Leafs Prospects – #14 Nick Moldenhauer

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)

The Toronto Maple Leafs resorted to trading down at the 2022 Draft in Montreal to get out of salary cap issues (trading their first and Petr Mrazek to Chicago for a second-round pick that resulted in the pick of Fraser Minten) and to get extra kicks at the can in the lower rounds. On Day 2, the Leafs traded the pick they acquired from Vancouver for Travis Dermott, moving down 16 slots to gain a fifth-round pick. At #95 overall, Toronto selected winger Nick Moldenhauer.

The Mississauga, ON native, is a shining example of intestinal fortitude, posting excellent offensive numbers with the USHL’s Chicago Steel (18 goals, 25 assists in 41 games) after missing the first two months of the season due to illness and another month after a severe skate cut to his neck area and scored three points in four games for Canada at the under-18 world championships.

There was talk of Moldenhauer hooking on with a US College during the Leafs Development Camp in July 2022. He went back for another year with the Steel, which paid off, as the youngster finished third in USHL scoring with 75 points (30 goals, 45 assists). His quick start attracted interest, and Moldenhauer committed to the University of Michigan.

As a freshman, the 20-year-old posted 21 points (8 goals, 13 assists) in 41 games. The Wolverines los Gavin Brindley, Rutger McGroarty, and Frank Nazar to the NHL going into last season, and that in part factored into a middle-of-the-pack year for Michigan and an off-year for Moldenhauer, who scored just 10 points in 29 games. 

Elite Prospects says Moldenhauer is a “dexterous handler, especially in tight spaces. Backhand, forehand, and slip passes feature regularly, even in motion and under pressure. And the shot’s just as impressive, with the lower-body flexion and hand placement to generate significant force, and the elevated elbow and craftiness to change the angle inside his release.”