Leafs Top Prospects – #13 Topi Niemela

The Toronto Maple Leafs organization has drafted and developed a number of youngsters currently playing in the NHL (Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Matthew Knies), but the club under former GM Kyle Dubas and current GM Brad Treliving had different ideas of what kind of prospects they wanted to populate the organization with. There has been a slow weeding out process of the smaller Dubas prospects in favor of predominantly larger forwards and defenseman that fit the traits that Treliving is looking for

As we’ve done on a yearly basis, we are ranking 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 make a contribution in the future.

Players are eligible for the list if they have not played more than 40 NHL games and are 25 years old or younger:

Prospect List

#40 – Matthew Hlacar – F (Kitchener – OHL)

#39 – Rylan Fellinger – D (Flint – OHL)

#38 – Blake Smith – D (Flint – OHL, Toronto – AHL)

#37 – Braeden Kressler – C (Cincinnati – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)

#36 – Harry Nansi – C (Owen Sound – OHL)

#35 – Landon Sim – RW (London – OHL)

#34 – John Prokop – D (Union College – NCAA, Toronto – AHL)

#33 – Seymon Kizimov – RW (Yekaterinburg Automobilist – KHL, Uchaly Gornyak – VHL)

#32 – Matthew Barbolini – F (Toronto – AHL)

#31 – John Fusco – D (Dartmouth – NCAA)

#30 – Semyon Der-Argushintsev  – C (Chelyabinsk Traktor – KHL)

#29 – Will Belle – RW (US Nat’l Development Program)

#28 – Nathan Mayes – D (Spokane – WHL)

#27 –  Borya Valis – RW (Prince George – WHL, Toronto – AHL)

#26 – Hudson Malinoski – C (Providence – NCAA)

#25 – Ryan Kirwan – F (Arizona State – NCAA, Toronto – AHL)

#24 – Joe Miller – C (Harvard – NCAA)

#23 – Matt Lahey – D (Fargo – USHL)  

#22 – Chas Sharpe – D (Cincinnati – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)

#21 – Sam McCue – LW (Owen Sound / Flint – OHL)

#20 – Alexander Plesovskikh – LW (Voskresensk – VHL / Kryiya Sovetov & Moscow Spartak – MHL)

#19 – Ryan Tverberg – C (Toronto – AHL)

#18 – Roni Hirvonen – C (Toronto – AHL)

#17 – Timofei Obvintsev – G (Krasnaya Armiya Moskva – MHL)

#16 – Vyacheslav Peksa – G (Cincinnati – ECHL, Toronto – AHL)

#15 – Cade Webber – D (Toronto – AHL)

#14 – Nick Moldenhauer – C (Michigan – NCAA)

#13 Topi Niemela – D (Toronto – AHL)

Niemela made the most dramatic decline from third in last year’s prospect rankings to #13, because of his dramatic drop in offense and usage with the Toronto Marlies and due to his departure from North America to play in the SHL. It is now doubtful if he will ever play in the Leafs organization again, but they still retain his rights because they made a qualifying offer this summer when he became a restricted free agent. 

The Leafs went heavy on European prospects in 2020, which was likely a tactic implemented because of the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a longer development window. Former GM Kyle Dubas moved down in the 2020 NHL Draft to get extra picks, trading a mid-second rounder (Tyler Kleven) to Ottawa for a late second (Roni Hirvonen) and a third-round pick which the Leafs used to select Finnish defenseman Niemela.

Niemela played 58 games over two seasons in the SM-Liiga with Karpat as a 17 and 18-year-old and tallied 11 points (1 goal, 10 assists), but had a coming-out party at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships, leading all defensemen in scoring with eight points (2 goals, 6 assists) in seven games and earning the prize for the tournament’s top blueliner.

He broke out offensively, finishing sixth in Liiga among defensemen with 32 points (10 goals, 22 points) and six assists in seven games at the 2022 WJC, and in May 2022 signed an entry-level deal with the Leafs. In his fourth year with Karpat, due to a coaching change, the young blueliner lost power play time and his scoring numbers dropped to 18 points (8 goals, 10 assists) in 58 games, but once he came to North America, his scoring prowess returned.

Niemela had two points (1 goal, 1 assist) in six games at the end of the AHL season with the Marlies, and five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in seven playoff games.

“He’s a really good defender, really quick to close gaps, take away time and space.… Leafs former Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley said. “(Niemela is) a first pass guy, not necessarily going to run your power play. Good instincts….not the biggest guy, so not overly physical at this time since he’s playing against men, (but) one of the best defensive instincts in the entire draft.…

In his first full season with the Marlies, Niemela showed excellent speed and passing ability, leading the club in defensive scoring (39 points – 8 goals, 31 assists in 68 games) and was particularly effective as a power-play quarterback, with 13 assists during the man advantage, but last season he lost that role to William Villeneuve and his numbers plummeted to 22 points (2 goals, 20 assists).

With his window of opportunity closing and the new Treliving administration clearly having a penchant for bigger players on the blueline, Niemela signed with the Malmo Redhawks of the SHL.