiga this season after two season playing for Assat. Last season he recorded six goals and 15 assists for 21 points in 54 games. Due to his play-making style of play, Hirvonen will likely always have more assists than goals.
He is projected to be a middle six forward at the moment, so a second or third line player. We will have to see how well he does on his new team and whether it helps his development or not.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2023-24 season
Pavel Gogolev
After scoring 45 goals and 51 assists for 96 points in 63 games during the 2019-20 season for the Guelph Storm in the OHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed the undrafted Pavel Gogolev to a two year AHL deal.
He split his 2020-21 season between playing in Sweden and playing for the Marlies in the AHL. During his time with the Marlies, Gogolev scored six goals and six assists for 12 points in 13 games.
The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Gogolev this off-season to a three year entry level contract (ELC). This season Gogolev will be looking to improve on last season and become a top six forward for the Marlies.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2023-24 season
Mikhail Abramov
Mikhail Abramov was drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL entry draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the 115th overall pick. The 20-year-old had three productive seasons with the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL.
In the 2019-20 season, Abramov scored 35 goals and 41 assists for 76 points in 63 games. During a shortened season last year, he recorded 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 25 games.
This season will be his first pro season as he joins the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. Abramov will likely need two full AHL seasons before he is NHL ready.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2023-24 season.
Matthew Knies
Matthew Knies is the Toronto Maple Leafs most recent top pick. They selected him in the second round of the 2021 NHL entry draft with the 57th overall pick.
Last season, Knies recorded 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points in 44 games for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL. The season before that saw Knies record 14 goals and 31 assists for 45 points in 44 games for Tri-City.
The 18-year-old is already 6’3 and 205 Lbs., with time left to continue growing. He is projected to be a top six power forward with playmaking abilities. He is currently committed to the University of Minnesota for next season.
Hopefully his size will help him do well at the NCAA level and he will transition over to the AHL in the 2022-23 season.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2024-25 season.
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2018 NHL entry draft with the 76th overall pick. He is a former teammate of Nicholas Robertson from their time together with the Peterborough Petes in the OHL.
During his final season in the OHL, Der-Arguchintsev scored 12 goals and 63 assists for 75 points in 55 games. He spent part of last season loaned to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL where he six points in 17 games.
Der-Arguchintsev returned to Canada to play with the Toronto Marlies at the end of last season. He recorded four points in six games. He will be looking forward to playing an entire season with the Marlies in the 2021-22 season.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2024-25 season.
Nick Abruzzese
The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Nick Abruzzese in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL entry draft with the 124th overall pick. In his draft year, Abruzzese scored 29 goals and 51 assists for 80 points in 62 games.
During his first season with Harvard University in the NCAA, he recorded 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points in 31 games. He didn’t play at all last season but will be looking to shine as the captain of the Harvard team this season.
Not sure if Abruzzses will play two more seasons in the NCAA or if he’ll join the Marlies next season. Whichever path he chooses is fine, but he is at least 3 seasons away from being NHL ready.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2024-25 season.
Filip Kral
Filip Kral is a fifth round pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the 2018 NHL entry draft. They selected the defenseman with the 149th overall pick.
In his draft year of 2017-18, Kral recorded nine goals and 26 assists for 35 points in 54 games for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL. He would follow that up with 36 points in 47 games during the 2018-19 season, and 49 points in 53 games during the 2019-20 season.
Kral spent most of last season on loan to the Czech league. He recorded ten points in seven games for HC Prerov and 21 points in 48 games for HC Kometa Brno. He then joined the Marlies for ten games and registered two points.
Kral will be looking to take a big step forward with a full season in the AHL with the Marlies this season.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2024-25 season.
Ian Scott
Ian Scott is the second goaltender on this list. Scott was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL entry draft.
Scott had an incredible final season in the WHL for the Prince Albert Raiders in 2018-19. He went 38-8-3 in 49 games played while posting a 1.83 GAA and a .932 SV% with eight shutouts.
He followed that up with a similar playoff performance going 16-6-1 in 23 games while posting a 1.96 GAA and a .925 SV% with five shutouts. Scott and the Raiders became champions that season.
Fast forward to the 2021-22 season and Scott will be looking to play a full season in the ECHL as the starting goaltender for the Newfoundland Growlers. He will likely be challenging for the starters role with the Marlies in the 2022-23 season.
He still has a few years before he’s NHL ready, but goaltenders should never be rushed.
Prediction: NHL ready by 2024-25.
Next. Toronto Maple Leafs Top 10 Prospects. dark
This concludes our list of Toronto Maple Leafs prospects readiness. As you can see, the Leafs have a solid prospect system that should help them keep their competitive window open for many years to come. The hope is that one of these guys explodes and becomes the Leafs version of Nikita Kucherov, but even if that is unlikely, there are still some solid players in this group.