Ilya Mikheyev
Ilya Mikheyev only played 53 games last season but had his most productive season.
He recorded 21 goals and 11 assists for 32 points. Mikheyev averaged 15:16 of ice time and was a regular on Toronto’s penalty kill.
The 27-year-old Russian scored four short-handed goals last season. I think Mikheyev has another level he can get to, but he didn’t find it in Toronto.
Mikheyev registered four points in the 2022 NHL playoffs. In the previous 12 playoff games he took part in, Mikheyev registered zero points.
He adapted to the physicality of the playoffs and posted 18 hits. The series against Tampa was his most productive playoff performance. His ice time increased slightly from the regular season up to 16:46.
Mikheyev spent the most minutes last year playing along side David Kampf and Pierre Engvall. Whenever he was on the ice with Kampf, the Leafs had a 57% expected goals rating. This line was so effective playing against incredibly tough competition that a fair bit of the Leafs success last year should be credited to them.
For example, as previously mentioned, at home, where the Leafs could use the Kampf line to get the Matthews line away from the other team’s top line, the Leafs won close to 80% of the available points.
Only missing 30 games prevents an A grade.