Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Update for April 2024
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a healthy prospect pool right now, and it's great to see.
Players like Joseph Woll, Matthew Knies, Nicholas Robertson and Bobby McMann are enjoying great rookie seasons in the NHL. As wonderful as that is, I want to focus on the prospects Toronto Maple Leafs fans don't see regularly.
The Leafs prospect pool is full of talented players in the AHL and junior hockey. With such talented players, the future looks bright for the team. As is the case with many prospects, they need time to develop. Some will develop faster than others, but that's okay. When the time is right, they will be given every opportunity to succeed.
In this article I will focus on prospects playing at the junior level, such as the OHL, WHL, and overseas.
The Leafs have many prospects just itching at the opportunity to make the jump to the next level. For some, the next level will be the Toronto Marlies in the AHL, but others, playing in the NHL could be reality very soon.
Playing for the Leafs next season is possible for a select few.
This article will showcase ten prospects, with three from the WHL, two from the OHL, two from the NCAA, and three from overseas.
Fans will surely have heard of some of these prospects, as that's part of what comes with being a top prospect for the Leafs. However, there may be a prospect or two that some fans have either never heard of or have forgotten about.
WHL Prospects
Brandon Lisowsky
Brandon Lisowsky is a 19-year-old left-winger from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. He is small (5'9, 181 Lbs), but very talented. Lisowsky has registered 42 goals and 38 assists for 80 points in 68 games for the Saskatoon Blades.
(All stats from eliteprospects.com)
Lisowsky is in his fourth and final season in the WHL. He is currently unsigned by the Leafs, who drafted him in the 7th round of the 2022 NHL draft with the 218th overall pick. It would be nice to see if Lisowsky could get signed and start playing for the Toronto Marlies next season. He is currently trying to help the Blades in their WHL playoff run.
Noah Chadwick
Noah Chadwick is an 18-year-old left-shooting defenseman from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He is 6'4, 201 Lbs, and offensively gifted. Chadwick has registered 12 goals and 44 assists for 56 points in 66 games for the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Chadwick has recently been called up to join the Toronto Marlies in the AHL but has yet to play a game. He is under contract with the Leafs until the end of the 2025-26 season for $851,667. The Leafs drafted Chadwick in the 6th round of the 2023 NHL draft with the 185th overall pick. Hopefully, his size and skill will help the Marlies in the AHL playoffs and next season.
(Salary cap information from capfriendly.com)
Fraser Minten
Fraser Minten is an 18-year-old left-shooting center from Vancouver, British Columbia. He is 6'2, 194 Lbs, with offensive upside. Minten has registered 22 goals and 26 assists for 48 points in 43 games split between the Kamloops Blazers and Saskatoon Blades.
Minten is currently helping the Blades in their 2024 WHL playoff run. He is under contract with the Leafs until the end of the 2025-26 season for $845,833. The Leafs drafted Minten in the 2nd round of the 2022 NHL draft with the 38th overall pick. He will get another long look from the Leafs during pre-season.
OHL Prospects
Easton Cowan
Easton Cowan is an 18-year-old left-shooting center/winger from Strathroy, Ontario. He is 5'11", 185 Lbs, with a ton of skill. Cowan finished the OHL regular season with 34 goals and 62 assists for 96 points in 54 games with the London Knights. He finished 7th in OHL points.
Cowan is currently helping the Knights in their 2024 OHL playoff run. He has five points through four playoff games. Cowan is under contract with the Leafs until the end of the 2025-26 season for $935,833. The Leafs drafted Cowan in the 1st round of the 2023 NHL draft with the 28th overall pick. He will likely get a long look at training camp and pre-season but could spend one more season in the OHL before turning pro.
Braeden Kressler
Braeden Kressler is a 21-year-old right-shooting center from Kitchener, Ontario. He is 5'9", 174 Lbs, with good playmaking skills. Kressler finished the OHL regular season with 28 goals and 46 assists for 74 points in 65 games split between the Flint Firebirds and Ottawa 67's.
Kressler is currently helping the 67's in their 2024 OHL playoff run. He has five points through six playoff games. He is under contract with the Leafs until the end of the 2025-26 season for $800,556. The Leafs signed Kressler to a three-year entry-level contract in 2021, but it didn't officially kick in until this season.
NCAA Prospects
Jacob Quillan
Jacob Quillan is a 22-year-old left-shooting center from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He is 6'0", 196 Lbs, with some offensive upside. Quillan finished his third year at Quinnipiac University with 17 goals and 29 assists for 46 points in 39 games for the Bobcats.
Quillan is currently playing for the Toronto Marlies after signing a two-year entry-level contract with the Leafs that kicks in next season. He is on loan to the Marlies for the rest of their season. He is under contract until the end of the 2025-26 season for $875,000.
Veeti Miettinen
Veeti Miettinen is a 22-year-old left-shooting right-winger from Espoo, Finland. He is 5'9", 172 Lbs, with a shot that continues to get better. Miettinen finished his fourth year at St. Cloud State University with 20 goals and 15 assists for 35 points in 37 games for the Huskies.
Miettinen is currently unsigned for next season. He seems to be developing nicely, so if the Leafs do sign him, he'll play for the Marlies next season. However, if he goes unsigned, he'll become an unrestricted free agent (UFA). The Leafs drafted Miettinen in the 6th round of the 2020 NHL draft with the 168th overall pick.
Overseas Prospects
Nikita Grebyonkin
Nikita Grebyonkin is a 22-year-old left-shooting winger from Serov, Russia. He is 6'2", 192 Lbs, and is showing a ton of improvement over last season. Grebyonkin registered 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points in 67 games for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL.
Grebyonkin is another prospect currently unsigned for next season. The Leafs drafted Grebyonkin in the 5th round of the 2022 NHL draft with the 135th overall pick. He has looked good in his second KHL season, so we'll see if he's impressed Leafs management enough to get signed to an entry-level contract (ELC).
Artur Akhtyamov
Artur Akhtyamov is a 22-year-old goaltender from Kazan, Russia. He is 6'1", 168 Lbs, and had great numbers this season. Akhtyamov posted an overall record of 16-12-4 with four shutouts in 36 games split between Neftyanik Almetievsk (VHL) and Ak Bars Kazan (KHL). He finished the season with a 2.22 GAA and a .924 SV% overall.
Akhtyamov is under contract until the end of the 2025-26 season for $851,667 a season. The Leafs drafted Akhtyamov in the 4th round of the 2020 NHL draft with the 106th overall pick. It will be interesting to see if he makes the jump to North America next season to play for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL.
Semyon Der-Argchintsev
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev is a 23-year-old right-shooting center from Moskva, Russia. He is 5'10", 172 Lbs, and is on loan to Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL. Der-Arguchintsev registered 17 goals and 17 assists for 34 points in 53 games. He has ten points in 13 playoff games.
manual
Der-Arguchintsev is not under contract, but the Leafs own his rights until the end of next season. The Leafs drafted Der-Arguchintsev in the 3rd round of the 2018 NHL draft with the 76th overall pick. After two seasons with the Toronto Marlies, Der-Arguchintsev decided to go back to Russia. He will play for Traktor Chelyabinsk next season.