- THE GETTING TO KNOW YOU SERIES w/Garrett Bauman
- December 31: Anton Stralman
- January 4: Tim Stapleton
- January 31: Phil Oreskovic
- February 13: Dale Mitchell
- March 7: Justin Pogge
- April 1: Jimmy Hayes
- PROSPECT TRACKER – VOLUME 2
Hey folks, Alec’s traditionally done this in the past, but I’ll be taking over for this one as he’s been bogged down with work lately. With the way the Leafs have played over the past few years, we find ourselves looking forward to the future, hoping that there’s help on the horizon. Well let’s take a gander at what the Toronto Maple Leafs are cultivating down on the farm… read more.
- PROSPECT TRACKER – VOLUME 1
I will be posting these informational prospect updates every month. This one is a little shorter than you can expect, as the NCAA season is barely underway and the Maple Leafs have an array of collegiate prospects that I will be tracking throughout the ‘08/’09 season… read more.
- LEAFS TOP 20 PROSPECTS, FALL 2008
Prospects 1-4
Prospects 5-8
Prospects 9-12
- PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT: JIMMY HAYES
Tons of hype and mostly disappointing results. On the surface, it would seem like Boston product Jimmy Hayes and the Toronto Maple Leafs were a match made in heaven. All kidding aside, Hayes was drafted by Toronto in the 2nd round, 60th overall this past June. Once touted as a possible Top 10 pick in one of the deepest draft classes of the decade, Jimmy had an absolutely dismal ‘07-’08 campaign. Come draft day, he was ranked as low as 63rd among N.A skaters, but it was generally believed that someone would take a chance on him earlier than that… read more.
- PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT: DALE MITCHELL
Dale Mitchell was picked in the 3rd round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, 74th overall. At the time of the selection, Mitchell garnered plenty of interest and pressure from the fans and media as the Leafs’ first pick that year. They had traded away their 1st and 2nd round picks to San Jose as part of the Vesa Toskala trade earlier that day. A little over a year later, Mitchell has quickly been forgotten, partly from a disappointing OHL season, and partly from the emergence of his fellow draftmate Chris Didomenico, selected in the 6th round… read more.
- PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT: CHRIS DiDOMENICO
There’s a little bit of the irony in the title because in fact, Christopher Didomenico has rarely been in the spotlight at all during his hockey career. He is the definition of an underdog, and a testament to what hard work and perserverance can lead to. As a young Toronto native, he was passed over by the OHL draft, after playing just 4 games in 2 seasons with the North York Rangers of the OPJHL. So, he managed to hook onto a tryout with the Saint John’s Sea Dogs of the QMJHL, made the team, and has blossomed into a great young player since… read more.
- SCHENN 1-DIMENSIONAL?
On Draft Day ‘08, the Toronto Maple Leafs made the bold move of trading up from the 7th selection to grab Kelowna Rockets defenseman Luke Schenn 5th overall. Leaf fans have been waiting a long, long time for a young franchise calibre to fall into their lap, and they may finally have found one in Luke. Heading into the draft weekend, Schenn had the presitigious honor of being lumped together into the group of elite four defensemen, who along with Stamkos, highlighted the top of this year’s draft class. Luke was proclaimed the most NHL ready and defensively sound blueliner among the group, but his supposed lack of an offensive game has caused some fans to label him as nothing more than a defensive stay-at-home defenseman… read more.
- ROOKIE TOURNAMENT – Leafs vs. Sens Prospects
The Battle of Ontario’s prospects ended in triumph for the Senators in an action-packed, end-to-end tilt featuring 12 goals split 7-5. The night started brightly for the Maple Leafs following Phil Oreskovic’s bout with Geoff Waugh three seconds after puck drop that was seemingly a spill-over of bad blood from last AHL season and/or an arrangement made in warm up… read more.
- ROOKIE TOURNAMENT 2008 – Undrafted Prospect Preview
Every professional hockey organization, particularly one in the Leafs’ current plight, must exhaust every possible avenue when it comes to importing young talent into their system. In addition to the chance to evaluate the progress of your developing prospects front-and-centre, the upcoming rookie tournament provides a valuable opportunity to invite undrafted youngsters for a 3 game trial run. Last year this event proved fruitful for the Maple Leafs, who uncovered a hidden gem by the name of Darryl Boyce… read more.
- WILL WE EVER SEE VOROBIEV – August 23, 2008
The status and whereabouts of Russian defenseman Dmitri Vorobiev has been an ongoing question mark for Leaf Nation. The robust blue-liner was drafted by the Maple Leafs in the 5th round of the 2004 Entry Draft. Originally touted as a second round pick by scouts, Vorobiev stuck around until the 5th round largely due to weight concerns. But it’s gradually become clear that the Maple Leafs shrewdly gambled on the Togliatti native after an impressive couple of seasons with RSL side Lada. He’s now regarded as one of the best young power-play point-men in his league and he supplements his offensive skill with a solid, physical own-zone game. He’s ranked 5th in the team’s “Top Prospect List” on Hockey’s Future.com, behind Justin Pogge, Nik Kulemin, Jiri Tlusty and Anton Stralman. The lone but major problem being, however, that Vorobiev doesn’t appear to have any interest in embarking on a career overseas… read more.
- SCHOLARLY PROMISE – July 18, 2008
An interview with University of Denver head coach George Gwozdecky regarding the development of Leafs prospect Tyler Ruegsegger.
Since drafting the Denver native out of high school in the sixth round of the 2006 Entry Draft, forward prospect Tyler Ruegsegger has quickly begun to take shape as a potential draft day steal for the Maple Leafs. After a superlative 89 point season with Shattuck-St. Mary’s, his college entrance was moved ahead a year from 2007 to the fall of 2006. After entering the collegiate system last season with the University of Denver’s Pioneer hockey team, Ruegsegger continued to impress scouts as he climbed the hockey ranks… read more.
- MAPLE LEAFS DRAFT DAY – June 20, 2008
Luke Schenn is the potential franchise defenseman who serves as the lynchpin in your blue-line corps for 10-15 years. He’s also the most NHL ready of all the defenseman in his draft class, standing 6-2 1/2, 216 pounds and having served an extra year for the Kelowna Rockets at the age of 16. It was a costly trade to sacrifice what looks to be the team’s 2nd round selection (in addition to a third next year or vice versa), but I agree with Fletcher in that there’s no substitute for quality. Schenn is can’t-miss in my opinion. It was going to be costly to jump into the #1-6 range of sure-thing picks and the Maple Leafs needed to make a “lock” pick at this juncture… read more.
- BETTER, BUT NOT THERE YET – January 30, 2008
The Maple Leafs’ prospect core is one that’s beginning to materialize. Constructed mainly of later-round gems discovered by an increasingly productive scouting staff, the Leafs have pieced together a portion of a foundation from which to build off of. However, they must find themselves a few blue-ribbon youngsters to lead the franchise in the coming years and their prospect core remains very top-heavy. Electing instead to rectify the current situation between the posts, John Ferguson dealt last year’s first round pick which denied the team the ability to add an elite prospect to the stable. With Mats Sundin – the team’s lone topflight forward – in the career twilight, the Leafs’ focus now has to be to find some future top line forwards, by both peddling some veterans in favour of youth and by performing well at upcoming drafts… read more.
