Toronto Maple Leafs NCAA Prospects Overview and Update

The NHL’s regular season is in full swing, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are on a five-game winning streak. Sometimes fans can get so caught up in what the NHL team is doing that we forget to check on the prospects within the system.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have an abundance of young talent competing all over North America and overseas.

What these players are doing can get lost in the   Leafs  shadow, especially when they are playing well.

This article will focus on a few of the prospects that Toronto has currently playing in the NCAA. The NCAA can be a good stepping stone for prospects to take on their path to the NHL.

Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects In The NCAA

Toronto has a few prospects playing within the NCAA. For this article, I will only be looking at three of them. All three of these prospects are having a great start to their seasons.

Nicholas Abruzzese

Nicholas Abruzzese is in his third year at Harvard University, but this is only his second year of playing.  During his first year with Harvard in the 2019-20 season, Abruzzese registered 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points in 31 games.

The year before that, he registered 29 goals and 51 assists for 80 points in 62 games for the Chicago Steel in the USHL. Those 80 points help him finish first in scoring.

This season, Abruzzese is the captain for Harvard and has gotten off to a good start. He currently has one goal and seven assists for eight points in four games.

Ryan Tverberg

Ryan Tverberg is in his second year at the University of Connecticut. He got selected by Toronto in the 7th round of the 2020 NHL draft. Tverberg registered 26 goals and 25 assists for 51 points in 47 games in his draft year for the Toronto Junior Canadiens in the OJHL.

This season, he currently has seven goals and six assists for 13 points in nine games. This has him sitting in first for team scoring on the Huskies.

Matthew Knies

Matthew Knies is the Toronto Maple Leafs’ most recent top draft choice. He got selected in the 2nd round of the 2021 NHL draft. Knies registered 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points in 44 games for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL in his draft year.

The 19-year-old native of Phoenix, Arizona, is in his first year at the University of Minnesota. So far this season, Knies has registered four goals and three assists for seven points in ten games.

It is good to see all three prospects having good starts to their 2021-22 season. Hopefully, they can maintain their current pace and move up Toronto’s prospects ladder.