Toronto Maple Leafs: High Expectations For Prospects at World Juniors

The rearranged World Juniors give everyone a chance to get a dose of hockey this summer, not in the least Toronto Maple Leafs fans who’ll have high expectations.

With three players headed to the World Juniors, Toronto Maple Leafs fans aren’t exactly spoiled for choice in terms of who to focus on, though one name certainly stands out.

Of course, we’re talking about Matthew Knies, who’ll likely be starring in the United States top-six when they kick off their campaign versus Germany.

With such hype around him and the potential for Knies to be a bit of a wildcard addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs line-up as they near the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it’s understandable to have eyes on him.

Who Else Is Representing the Toronto Maple Leafs?

Beyond Matthew Knies, the  Leafs only have two other players headed to Edmonton for this summer’s World Juniors.

Those two names will both be appearing for Finland, both likely in high-profile roles, with Topi Niemelä likely one of their top-pairing defensemen and Roni Hirvonen likely to be on the wing in the top-six as they open against Latvia.

It’s fair to suggest that the Leafs prospect pool is lacking a star power, but players like knies, Hirvonen and Niemela make it much better than it should be for a team that hasn’t picked in the top ten in the last six drafts.

Matthew Knies is seemingly the most likely to make the Leafs  in the short-term, but that doesn’t mean that Niemelä and Hirvonen can’t aspire to making the NHL.

Topi Niemelä had an impressive year with Kärpät in the Finnish Liiga; he ranked eighth among defensemen in points (10 goals and 22 assists). Notably though, every defensemen ahead of him on that list was older.

He saw time on their penalty kill and on the powerplay, suggesting that he is certainly well-rounded and able to adapt to the different roles, despite his youth and the fact he’s playing against men.

Perhaps the stand-out of Roni Hirvonen’s performances is the fact that, per EliteProspects, in 11 games with the Finnish Under 20s team last season, he scored 12 goals and added a further 3 assists for 15 points; statistically that shows through.

Additionally, he was able to notch roughly a point every second game in the Finnish Liiga also; again despite playing against much older competition.

The fact he was picked in the second round back at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft points to the Toronto Maple Leafs seeing something in him.

The ceiling for Hirvonen with the Maple Leafs might very well cap out at the third line, but if he can offer anything close to what Pierre Engvall does, while on a cheaper deal, the Leafs will be laughing.

Knies is being viewed as a future top-six power forward, though it still remains to be seen when he eventually leaves college hockey behind whether he can stand-out in the NHL.

Finally, Niemelä is probably the hardest to predict. Right now, there is already a log-jam of defensemen in the line-up, though the fact he shoots right might very well smooth his path to the Leafs.

In fact, with Justin Holl’s deal expiring this coming summer, there is certainly going to be places up for grab on that side of the Toronto Maple Leafs defense.

All three should be interesting to watch at this year’s World Juniors, not least because it’s individually each their last shot at the gold.