How will Fraser Minten fit into the Toronto Maple Leafs plans this season?

Prior to the 2024-25 NHL season, it was believed that Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten had a long yet legitimate shot at making the team out of training camp. After all, Minten performed well enough in last year’s preseason to earn himself a brief four-game cameo with Toronto before he was sent back to juniors.

Now with one more year of experience under his belt, Minten appeared ready to challenge for a full-time gig with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

However, an ill-timed high-ankle sprain injury during a game against Montreal in the Prospect’s Showdown prior to the start of training camp all but ended his hopes in being part of the Opening Night Leafs lineup.

It had taken a while for Minten to recover from the ailment, as is usually the case for high-ankle sprains. Nevertheless, he has recently returned to ice to resume hockey activities with developmental staff with hopes to get his season back into gear.

How will Fraser Minten fit into the Toronto Maple Leafs plans this season?

That brings up the question, with now the NHL regular season already underway and the Maple Leafs off to a solid start, where does Minten fit into the team’s plans going forward?

First and foremost, Minten will need to get himself back up to speed in the coming weeks after spending almost a month on the sidelines. Without a doubt, he will likely begin his season with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL to continue the growth and development of his game.

Over the course of the season, the Maple Leafs will likely have their fair share of bumps and bruises. At which point if Minten had maintained a high level of play with the Marlies, there is a high possibility that he would get the call up to the Leafs before the 2024-25 NHL season is complete.

So where would he fit in when he does get the promotion? Minten would likely find himself in the bottom-six, centering either the third or fourth line. The Leafs currently have a glaring hole at centre ice, and there is at least a chance that Minten could earn that job at some point this season.

But whatever the Maple Leafs end up deciding on, they will likely be focusing on exploiting his offensive capabilities to helping bolster their scoring potential as a result. After all, Minten has shown to be at least a point-per-game player in his last two seasons in juniors. Last year, he put up 22 goals, 26 assists for 48 points split between the Kamloops Blazers and Saskatoon Blades. In addition, he added another 8 goals and 14 points in 16 games in the WHL playoffs. (All stats from hockeydb.com)

But as of now, Minten’s debut this season in the NHL will have to wait until the time is right, as he focuses on further advancing his game in preparation for his eventual callup.