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. We have 40 prospects ranked, but there are a few that did not make the cut.
Honorable Mentions – Part 1
Gunnarwolfe Fontaine – LW(Ohio State – NCAA, Iowa – AHL)
One wishes that this guy could make the NHL just based on his name. Going against type for the Leafs, the 5’10”, 181 lb. forward was a seventh scored 17 goals in 40 games for the Buckeyes, and went scoreless in five AHL games at the end of last season. He’s been signed to an AHL contract by Toronto.
Ryan McCleary – D (Cincinnati – ECHL)
A big left-shot defenseman, McCleary had 11 goals with Swift Current of the WHL before signing a minor league deal with the Leafs last season. The 6’3”, 182 lb. blueliner had 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 69 games with the Cyclones last season.
Rhett Parsons – D (Cincinnati – ECHL)
Another project similar to McCleary, the right-handed Parsons played four seasons with Medicine Hat of the WHL and compiled over 300 penalty minutes over that span. The 21-year-old continued that trend in the ECHL last season, with 116 penalty minutes.
