With the 2024 NHL Draft and development camps in the rearview mirror, the time has come to reassess the Leafs’ pipeline of up-and-coming players. This marks the beginning of TheLeafsNation’s offseason series profiling the top prospects in the Maple Leafs’ organization, where we will be counting down the top 20 young players in the system starting Monday, but we kick things off today with a handful of players who just missed cracking the list. Each player listed below received at least one vote but failed to make the final cut.
The TLN Maple Leafs prospect rankings were compiled by a panel of seven TLN writers, each ranking our top 20 prospects to form a consensus group ranking. Rather than hard and fast limits on age or NHL games played to determine “prospect” eligibility, our group decided on a more nuanced approach to include any reasonably young player who is either under contract with the Leafs or on the club’s reserve list, who has not yet established himself as a full-time NHLer.
Braeden Kressler | C/W | Ottawa (OHL)
5’9″ | 174 lbs | Shoots: R | Undrafted free agent signing in 2021
Kressler signed an entry-level contract with the Leafs back in the fall of 2021 on the heels of an impressive showing at the team’s summer development camp and rookie tournament after going undrafted following the cancellation of the 2020-21 OHL season. Though he has been on the radar for a few years now, injuries have hampered Kressler’s development at the junior level, and the 2024-25 season will be crucial in determining his future as a pro.
After being limited to just 28 games with the Flint Firebirds in 2021-22 and 47 the following season, Kressler was finally able to put in a (mostly) full OHL campaign as an overaged player in 2023-24. The diminutive forward tallied 15 goals and 22 assists in 33 games with the Firebirds before he was dealt to the Ottawa 67s, where he added 13 goals and 24 assists in 32 games. Kressler also made some noise in the postseason, notching six goals and a pair of helpers in 10 games before Ottawa was eliminated in the second round by the Oshawa Generals.
Even as an overager in the OHL, Kressler’s numbers don’t exactly jump off the page, but his well-rounded, tenacious style of play still leaves reason to believe that he can be an impactful player at the pro level. He doesn’t possess standout physical attributes, but he has a motor that is always running, he is a technically sound skater who can cause problems with his speed, and he takes great pride in being a responsible defensive presence. Though the raw skills may lag behind a bit, Kressler is an intelligent player with enough vision and shooting talent to help facilitate offence in a depth role with his willingness to get to the dirty areas and his ability to make plays under pressure.
Coming off of his best season in the junior ranks, Kressler is expected to compete for an AHL depth role with the Marlies in 2024-25, but don’t be surprised if his energetic two-way game continues to earn him favour in the organization.
#LeafsForever prospect Braeden Kressler makes a nice move to the net and tucks it backhand for his 2nd goal of the game. It’s his 9th goal and 19th point in 13 OHL games.
He has 19 points in total, and is on a 7 game multi-point streak with 15 points in that span. pic.twitter.com/gyIrmJLDpw
— More like Nikita GREATbyonkin (@brigstew86) November 9, 2023
Hudson Malinoski | C/W | Providence (NCAA)
6’1″ | 174 lbs | Shoots: L | Drafted 2023 round 5, 153rd overall
Malinoski landed the #19 spot in last summer’s TLN prospect rankings, but despite a solid freshman season for Providence College, he was ever so slightly bumped off of this year’s list due to the addition of some new talent to the system and a lack of graduates from last year’s list.
Malinoski’s story has been well-documented, but he has done well to make up for lost development time. Fresh of being drafted by the Leafs in the fifth round of the 2023 draft after posting 16 goals and 53 assists in 44 games with the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL, Malinoski stepped into a prominent role for Providence as a freshman a season ago. He finished the season tied for fourth in team scoring with nine goals and nine assists in 35 games, behind a pair of seniors in Nick Poisson and Penguins prospect Chase Yoder, as well as fellow freshman Tanner Adams.
As something of a late bloomer, Malinoski has a projectable frame but needs to continue adding muscle and gaining strength to accentuate the power elements of his game. He is a player who shows engagement in all three zones, he is a consistent force on the forecheck, and he attacks open space in the offensive zone to get into shooting areas. While his quick and heavy release is a standout attribute, Malinoski is also adept at creating open lanes and finding teammates in advantageous areas with passes through layers of coverage. He needs to continue improving his overall skating ability, and added muscle should help with his contact balance as he progresses. Malinoski can also fall victim to slow reads from time to time, but added experience will lead to improved scanning and processing of the play around him.
Hudson Malinoski (No. 9) made his NCAA debut over the weekend against Michigan. He tallied a goal and an assist in the second half of the back-to-back.
Totals (NCAA): 2 GP, 1 G, 2 PTS, 37.0% FOW pic.twitter.com/cgNwR3w71B
— Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) October 10, 2023
Malinoski is set to return to Providence for his sophomore season, and he is forecasted for an even larger role than last season, with a handful of the Friars’ top players from a year ago moving on. The Leafs have the benefit of time when it comes to deciding whether or not he is worthy of a pro contract, but this coming season could go a long way toward establishing his place in the organization’s future plans.
Victor Johansson | D | Leksands (J20 Nationell)
6’1″ | 159 lbs | Shoots: L | Drafted 2024 round 4, 120th overall
A few eyebrows were raised when the Leafs called Victor Johansson’s name in the fourth round of the 2024 draft. He was nowhere to be found on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of draft-eligible skaters, but if Johansson pans out, it won’t be the first time that legendary Swedish scout Thommie Bergman and the rest of the Leafs’ staff have pulled a diamond in the rough out of Sweden.
Johansson split last season between Leksands’ U18 and U20 teams, and his offensive totals of two goals and eight assists across 42 games likely helped him fly under the radar. The fact that he was listed at just 143 pounds on draft day, despite standing 6’1″, didn’t help his case either.
There is plenty of room for Johansson to grow physically, and he is now listed at 159 lbs, but he will have no shortage of experience around him to lean on as he works toward the NHL. Victor is the youngest of three brothers to be drafted into the NHL – Anton was selected by the Red Wings in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, Simon was chosen by the Minnesota Wild in the fifth round back in 2018, and he has spent the last two seasons playing for their AHL affiliate in Iowa. Their father, Thomas, also spent several years playing in Sweden’s top professional league, and their cousin is Alex Wennberg, who just signed a lucrative free agent deal with the San Jose Sharks this offseason.
Various injuries in his teen years limited Johansson’s time in the gym and impacted his ability to add muscle, but that hasn’t deterred him from trying to establish himself as a physical defensive presence. The Johansson brothers grew up idolizing the likes of Niklas Kronwall, and after a move into the Leksands system, Johansson has rededicated himself as a defence-first player who prides himself on being difficult to play against. He has impressive mobility, closes gaps effectively in defensive transition, and moves the puck efficiently out of his own zone, but he isn’t likely to grow into a dynamic offensive presence from the back end.
The selection of Johansson is certainly a long-term play from the Leafs, but he has the attributes and pedigree to grow into a modern-day defensive blueliner down the road. For now, Johansson will return to Leksands’ U20 club to begin the 2024-25 season, but he could earn a look with their senior team throughout the season.
Joe Miller | C/W | Harvard (NCAA)
5’10” | 165 lbs | Shoots: R | Drafted 2020 round 6, 180th overall
As a sixth-round pick back in 2020, Joe Miller has been on the periphery of the Leafs’ prospect discussion for a number of years but has struggled to break through and establish himself as a viable NHL candidate. A glance at his numbers from a year ago might indicate that he has stagnated a bit, but a deeper look tells a more encouraging story.
Miller compiled 13 goals and 15 assists in 33 games as a freshman in 2022-23 and nearly replicated that output with 13 goals and 14 assists in 32 games last season. Though his overall numbers didn’t take the leap many would correlate with a step forward in development, context is important. As a freshman, Miller was a complementary offensive piece who often found himself playing with high-end talent. With Sean Farrell, Alex Laferriere, Matt Coronato, John Farinacci, and Henry Thrun moving onto the pro ranks following the 2022-23 season, Miller was the only player among that team’s top-six scorers to return last season. He went on to lead Harvard in scoring while taking on much more of the offensive load with less help around him.
The biggest knock on Miller has always been his lack of size and strength, but his skating and ability to weave through open space have helped him lean into that identity. He is a shifty player who generates speeds through crossovers, and he scans the ice effectively while carrying the puck, allowing him to identify and execute plays in stride. He is a creative passer who can hold defenders with his eyes or quick head fakes, showing an ability to create offensive chances through deception. Miller is more of a playmaker, but he is also capable of finishing plays himself. He has a quick release as well as an accurate one-timer on his off-wing, and he has slick hands to beat defenders and goaltenders one-on-one.
Miller nets his second and the Crimson trail by one 👀
📺https://t.co/RHv1kUyIbI
🌎https://t.co/tJ3yfN1Vc9
📊https://t.co/Kg9CGvyqop#GoCrimson | #OneCrimson pic.twitter.com/G9nm1nOS5g— Harvard Men’s Hockey (@HarvardMHockey) March 16, 2024
The Leafs always knew that Miller would be a long-term project, and he has shown enough signs of growth to remain in the conversation for an entry-level contract at some point. He also has a fan in the front office in assistant GM Ryan Hardy, who was with the Chicago Steel when Miller played his junior hockey there.
Nathan Mayes | D | Spokane (WHL)
6’4″ | 194 lbs | Shoots: L | Drafted 2024 round 7, 225th overall
The Leafs made Nathan Mayes the final pick of the 2024 draft, earning him the label of “Mr. Irrelevant,” but he has no intentions of letting that moniker define his career. With his bruising style of play and ferocious nature on the ice, he has already made his presence known to countless opponents in the WHL.
Mayes didn’t light up the scoresheet in his draft year, notching a goal and 15 assists in 68 games for the Spokane Chiefs, but he lit up his fair share of opponents with big hits. Physicality is the hallmark of his game, whether it be angling an oncoming attacker into the boards and eliminating him with a check, outmuscling an opponent to come up with a contested puck along the wall, or protecting the front of his own net with good balance and body positioning. He already has the size and strength to overpower many of his peers at the junior level, but he will have to improve his reads and puck skills as that becomes less of an advantage for him in the coming years. Mayes can snap a breakout pass when provided with time and space, but his overall game lacks creativity, and his execution isn’t always clean.
Like any late-round pick, Mayes is a long-term project for the Leafs, but he already has a leg up with his size and a projectable physical game. As he continues to develop, the focus will be on improving his processing speed and handling skills so that he can take better advantage of his defensive ability and help tilt the ice in his team’s favour more consistently. Look for Mayes to take on a larger role with the Chiefs this coming season.
First goal of the game 🤝 first career @TheWHL goal for Nathan Mayes!#GoChiefsGo pic.twitter.com/DA3i348hOf
— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) February 10, 2024
Timofei Obvintsev | G | Krasnaya Armiya Moskva (MHL)
6’4″ | 179 lbs | Catches: L | Drafted 2024 round 5, 157th overall
For the third time in the last five drafts, the Leafs went back to the Russian goaltending well with their selection of overager Timofei Obvintsev in the fifth round this past June. The jury is still out on 2020 fourth-rounder Artur Akhtyamov and 2021 sixth-round pick Vyacheslav Peksa, but Akhtyamov, in particular, has shown promising signs of developing into an NHL netminder, and the Leafs are hoping for the same from Obvintsev.
Obvintsev saw limited action with CSKA Moskva’s junior team in the MHL but put up an impressive .921 SV% and a 2.96 GAA despite a record of 7-7-0 in just 16 appearances. He also got into a pair of playoff games but didn’t fare quite as well, posting a 3.07 GAA and a .908 SV% while taking the loss in both outings.
A bit of an unorthodox goaltender by today’s standards, Obvintsev leans heavily on his size and athleticism to react to the play unfolding around him rather than relying on a textbook positioning base. That is an area that he will have to refine as he progresses toward the KHL and perhaps beyond, but he will have to do so while staying true to what has made him successful to this point. He is an aggressive goaltender who likes to attack shooters, but he has quick feet in the crease that allow him to adjust and reset when the threat changes. His athletic and reactive nature also allows him to stick with plays and make difficult secondary saves, but improved positioning and scanning should lead to fewer of those secondary chances and difficult reactionary stops.
After landing spot duty in the MHL in his draft year, mostly due to injuries higher up the depth chart, Obvintsev’s next step is carving out a regular role for his junior club, with an eye towards the VHL.
Statistics from EliteProspects.com
