Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects Needing to be Signed in 2023
The Toronto Maple Leafs currently have three prospects that are unsigned with a deadline for signing in 2023. One of them is playing in the NCAA, while the other two are playing Finland.
Kalle Loponen
Kalle Loponen was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL draft. They drafted him with the 204th overall pick. Loponen is a 5’11, 187 lbs right shooting defenseman from Hameenlinna, Finland.
He is currently playing with KooKoo in Liiga and has four points in 32 games. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Loponen spent the 2019-20 season playing for the Sudbury Wolves in the OHL. He had 24 points in 56 games that season.
The deadline for signing Loponen is June 1st, 2023. Plenty of time for Toronto to figure out what he can provide to the team.
Mikko Kokkonen
Mikko Kokkonen was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2019 NHL draft. He was selected with the 84th overall pick in that draft. Kokkonen is a 5’11, 194 lbs left shooting defenseman from Mikkeli, Finland.
Kokkonen is currently playing for the Lahden Pelicans in Liiga. He has eight points (all assists) in 28 games. He played 11 games for the Toronto Marlies last season and recorded one goal and six assists for seven points.
The deadline for Kokkonen to be signed by Toronto is June 1st, 2023.
Nicholas Abruzzese
Nicholas Abruzzese was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL draft. Toronto selected him with the 124th overall pick. Abruzzese is a 5’9″ 161 lbs centre from State Hill, New York, USA.
He is currently playing in his third year at Harvard University and is the team’s captain. Abruzzese has 15 points in 11 games so far this season. He did not play last season due to the pandemic, but in the 2019-20 season, Abruzzese recorded 44 points in 31 games.
The deadline for Abruzzese to be signed is August 15th, 2023.