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The Toronto Maple Leafs had successful results in back-to-back rookie games against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre this weekend, winning 4-3 in a shootout on Saturday and 5-4 on Sunday, with standout performances from many of their top prospects.
Defenseman Topi Niemela registered five assists in the pair of victories, while newcomer Cade Webber impressed with his shot-blocking ability and using his large 6’7” frame and wingspan in defensive situations. Up front, 2020 second-rounder had a strong performance on Sunday with a pair of tallies, but the show stealers were winger Easton Cowan and center Fraser Minten.
Easton Cowan puts the #Leafs prospects up 5-4 over Montreal late in the third period on the power play. pic.twitter.com/JxIfY1YOpl
Cowan scored in both games, including the game-winner on Sunday, and appears well-positioned to make his bid for a spot on the Leafs roster at training camp, while Minten had three points (1 goal, 2 assists) and the shootout winner on Saturday before leaving early in Sunday’s matinee after being tripped by Montreal first-rounder David Reinbacher and slamming into the boards.
The Leafs have yet to provide an update on the extent of Minten’s injury, but the hope is that is not serious and that it will prevent him from participating in camp or Toronto’s exhibition schedule.
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The Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander), but the focus of prospect development under former GM Kyle Dubas and the last few seasons under Director of Amateur Scouting Wes Clark seemed to be on skill players, while GM Brad Treliving has begun to transition with a focus on young players with size.
As we did last year, we will rank the club’s top prospects over the upcoming weeks based on their progress in either the NCAA, CHL, Europe, ECHL or AHL and their potential to make the Leafs roster and contribute in the future.
Youngsters like Bobby McMann, Joseph Woll, Nick Robertson, Pontus Holmberg, and top-rated Matthew Knies have graduated, but here is a list of players eligible for the list who have not played more than 40 NHL games and are 25 years old or younger:
#40 - Wyatt Schingoethe – C (Western Michigan – NCAA)
#39 - Zach Solow - RW (Toronto - AHL)
#38 - Semyon Kizimov - RW -(Yekaterinberg - KHL)
#37 - Robert Mastrosimone – LW. (Toronto – AHL)
#36 - Marko Sikic – RW (Sarnia – OHL, Newfoundland/Norfolk – ECHL)
#35 – Jacob Bengtsson – D (Boston College – NCAA)
#34 – Nicolas Mattinen – D (Straubling – Germany-DEL)
#33 – Matthew Barbolini – F (Miami(OH) – NCAA, Toronto – AHL)
#32 – Nathan Mayes – D (Spokane – WHL)
#31 – Braeden Kressler – C (Flint/Ottawa – OHL
#30 – Jacob Frasca – C (Barrie/ Sault Ste. Marie.- OHL)
#29 – Chas Sharpe – D (Mississauga – OHL, Toronto – AHL)
#28 – Hudson Malinoski – C (Providence – NCAA)
#27 – John Fusco – D (Dartmouth – NCAA
#26 – Semyon Der-Argushintsev (Chelyabinsk Traktor – KHL)
#25 – Ty Voit – RW – (Newfoundland, ECHL, Toronto – AHL
#24 – Mikko Kokkonen – D – (Toronto – AHL)
#23 – Matt Lahey – D – (Nanaimo – BCHL)
#22 – Sam McCue – LW (Peterborough/Owen Sound – OHL)
#21 – Victor Johansson – D (Leksands Jr. – Sweden)
#20 - Alexander Plesovskikh - LW (Yugra - VHL)
#19 - Miroslav Holinka – C (Trinec Ocelari HC U20 – Czechia)
#18 – Roni Hirvonen – C (Toronto – AHL)
#17 – Timofei Obvintsev – G (CSKA Red Army Jr. – MHL)
#16 – Vyacheslav Peksa – G (Newfoundland – ECHL)
#15 – Cade Webber – D (Boston University – NCAA)
#14 – Ryan Tverberg – C (Toronto – AHL)
#13 – William Villeneuve – D (Toronto - AHL)
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a dozen picks in the 2020 NHL Draft and chose primarily to select players either bound for four years in the NCAA or a longer development track in Europe. The Leafs selected only one player from the CHL and that was defenseman William Villeneuve. Villeneuve was selected in the fourth round (122nd overall) and was considered a bit of a project by former Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley, in spite of the impressive numbers posted in the QMJHL in his draft year.
After being selected second overall in the 2018 QMJHL Draft, the young right-hander played for Saint John as a 16-year-old and had a difficult time adjusting to junior hockey, going -52 in his rookie season. Things were much better for him in his sophomore campaign) as he led the QMJHL in defensive scoring with 58 points (9 goals, 49 assists) in 64 games and was nominated for the league’s top blueliner of the year.
In 2020-21, Villeneuve got some game experience with the QMJHL playing a partial schedule due to COVID, with 20 points (3 goals, 17 assists) in 33 games for the Sea Dogs and played two games for the AHL Toronto Marlies on an amateur tryout.
After signing a three-year, entry-level contract in September 2021, Villeneuve had a bit of a metamorphosis, posting excellent offensive numbers (8 goals, 48 assists in 64 games) playing major minutes, but also displaying a dramatic improvement in his own zone, with a +60 plus/minus rating during the regular season. He capped off an impressive campaign by registering two assists in a 6-3 victory over Hamilton in the Memorial Cup Final.
In his first year as a professional, Villeneuve understandably had some growing pains transitioning from junior hockey, but he put up good numbers offensively (3 goals, 22 assists in 54 games), and showed an ability to lug the puck up the ice. The 22-year-old put up nearly identical numbers in his second professional campaign (2 goals, 23 assists in 54 games) under new head coach John Gruden.
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