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)
#12 – Tyler Hopkins – C (Kingston – OHL)
#11 – Luke Haymes – C (Dartmouth – NCAA, Toronto – AHL)
#10 – Artur Akhtyamov – G (Toronto – AHL)
#9 – Tinus-Luc Koblar – C (Leksands IF Jr. – Sweden)
#8 – Miroslav Holinka – C (Edmonton – WHL)
#7 – Dennis Hildeby – G (Toronto – AHL, Toronto – NHL)
#6 – 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, despite 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. He put up nearly identical numbers in his second professional campaign (2 goals, 23 assists in 54 games) under new head coach John Gruden.
Last season, the 23-year-old took a major step forward offensively, posting 40 points (4 goals, 36 assists) in 55 games and logging time on the Marlies power play, which might mean he will be higher on the right defense depth chart than Philippe Myers, and could earn an NHL look this season.
