Throughout the summer, The Leafs Nation and the rest of our comrades at The Nation Network have examined each NHL’s team prospect pools and things are certainly beginning to look up for the Toronto Maple Leafs after some barren years. This is a function of going all-in, with the Maple Leafs using their first-round pick as an effective bargaining chip for a rental at the trade deadline but under Wes Clark’ supervision and some influence from Brad Treliving, Toronto has held onto its past two first-rounders.
It appears slowly but surely the Maple Leafs are replenishing their pool. Easton Cowan represented excellent return on value with the No. 28 pick in 2013, winning OHL MVP and OHL playoff MVP honours last season as a member of the OHL’s London Knights. Cowan has a legitimate chance to stay on the NHL roster for the 2024-25 campaign and he’s joined by Fraser Minten, who earned a four-game NHL stint after a terrific training camp last fall.
Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis ranked every team’s prospect pool this summer and here’s his assessment of the Maple Leafs’ strengths:
There’s a mindset in hockey that you can find bottom-six depth players via free agency. But having a few homegrown options you can develop out of an entry-level contract is just as good, if not better. The Leafs have an abundance of that, starting with Fraser Minten, the team’s second-best prospect. With him, you can see a guy who battles so hard and does so many things well, and throwing him in the bottom six is exactly what will allow him to thrive. I like Ryan Tverberg for a similar role, although with a lesser impact. Nikita Grebenkin could give the team some solid third-line scoring, while Nicholas Moldenhauer, Roni Hirvonen and Jacob Quillan have their own unique talents that would make them desirable in those roles.
Cowan and Minten could very well kickstart the next generation of Maple Leafs, with Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner firmly graduated from young core to the pillars of the franchise. Minten’s defensive acumen, quite confidence and ability to shadow top-line offensive talents will be his ticket to the NHL, while Cowan has legitimate top-six potential due to his scoring ability and tenacity in the offensive third. I’m personally very high on Moldenhauer, who should get an extended look during his sophomore season with the vaunted Michigan Wolverines program in the NCAA.
Of course, the Maple Leafs still have several areas to address within their prospect pool and most of the concern lies within the blue line. Here’s Ellis’ assessment once again:
Despite making a solid pickup in Ben Danford this year, the Leafs lack a real difference-maker on the point. I think both he and Topi Niemela could end up on the bottom pairing, or maybe Niemela earns some power-play time eventually. But they have their strengths and weaknesses and I don’t see either of them straying from the path. Patching up the blueline in the draft is going to be hard with a lack of picks, so don’t expect this to change anytime soon. But maybe I’ll be wrong and both Danford and Niemela will develop into more crucial pieces – I just don’t think any scouts expect that to happen.
And that’s the thing: Danford, in my opinion, is the best defender in the system but still needs to prove his ability to create offense at the major junior level. He significantly improved during the OHL playoffs, he’s elite at rush defense and transition scenarios, but this next season will be eye-opening as he ought to dominate in his third major junior season.
The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked the top 100 drafted NHL prospects in July and Cowan was the only Toronto prospect to crack the list, coming in at No. 47. Wheeler lauded Cowan’s skating, tenacity, 200-foot game and ability to play through the middle of the ice. It’s more telling that Minten or Niemela didn’t make Wheeler’s list, while Dennis Hildeby slotted in at No. 20 on the top 20 drafted goaltenders list. Toronto may be slowly replenishing its pool but it needs further depth, a function of trading premium draft capital with the hopes of going all-in for a Stanley Cup.
Prior to the 2024 NHL Draft, Wheeler ranked the Maple Leafs as the 28th-best prospect pool in the NHL, which confirms the popular perception of the team, or perhaps the stark reality: the Leafs have quality building blocks in Cowan, Minten, Niemela and Hildeby but lack consistent high-end talent and depth to rise through the rankings, while accounting for the fact that Matthew Knies, Nick Robertson and Joseph Woll have graduated from prospect status to NHL regular.
It can be frustrating evaluating Toronto’s prospect at times, knowing all too well that future top picks and prospects are always going to be considered collateral once the permutations of the salary cap are relaxed. And it can become even more frustrating when the Canadiens hit a Barry Bonds-esque tape measure home run with the Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage picks in June, or when rivals appear to be stocking up on the next wave of future talent.
It’s a new era for the Maple Leafs in this respect. Wes Clark joined the Penguins as their vice president of player personnel, days after announcing the Ben Danford selection for the Maple Leafs. Mark Leach joined Toronto as its next director of amateur scouting after decades of experience with the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings organizations and it’ll be compelling to see how imprint affects future classes. For now, the Maple Leafs have a few top-end prospects in Cowan and Minten, who may quickly graduate to the NHL in a similar vein to Knies and Robertson, but there’s plenty of work to catch up with the rest of the league.
