With the dust settled, this was a good season for Leafs youngsters.
This year’s Memorial Cup had a little added intrigue as we saw Leafs prospects skating on three of the four teams involved in the tourney (Finn-Guelph, Bibeau-Val D’Or, Rupert-London).
Matt Finn‘s Guelph Storm were the best team in the OHL and probably the best team in the Memorial Cup, too, final notwithstanding. Finn himself was second in OHL scoring among defensemen and acquitted himself well throughout both the OHL playoff and the Memorial Cup. Personally, I expected a bit more from Finn than what I saw this season. It’s tough to argue with the numbers and my sample was limited, but I thought he’d wind up being a dominant defenseman in the OHL this season based on what I saw from him while healthy last year; he was ‘merely’ very good. Finn will be a Marlie next year and will be joining a young and talented AHL blueline. He’s still one of my favourite prospects in the system and a guy I’d bet on moving forward.
Connor Brown‘s season was one for the ages. At the beginning of the year I predicted that he’d finish top-5 in OHL scoring if he could stay healthy, but I never would have imagined that he’d run away with the scoring title the way he did. Brown put up an astonishing 128 points in 68 games this year and found himself on the radar of even the more casual Leaf observers. Brown is another Leaf whose OHL days are behind him and the Marlies will certainly welcome his offense. If I’m placing a bet, I see Brown as a second / third line tweener in the NHL, but he does have the potential to be more if he can improve his skating (which might be the make-or-break factor with Brown).
Carter Verhaeghe has another year of CHL eligibility and he’ll look to challenge the production of Connor Brown this season. Verhaeghe spent most of the year in the top 10 of all OHL scorers but trailed off late and wound up finishing 21st overall. Verhaeghe is another kid who relies on smarts to overcome his somewhat slushy skating. A good summer of training and I could absolutely see him finishing in the OHL’s top-10 next year.
Antoine Bibeau was the Memorial Cup’s top goaltender and a guy who I had hardly seen until this tournament. Bibeau started the year with a young team in Charlottetown before being traded to Val D’Or. Goaltending at this age is alchemy so I won’t even hazard a guess on Bibeau’s future, but for now it’s nice to be able to soak in a great playoff performance from a Leaf goaltender.
2013 draftee Andreas Johnson also had himself one hell of a season. In his rookie year in the Swedish Hockey League (the old Swedish Elite League), Johnson won the rookie of the year, beating out 14th overall selection Alexander Wennberg. Johnson put up 24 points in 44 games while playing against men in one of the best pro leagues in the world. Not bad for a seventh rounder.
Ultimately, I think that the lesson to be learned for the Leafs is to stop trading away draft picks. The Leafs scouting staff has done a lot with a little in recent years and though our system isn’t rife with high end talent, it is deep. With another high pick about the enter the fold for the Buds, I expect that next year will probably make for some exciting Prospect Updates. Looking forward to it.
Maple Leafs Prospect Statistics - 2013-14 Season
Last Update: Tuesday, May 27.Leafs Prospects | |||||||||
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Forwards | |||||||||
NAME | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | AGE | BIRTH PLACE | TEAM | GP | G | A | Pts |
TYLER BIGGS | 6' 2" | 205 | 21 | BINGHAMTON, NY, USA | Marlies (AHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 57 2 | 7 0 | 2 0 | 9 0 |
CONNOR BROWN | 5' 11" | 160 | 20 | TORONTO, ON, CAN | Erie (OHL) Playoffs (OHL) | 68 14 | 45 8 | 83 10 | 128 18 |
TONY CAMERANESI | 5' 9" | 162 | 20 | MAPLE GROVE, MN, USA | U of Duluth (NCAA) | 36 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
SAM CARRICK | 6' 0" | 188 | 22 | MARKHAM, ON, CAN | Marlies (AHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 62 9 | 14 5 | 21 3 | 35 8 |
BRANDON KOZUN | 5'8" | 180 | 24 | LOS ANGELES, CA, USA | Manchester (AHL) Marlies (AHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 43 32 9 | 10 7 4 | 19 10 2 | 29 17 6 |
JERRY D'AMIGO | 5' 11" | 208 | 23 | BINGHAMTON, NY, USA | Marlies (AHL) Maple Leafs (NHL) Playoffs (NHL) | 51 21 9 | 20 1 5 | 13 2 8 | 33 3 13 |
JAMIE DEVANE | 6' 5" | 217 | 23 | MISSISAUGA, ON, CAN | Leafs (NHL) Marlies (AHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 1 55 2 | 0 4 0 | 0 4 0 | 0 8 0 |
FREDERIK GAUTHIER | 6' 5" | 214 | 19 | ST-LIN, QC, CAN | Rimouski (QMJHL) Canada (WJC) Playoffs (QMJHL) | 54 7 11 | 18 0 3 | 34 1 6 | 52 1 9 |
FABRICE HERZOG | 6' 2" | 176 | 19 | FRAUENFELD, CHE | Quebec (QMJHL) Switzerland (WJC) Playoffs (QMJHL) | 61 5 5 | 32 3 3 | 26 0 2 | 58 3 5 |
GREG MCKEGG | 6' 0" | 191 | 21 | ST. THOMAS, ON, CAN | Marlies (AHL) Maple Leafs (NHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 65 1 9 | 19 3 | 28 3 | 47 0 6 |
BRAD ROSS | 6' 0" | 175 | 22 | EDMONTON, AB, CAN | Marlies (AHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 53 4 | 6 0 | 4 0 | 10 0 |
RYAN RUPERT | 5' 8" | 186 | 19 | GRAND BEND, ON, CAN | London (OHL) Playoffs (OHL) | 68 9 | 21 3 | 52 7 | 73 10 |
KENNY RYAN | 6' 0" | 204 | 22 | FRANKLIN VILLAGE, MI, USA | Marlies (AHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 50 9 | 5 1 | 11 3 | 16 4 |
DOMINIC TONINATO | 6' 1" | 165 | 20 | DULUTH, MN, USA | U of Duluth (NCAA) | 35 | 7 | 8 | 15 |
JOSH LEIVO | 6'2" | 195 | 21 | INSIFIL, ON, CAN | Marlies (AHL) Leafs (NHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 59 7 9 | 23 1 3 | 19 1 5 | 42 2 8 |
DAVID BROLL | 6'3" | 235 | 20 | MISSISSAUGA, ON, CAN | Marlies (AHL) Leafs (NHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 63 5 4 | 3 | 13 1 | 16 1 0 |
CARTER VERHAEGHE | 6' 1" | 181 | 18 | TORONTO, ON, CAN | Niagara (OHL) Playoffs (OHL) | 65 6 | 28 2 | 54 2 | 82 4 |
ANDREAS JOHNSON | 5'10" | 172 | 18 | GAVLE, SWE | Frolunda (SHL) Playoffs (SHL) | 44 7 | 15 1 | 9 0 | 24 1 |
Defencemen | |||||||||
NAME | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | AGE | BIRTH PLACE | TEAM | GP | G | A | PTS |
ANDREW MACWILLIAM | 6'2" | 226 | 24 | CALGARY, AB, CAN | Marlies (AHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 57 4 | 9 | 9 0 |
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MAX EVERSON | 6' 1" | 184 | 21 | EDINA, MN, USA | Harvard U (NCAA) | 23 | 6 | 6 | |
MATTHEW FINN | 6' 0" | 199 | 19 | TORONTO, ON, CAN | Guelph (OHL) Playoffs (OHL) | 66 20 | 14 5 | 47 9 | 61 14 |
PETTER GRANBERG | 6' 3" | 200 | 21 | GALLIVARE, SWE | Marlies (AHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 73 9 | 2 | 5 1 | 7 1 |
ERIC KNODEL | 6' 6" | 216 | 23 | WEST CHESTER, PA, USA | U of New Hampshire (NCAA) Marlies (AHL) | 36 9 | 7 0 | 19 2 | 26 2 |
VIKTOR LOOV | 6' 1" | 187 | 20 | SODERTALJE, SWE | Modo (SHL) Playoffs (SHL) | 42 2 | 5 0 | 7 0 | 12 0 |
TOM NILSSON | 6' 0" | 176 | 20 | MORA, SWE | Frolunda (SHL) Playoffs (SHL) | 50 7 | 2 0 | 2 0 | 4 0 |
STUART PERCY | 6' 1" | 187 | 21 | OAKVILLE, ON, CAN | Marlies (AHL) Playoffs (AHL) | 71 9 | 4 0 | 21 2 | 25 2 |
ZACHARY YUEN | 6' 0" | 196 | 21 | VANCOUVER, BC, CAN | Orlando (ECHL) Marlies (AHL) | 48 3 | 1 0 | 11 0 | 12 0 |
Goalies | |||||||||
NAME | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | AGE | BIRTH PLACE | Team | Record | GAA | SV% | SO |
ANTOINE BIBEAU | 6' 3" | 207 | 20 | VICTORIAVILLE, QC, CAN | Charlottetown Val d-Or (QMJHL) Playoffs (QMJHL) | 8-11-5 13-8-1 16-8 | 3.29 3.03 3.17 | .911 .900 .913 | 1 1 1 |
CHRISTOPHER GIBSON | 6' 1" | 188 | 21 | KARKKILA, FIN | Marlies (AHL) Orlando (ECHL) Playoffs (ECHL) | 5-6-0 8-9-2 1-1 | 2.44 3.16 1.94 | .916 .892 .951 | |
GARRET SPARKS | 6' 2" | 200 | 20 | ELMHURST, IL, USA | Marlies (AHL) Orlando (ECHL) | 11-6-1 4-6-1 | 2.63 2.82 | .915 .916 | - 1 |