Advertisement

While he may not have entered Toronto in a fire-dress whilst riding a mechanical tiger, William Nylander is, nonetheless, turning a lot of heads.

Nylander has a pair of points in his first four AHL games and has been getting a lot of good press.  The concern with Nylander was how he would adjust to the North American game, playing on small ice as a smaller, skilled forward.  His first goal, surprisingly, was scored with Nylander going hard to the net to chase down a rebound, lifting the defenseman’s stick as he blew past him for the backhanded goal.

Nylander has been a one man breakout at the AHL level and it’s clear that his speed and puck skills outclass the rest of the league.  Kyle Dubas has already stated that Nylander will spend the remainder of the year with the Marlies and with the Leafs looking like a trainwreck yet again, there’s no reason to stray from that plan.  This year will be about adjusting to how quickly space closes down on small ice and learning the intricacies on the defensive side of the puck.  How Nylander adapts in these two areas will largely dictate where he starts the 2015-16 season.

Outside of Nylander and Connor Brown, the Leafs forward prospects have been lacklustre this season.  Andreas Johnson hasn’t really taken a step forward from his SHL Rookie of the Year campaign, Frederik Gauthier, while hot lately, is hovering around a point per game in his draft+2 season in the QMJHL, and Carter Verhaeghe has seen his point production dip significantly from last year.  With the Leafs plummeting down the standings in what’s starting to feel like an annual tradition this time of year, adding some forward prospects with upside should be a priority for the trade deadline.

Maple Leafs Prospect Statistics - 2014-15

Last Update: Thursday, April 2.
Name
DraftRoundHeightWeightAgeTeamLeagueGPGAPts+/-SOG
FORWARDS
JAMIE DEVANE200936' 5"21723MarliesAHL39022-419
BRAD ROSS2010 26' 0"17522Marlies
Solar Bears
AHL
ECHL
31
7
4
3
4
3
8
6
0
4
45
17
GREG MCKEGG2010 36' 0"19122MarliesAHL3181018-175
SAM CARRICK201056' 0"18822MarliesAHL3531417-1269
TYLER BIGGS2011 56' 2"20521Marlies
Solar Bears
AHL
ECHL
35
8
2
4
2
2
4
6
-1
1
50
21
JOSH LEIVO2011 36'2"19521MarliesAHL214913356
TONY CAMERANESI2011 55' 9"16221U of Min-DuluthNCAA23613196
DAVID BROLL2011 66' 2"21621Marlies
Solar Bears
AHL
ECHL
21
14
0
1
0
7
0
8
-8
-2
33
30
DOMINIC TONINATO2012 56' 1"16520U of Min-DuluthNCAA241482216
CONNOR BROWN2012 65' 11"16020MarliesAHL431221331084
RYAN RUPERT2012 65' 8"18620Marlies
Solar Bears
AHL
ECHL
25
17
5
5
7
9
12
14
11
7
39
32
FREDERIK GAUTHIER2013 16' 5"21419RimouskiQMJHL2313121522
CARTER VERHAEGHE2013 36' 1"18119NiagaraOHL482033538
FABRICE HERZOG2013 56' 2"17619ZugSwiss NLA376284
ANDREAS JOHNSON2013 75' 10"18319FrolundaSHL431810289
WILLIAM NYLANDER2014 15'1117418Modo
Marlies
SHL
AHL
21
4
8
1
12
1
20
2
3
0
J.J. PICCINICH2014 46'0"19018Boston UNCAA H-East18112-3
DAKOTA JOSHUA2014 56'2"18218Sioux FallsUSHL32111627-6
NOLAN VESEY2014 66'1"19519U of MaineNCAA H East2569151
PIERRE ENGVALL2014 76'3"19018Frolunda J20SuperElit2291423-8
PATRICK WATLINGAHLSigning6'0"17321Marlies
Solar Bears
AHL
ECHL
27
8
2
4
1
4
3
8
2
4
18
11
BRETT FINDLAYAHLSigning6'0"18921Marlies
Solar Bears
AHL
ECHL
13
20
1
9
2
9
3
18
-6
4
14
60
STEFAN DELLA ROVEREAHLSigning5'11"20024Solar BearsECHL259514447
DEFENCEMEN
NAMEDraftRoundHEIGHTWEIGHTAGETeamLeagueGPGAPts+/-SOG
ANDREW MACWILLIAM2008 76'2"22625MarliesAHL391231128
ERIC KNODEL2009 56' 6"21624Marlies
Solar Bears
AHL
ECHL
11
18
0
2
5
2
5
4
0
7
15
20
PETTER GRANBERG2010 46' 3"20022Marlies
Leafs
AHL
NHL
28
3
1
0
6
0
7
0
0
0
15
1
TOM NILSSON2011 46'0"18021MarliesAHL36156227
MATTHEW FINN2012 26' 0"19920MarliesAHL21112-128
VIKTOR LOOV2012 76'3"20022MarliesAHL423912149
RINAT VALIEV2014 36'2"20819KootenayWHL286232915
BLAKE KESSELAHLSigning6'2"21025Marlies
Solar Bears
AHL
ECHL
3
32
0
4
1
11
1
15
1
-8
3
67
GOALIES
NAMEDraftRoundHEIGHTWEIGHTAGETeamLeagueGPIRecordGAASV%SO
CHRISTOPHER GIBSONFASigning6' 1"18822MarliesAHL229-10-02.56.9181
GARRET SPARKS2011 76' 2"20021Marlies
Solar Bears
AHL
ECHL
2
17
1-0-0
9-3-1
1.00
2.71
.966
.929
1
2
ANTOINE BIBEAU2013 66' 3"20720MarliesAHL198-7-02.64.9184
Previous articleGame 51 Scoring Chances: Flyers 1 vs. Maple Leafs 0
Next articleMonday Mashup: Goals? Never heard of ’em
Founded in 2008, Maple Leafs Hotstove (MLHS) has grown to be the most visited independent team-focused hockey website online (Quantcast). Independently owned and operated, MLHS provides thorough and wide-ranging content, varying from news, opinion and analysis, to pre-game and long-form game reviews, and a weekly feature piece entitled "Leafs Notebook." MLHS has been cited by: ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CBC News, USA Today, Fox Sports, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, TSN, Sportsnet, Grantland, CTV News, CBSSports, The Globe & Mail, The National Post, The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, Global News, Huffington Post, and many more.