Peter Holland made his debut for the Leafs last night, playing 12 even strength minutes next to JvR and Kessel. Obviously it was nothing to read too far into, but Holland was strong in the circle (he was only 38% over 4 games in Anaheim, but went 7 for 11 last night), had one good chance in the slot, and showed a smooth skating ability for a big guy.
Said Randy Carlyle: “I thought he did OK, it’s hard when a young guy comes in. It’s not like we hid him in the lineup.. That’s what we believe; if you acquire young players, it wouldn’t be right to put him in a non-offensive situation, so that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
What follows is a list of forwards drafted in the first round between 2004 and 2010, with an 80-game minimum cut off for AHL games played (playoff games were included). At risk of stating the obvious, elite offensive players typically bypass the AHL altogether or play less than 80 games in the AHL before graduating to the NHL full time (Bobby Ryan being a rare exception).
| Rank (AHL PPG) | Forward | Draft - Overall | AHL Games | AHL Points | AHL PPG | NHL PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Ryan | 2005 - 2nd | 105 | 107 | 1.02 | 0.92 |
| 2 | Kyle Palmieri | 2009 - 26th | 150 | 136 | 0.91 | 0.39 |
| 3 | Nazem Kadri | 2009 - 7th | 130 | 117 | 0.90 | 0.66 |
| 4 | Peter Holland | 2009 - 15th | 129 | 114 | 0.88 | 0.24 |
| 5 | Jiri Tlusty | 2006 - 13th | 160 | 136 | 0.85 | 0.40 |
| 6 | Max Pacioretty | 2007 - 22nd | 87 | 73 | 0.84 | 0.61 |
| 7 | Kyle Turris | 2007 - 3rd | 86 | 71 | 0.83 | 0.48 |
| 8 | Zach Boychuk | 2008 - 14th | 270 | 219 | 0.81 | 0.24 |
| 9 | Rob Schremp | 2004 - 25th | 217 | 173 | 0.80 | 0.47 |
| 10 | Mikkel Boedkker | 2008 - 8th | 100 | 72 | 0.72 | 0.39 |
| 11 | Brett Connolly | 2010 - 6th | 94 | 65 | 0.69 | 0.21 |
| 12 | Nino Niederreiter | 2010 - 5th | 80 | 54 | 0.68 | 0.17 |
| 13 | Cody Hodgson | 2008 - 10th | 82 | 54 | 0.66 | 0.58 |
| 13 | Michael Grabner | 2006 - 14th | 212 | 140 | 0.66 | 0.52 |
| 13 | Jack Skille | 2005 - 7th | 214 | 142 | 0.66 | 0.27 |
| 16 | Joe Colborne | 2008 - 16th | 169 | 106 | 0.63 | 0.29 |
| 16 | Gilbert Brule | 2005 - 6th | 102 | 64 | 0.63 | 0.32 |
| 18 | Nicklas Bergfors | 2005 - 23rd | 257 | 150 | 0.58 | 0.48 |
| 19 | Chris Stewart | 2006 - 18th | 103 | 58 | 0.56 | 0.62 |
| 20 | Lauri Korpikoski | 2004 - 19th | 179 | 99 | 0.55 | 0.34 |
| 20 | Mark Zagrapan | 2005 - 13th | 238 | 131 | 0.55 | 0 |
| 22 | Jordan Caron | 2009 - 25th | 125 | 68 | 0.54 | 0.27 |
| 23 | Mattias Tedenby | 2008 - 24th | 84 | 44 | 0.52 | 0.26 |
| 24 | Trevor Lewis | 2006 - 17th | 204 | 101 | 0.49 | 0.17 |
| 25 | Carter Ashton | 2009 - 29th | 146 | 65 | 0.45 | 0.04 |
| 25 | Chris Chuko | 2004 - 24th | 283 | 127 | 0.45 | 0 |
| 27 | Kyle Beach | 2008 - 11th | 170 | 75 | 0.44 | 0 |
| 27 | Jim O’Brien | 2007 - 29th | 221 | 97 | 0.44 | 0.19 |
| 29 | Greg Nemisz | 2008 - 25th | 202 | 84 | 0.42 | 0.07 |
| 30 | Kyle Chipchurra | 2004 - 18th | 214 | 90 | 0.42 | 0.22 |
| 31 | Colton Gilles | 2007 - 16th | 183 | 69 | 0.38 | 0.12 |
| 31 | Kendal McArdle | 2005 - 20th | 215 | 81 | 0.38 | 0.07 |
| 33 | Angelo Esposito | 2007 - 20th | 124 | 38 | 0.31 | 0 |
| 34 | Ryan O’Marra | 2005 - 15th | 299 | 89 | 0.30 | 0.21 |
To keep it short and easy for your Sunday morning: while Holland has been slower to emerge than some of the top players on this list, he has the AHL numbers to suggest he could be an above-average-to-good NHL point producer down the road. His NHL point-per-game rate so far ranks him pretty low, but that doesn’t mean much given he’s only played 29 games.
In the short term, we will have to see if Holland sticks with the big club, and if he does where he will fit once Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri return (which for Kadri will be Thursday vs. the Predators; Bozak is eligible to return for that game as well, but it will depend on if he’s ready).
***
Holland after last night’s game:
