The Toronto Maple Leafs Have No Players at World Juniors

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a short break for the holidays.

For some clubs, it meant saying goodbye and wishing their players or prospects luck as they linked up with their national team in Halifax, Nova Scotia or Moncton, New Brunswick. Not so for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

For the Leafs, the days off were just that. They don’t have any players in the 2022-23 World Junior Championships (WJC).

Some may be concerned that there is no one from the Maple Leafs organization playing in the tournament. Others believe that it’s nothing to worry about. We’ll frame both arguments.

It’s Time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to Panic

The Maple Leafs may have felt really good about some of their young prospects but without seeing their talent acknowledged by national teams, it may sow some doubt. There is a level of confidence required to be successful in professional sports. It’s why sports psychologists are brought into locker rooms. Maintaining a player’s confidence is important to their development.

The opportunity to play in the WJC is also helpful for individual growth. The players access new coaches and trainers, hearing different voices, and getting high-end advice. They play alongside the best young athletes in the sport, giving them greater competition. There is significant value in each participant gaining this high-level experience.

Matthews Knies and Ty Voit are stellar prospects for the Leafs. Both were invited to the 2022 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp back in June. Voit didn’t make the team and oddly didn’t get another invitation to the winter camp. Knies played for the United States in the summer but turned 20 in October, making him ineligible for this year’s tournament.

It’s could be somewhat worrisome that Fraser Minten didn’t make Team Canada, but his training camp injury most likely was the reason for that.  Also, Team Canada has a really strong team this year with several returnees.

Minten was the Maple Leafs 2022 second-round pick, coming off the board at 38th-overall. Minten isn’t outplaying his entire league, like Voit in the OHL, but he is having a good season. Minen plays for the Kamloops Blazers in the WHL. Over his first 22 games of the campaign, he has registered 13 goals and 15 assists.

The Maple Leafs should look closely at their farm system. They cannot be satisfied that none of their youngest prospects are headed to the WJC.

Toronto Maple Leafs Nothing to Worry About

While playing Devils’ Advocate can be fun, there really is nothing to worry about. The Toronto Maple Leafs have a very strong farm system for a team that hasn’t drafted high in five years, and which routinely trades their first round picks.

Also, this tournament only includes players drafted in the last two years, years in which the Leafs did not have a first round pick.

The Leafs would like to get a closer look at some of their prospects, there’s no reason for them to panic about not having them at this annual international showcase. They should be confident with the players they have in the system.

Voit and Minten really should be on their respective teams,

Topi Niemela, the Leafs third-round selection in 2020, played for Finland in this past summer’s World Juniors. Like Knies, the defenseman is ineligible to play in the current tournament because he turned 20 in March. Niemela is having a solid season with Karpat in the Finish Liiga. In 30 games, he’s picked up eight points, evenly split between goals and assists.

Roni Hirvonen is in the same position. The center represented Finland alongside Niemela in the summer. In fact, he was the group’s captain. Now 20, Hirvonen’s primary focus is his club team, HIFK in Liiga.

There are multiple other Leafs prospects, including Rodion Amirov, who have played in the tournament back when they were eligible. There’s no reason for the Maple Leafs to overreact or give extra credence to having representation in the WJC.

The Leafs scouts will still be busy at the tournament. They will be evaluating draft eligible players, trying to determine who to use their picks on and looking at other teams’ players in case they ever want to try and swing a trade. Even without a Leafs prospect in Halifax and Moncton, there’s still plenty to watch and enjoy.