Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects Update: Voit, Knies and Minten

The Toronto Maple Leafs have quite a few prospects that are having strong seasons.

Now that we are into December, it’s a good time to check on the players in Toronto’s pipeline.

The Leafs have used more prospects this season that anyone expected. Nick Robertson made the team out of camp, but had trouble sticking because of the team’s depth.

Additionally, Pontus Holmberg, Mac Hollowell, Semyon Der-Arguchintsov, and Philip Kral have all made their NHL debuts so far this season.  I don’t think anyone foresaw a situation were one of the NHL’s top teams was breaking in five different prospects, but the injuries have been pretty significant for the Leafs to date this season.

As for their prospects not in the NHL, the majority have played at least 15 games or more, which might not be a good sample size for statistical analysis, but does give us a good idea of how their season are going so far.

This article will focus on three of the Toronto Maple Leafs prospects, Ty Voit, Matthew Knies, and Fraser Minten.

All three players are off to a good start in their 2022-23 season in their respective leagues. The future looks promising for all three. They might not be ready for the NHL yet, but they’re close. Matthew Knies is probably the closest to making the NHL out of the three players mentioned in this article.

Hopefully, all three players will pull the blue and white Toronto Maple Leafs jersey over their heads someday. Until then, we watch them work their way up and wait for their opportunity. They are already proving that Toronto has some good players in its prospect pipeline.

Matthew Knies

Matthew Knies is a 20-year-old left-winger playing in the NCAA.

He is 6’3, 209 Lbs power forward. Knies is not afraid to hit and battle for pucks.

The potential to be a star in the NHL is there. Fans could see him play for the Toronto Maple Leafs as soon as this season, although a rookie breaking into the NHL on one of the best teams after the trade deadline is possibly a little far fetched, but he’s so good there is a chance it actually happens.

Knies was the Leafs second best prospect entering this season, and if Nick Robertson sticks in the NHL, that makes him the teams Top Prospect.

There is a ton of speculation that Knies will join the Maple Leafs once his NCAA season finishes, as fans of the team salivate at the possibility of a Tkachuk-style power-forward joining the team.

Let’s consider the rarity of those players, however and keep expectations somewhat in check.  Knies is an extremely exciting prospect, but he’s no blue-chipper.

Still, the Toronto Maple Leafs are overdue in finding a star player outside the top of the draft, and this may be their best chance at doing it.

He is in his second year at the University of Minnesota and has 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points in 18 games. Last season he had 33 points in 33 games.

Fraser Minten

Fraser Minten was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the 2022 NHL draft with the 38th overall pick.

He instantly became the Leafs sixth best prospect.

Minten actually had a strong  training camp before being injured, and this injury seems to have led to him being left off the Team Canada roster for this year’s World Juniors, setting up a situation where the Leafs might not have any players in the tournament.

The 6’2, 192 Lbs center is 18 years old and playing in his third season with Kamloops in the WHL.

The Leafs drafted him after he registered 55 points in 67 games last season. He currently has 22 points in 16 games this season and is projected to finish with 84 points.

Fans will likely not see Minten playing for the Maple Leafs for a couple more seasons, but he is a bright spot in Toronto’s future, as he fits in with the team’s mandate to draft intelligent, coachable kids who brim with “hockey sense.”

This is paying off already, as you can see with how many members of the 2018 class are now getting a taste of the NHL. 

Kyle Dubas and his team have only been at the helm long enough for their first draft to start to show signs of success.  When you don’t have any top ten picks, you have to wait about five years before you really know what you have.

So far so good.  This is just a taste of what the Leafs have to offer, but even in just the three players mentioned here, the future is obviously bright.