The Toronto Maple Leafs have made a surprising call-up, in bringing Semyon Der-Arguchintsev up from the Toronto Marlies.
It’s surprising, in part, because there’s not an obvious fit for Der-Arguchintsev in the Toronto Maple Leafs line-up.
Though of course, that’s not the only reason that they recall players, sometimes it’s a chance to train with NHL players and earn a day or two on an NHL pay cheque as just reward for good form.
Certainly, Der-Arguchintsev has been looking great for the Toronto Marlies this year and given his waiver-exempt status, he’s an easy and safe call-up to make.
Will the Toronto Maple Leafs Give Him Game Time?
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev is yet another pick from the 2018 draft that the Leafs have promoted to the NHL.
Taken in the 3rd round, 76th overall, SDA was the youngest player in his draft, and has been a bit of a project over the years. A smallish, pass-first centre with incredible offensive talent, SDA is finally living up to his potential, posting nearly a point per game in the AHL this season before getting a chance to play in the Show.
It’s not clear where he fits in an NHL lineup, but the Leafs are not beholden to traditional top-six/bottom-six lineups, so I’m sure they’ll find someone where he can be useful. This team could definitely use an infusion of offense, with so many of their non-star players being more the reliable, low-event, strong-defender types.
Der-Arguchintsev is a bit of a surprise call-up, as I had the expectation that Alex Steeves would be rewarded for his slightly stronger point-scoring this year and given he’s already made his NHL debut, there’s a certain logic.
His (SDA) Marlies head coach waxed effusively about his improvements last season, so it’s not at all to say that this isn’t off the back of a lot of hard work.
Indeed, this is yet another of those Kyle Dubas type draft picks that looks like it may be about to pay off; at least in terms of being another to play an NHL game.
The 2018 Draft is turning into a windfall for the Toronto Maple Leafs who already use Rasmus Sandin as a regular, used Sean Durzi to acquire Jake Muzzin, and have debuted Philip Kral, Mac Hollowell and Pontus Holmberg already this year.
When SDA makes his NHL debut, he will be the fourth member of the Leafs 2018 draft class to make his NHL debut this season, and the sixth out of nine picks to play in the NHL.