Toronto Maple Leafs: Top 8 prospects worth getting excited about
The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to need prospects to step up in order to have success. Here’s a look at eight prospects who could help them.
After years of Toronto Maple Leafs fans having to experience bad teams, they have finally begun to turn it around. With young talents such as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, they have one of the most skilled lineups in the entire NHL.
Unfortunately, because of having to pay those young talents, they do not have a ton of cap room to sign other players, meaning they need young players on entry-level contracts who are able to step in and help them right away. Here are their top eight prospects who may soon be able to do just that.
8. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev
19-year-old forward Semyon Der-Arguchintsev is perhaps the most intriguing prospect on this entire list. The Russian born forward was selected 76th overall by the Leafs at the 2018 draft. He has posted solid numbers with the Peterborough Petes of the QMJHL over his four-year career, none better than this seasons 75 points in 55 games.
The one thing that pops out when you see Der-Arguchintsev’s stats is his lack of goal scoring. He has 201 points over his four seasons of junior hockey, but just 38 of those are goals.
He will likely need to improve on shooting the puck more when he begins his professional hockey career next season. By all accounts the rest of his game is extremely well rounded, including his defensive abilities.
7. Mikko Kokkonen
With their third-round pick in the 2019 draft, the Leafs selected Finnish defenseman Mikko Kokkonen. The now 19-year-old has spent the last two seasons playing for Jukurit Mikkeli of the SM-liiga. In his two combined seasons with the team, he has posted six goals and 29 points over 95 games.
Although those numbers don’t seem overly impressive, it is worth noting that Kokkonen is still a teenager playing against men, many of whom have seen some time in the NHL in the past years. He still has areas to improve before he’s ready to make an impact at the NHL level, but so far he appears to be on the right track.