Grading The Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Pool

Goaltenders

Grade: B-

Notable Players: Dennis Hildeby, Artur Akhtyamov, Vyacheslav Peksa, Timofei Obvintsev

The Leafs goaltending prospects are similar to the forward group in that there are no widely accepted “elite” tier prospects but a handful of good ones.

Arguably the best and highest potential one is 22 year old Dennis Hildeby.

He wasn’t a high profile player earlier in his career which lead to him being drafted in the fourth round at the 2022 Draft when he was less than two months from turning 21. Since then, he has had a meteoric rise in his short time in the system and took over the starting job with the Toronto Marlies in his first season in North America.

He has a very intriguing physical profile fitting the new age size of a goaltender at 6-7. It’s very plausible that he sees games as early as this upcoming season but with both Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz having contracts for the next two years, his path to a full-time NHL job seems a little muddy.

The next three are Russian goalkeepers, following with the trends in recent years. Akhtyamov and Peksa are the two who are most seasoned and who have been in the organization the longest having been drafted in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Akhtyamov is 22 and after having just had a breakout year where he played 17 games in the KHL and held a .921 SV% good for sixth amongst U-23 netminders. He also captured the second tier VHL championship and the best goaltender award. 

Peksa, who after playing the most games amongst goaltenders in the MHL in 2021-22 and sat third with a .936 SV%, adjusted well to the VHL the following year. There, he immediately took over the starters role and sat fourth amongst U-21 goalies with a .921 SV%.

He came over to North America this past season, as arguably the team's top goalie prospect and played primarily with the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers as a third-string and struggled with an .890 SV%. It is unclear where he will fit into the fold this upcoming season with six goalies under contract but hopefully he can at least get an increased role with the Leafs’ new ECHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones.

The newest goalie in the Leafs’ pool is 2024 Draftee, 19-year-old Timofei Obvintsev. He played well in the CSKA Moscow system for their MHL team but currently seems to be stuck in a three-way goaltending tandem.

I would assume he follows in the footsteps of Akhtyamov and Peksa and spends the next few seasons developing and rising the ranks. Given the current situation between the pipes in Toronto, I would anticipate we will not see him in North America for at least a couple seasons barring major shifts in the depth chart. For right now and as is the case with most prospects, he is a work in progress.

Again, the pool lacks a true high-end netminder but both Hildeby and Akhtyamov seem like they have the potential to be solid NHL goaltenders, likely in more of a 1A/1B tandem type of role.

Peksa played great in Russia and although he struggled last season, it’s hard to judge given the track record and considering it was his first North American season. The true potential for Obvintsev is yet to be determined but the early signs look somewhat positive for his NHL prospects.( Stats and Information Via EliteProspects.com).

Overall: C+

As I said numerous times, the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect pool is lacking in true high-end talent. No player currently looks to have even a really good chance at being a top-line player or surefire starting goalie. The players with the possibility of having meaningful impact are few and far between where most of the players in the pool look to be future depth pieces.

Being realistic I think there are maybe 10 players who look poised to play NHL games which is not really very good, but considering how long the Leafs have been contending, it's about the best you could hope for.