5. Topi Niemela
Age: 22
Height/Weight: 6'0",180 LBS.
Position:: Defense
Shoots: Right
Draft: 3rd round, 64th overall, 2020
Topi Niemela has been one of the Toronto Maple Leafs top prospects ever since he was first drafted and then went on to win the best defenseman at the World Juniors award.
Niemela is an intelligent, all-round puck mover who isn't huge and doesn't excel really at any single aspect of the game....much like the recently traded Timothy Liljegren. Not only did the Leafs bail on Liljegren, but they also seem to have bailed on Niemela, who did not get into a pre-season game until the pre-season was almost over.
There was a real thought that Niemela might make the Leafs this year, or at least get called up, but he doesn't appear to be in their plans, even after a very successful first season in the AHL.
I previously thought that Niemela would be a top-four option for the Leafs eventually, with a good shot at perhaps being a star in the Gustav Forsling style, but now I am not even sure he fits into the Leafs plans at all.
Niemela is a solid player who will for sure eventually play games in the NHL, but whether those games will be with the Leafs is anyone's guess. After how they treated Liljegren, I wouldn't expect them to suddenly start playing Niemela.
As we have seen, good skating and smart, puck moving players who don't hit or score a lot have a hard time getting noticed in the NHL, even when they put up good numbers. At this point, Niemela seems in danger of falling into the trap that Travis Dermott and Timothy Liljegren fell into before him.
Basically, it doesn't pay to be an effective, but boring player sometimes in the NHL. That said, I'm still ranking him fairly high because he's clearly talented and still has solid potential to be an above average NHL defenseman.