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 | Draft | Round | Height | Weight | Age | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | SOG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORWARDS | |||||||||||||
| JAMIE DEVANE | 2009 | 3 | 6' 5" | 217 | 23 | Marlies | AHL | 39 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -4 | 19 |
| BRAD ROSS | 2010 | 2 | 6' 0" | 175 | 22 | Marlies Solar Bears | AHL ECHL | 31 7 | 4 3 | 4 3 | 8 6 | 0 4 | 45 17 |
| GREG MCKEGG | 2010 | 3 | 6' 0" | 191 | 22 | Marlies | AHL | 31 | 8 | 10 | 18 | -1 | 75 |
| SAM CARRICK | 2010 | 5 | 6' 0" | 188 | 22 | Marlies | AHL | 35 | 3 | 14 | 17 | -12 | 69 |
| TYLER BIGGS | 2011 | 5 | 6' 2" | 205 | 21 | Marlies Solar Bears | AHL ECHL | 35 8 | 2 4 | 2 2 | 4 6 | -1 1 | 50 21 |
| JOSH LEIVO | 2011 | 3 | 6'2" | 195 | 21 | Marlies | AHL | 21 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 56 |
| TONY CAMERANESI | 2011 | 5 | 5' 9" | 162 | 21 | U of Min-Duluth | NCAA | 23 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 6 | |
| DAVID BROLL | 2011 | 6 | 6' 2" | 216 | 21 | Marlies Solar Bears | AHL ECHL | 21 14 | 0 1 | 0 7 | 0 8 | -8 -2 | 33 30 |
| DOMINIC TONINATO | 2012 | 5 | 6' 1" | 165 | 20 | U of Min-Duluth | NCAA | 24 | 14 | 8 | 22 | 16 | |
| CONNOR BROWN | 2012 | 6 | 5' 11" | 160 | 20 | Marlies | AHL | 43 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 10 | 84 |
| RYAN RUPERT | 2012 | 6 | 5' 8" | 186 | 20 | Marlies Solar Bears | AHL ECHL | 25 17 | 5 5 | 7 9 | 12 14 | 11 7 | 39 32 |
| FREDERIK GAUTHIER | 2013 | 1 | 6' 5" | 214 | 19 | Rimouski | QMJHL | 23 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 22 | |
| CARTER VERHAEGHE | 2013 | 3 | 6' 1" | 181 | 19 | Niagara | OHL | 48 | 20 | 33 | 53 | 8 | |
| FABRICE HERZOG | 2013 | 5 | 6' 2" | 176 | 19 | Zug | Swiss NLA | 37 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 4 | |
| ANDREAS JOHNSON | 2013 | 7 | 5' 10" | 183 | 19 | Frolunda | SHL | 43 | 18 | 10 | 28 | 9 | |
| WILLIAM NYLANDER | 2014 | 1 | 5'11 | 174 | 18 | Modo Marlies | SHL AHL | 21 4 | 8 1 | 12 1 | 20 2 | 3 0 | |
| J.J. PICCINICH | 2014 | 4 | 6'0" | 190 | 18 | Boston U | NCAA H-East | 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -3 | |
| DAKOTA JOSHUA | 2014 | 5 | 6'2" | 182 | 18 | Sioux Falls | USHL | 32 | 11 | 16 | 27 | -6 | |
| NOLAN VESEY | 2014 | 6 | 6'1" | 195 | 19 | U of Maine | NCAA H East | 25 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 1 | |
| PIERRE ENGVALL | 2014 | 7 | 6'3" | 190 | 18 | Frolunda J20 | SuperElit | 22 | 9 | 14 | 23 | -8 | |
| PATRICK WATLING | AHL | Signing | 6'0" | 173 | 21 | Marlies Solar Bears | AHL ECHL | 27 8 | 2 4 | 1 4 | 3 8 | 2 4 | 18 11 |
| BRETT FINDLAY | AHL | Signing | 6'0" | 189 | 21 | Marlies Solar Bears | AHL ECHL | 13 20 | 1 9 | 2 9 | 3 18 | -6 4 | 14 60 |
| STEFAN DELLA ROVERE | AHL | Signing | 5'11" | 200 | 24 | Solar Bears | ECHL | 25 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 4 | 47 |
| DEFENCEMEN | |||||||||||||
| NAME | Draft | Round | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | AGE | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | SOG |
| ANDREW MACWILLIAM | 2008 | 7 | 6'2" | 226 | 25 | Marlies | AHL | 39 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 28 |
| ERIC KNODEL | 2009 | 5 | 6' 6" | 216 | 24 | Marlies Solar Bears | AHL ECHL | 11 18 | 0 2 | 5 2 | 5 4 | 0 7 | 15 20 |
| PETTER GRANBERG | 2010 | 4 | 6' 3" | 200 | 22 | Marlies Leafs | AHL NHL | 28 3 | 1 0 | 6 0 | 7 0 | 0 0 | 15 1 |
| TOM NILSSON | 2011 | 4 | 6'0" | 180 | 21 | Marlies | AHL | 36 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 27 |
| MATTHEW FINN | 2012 | 2 | 6' 0" | 199 | 20 | Marlies | AHL | 21 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 28 |
| VIKTOR LOOV | 2012 | 7 | 6'3" | 200 | 22 | Marlies | AHL | 42 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 49 |
| RINAT VALIEV | 2014 | 3 | 6'2" | 208 | 19 | Kootenay | WHL | 28 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 15 | |
| BLAKE KESSEL | AHL | Signing | 6'2" | 210 | 25 | Marlies Solar Bears | AHL ECHL | 3 32 | 0 4 | 1 11 | 1 15 | 1 -8 | 3 67 |
| GOALIES | |||||||||||||
| NAME | Draft | Round | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | AGE | Team | League | GPI | Record | GAA | SV% | SO | |
| CHRISTOPHER GIBSON | FA | Signing | 6' 1" | 188 | 22 | Marlies | AHL | 22 | 9-10-0 | 2.56 | .918 | 1 | |
| GARRET SPARKS | 2011 | 7 | 6' 2" | 200 | 21 | Marlies Solar Bears | AHL ECHL | 2 17 | 1-0-0 9-3-1 | 1.00 2.71 | .966 .929 | 1 2 | |
| ANTOINE BIBEAU | 2013 | 6 | 6' 3" | 207 | 20 | Marlies | AHL | 19 | 8-7-0 | 2.64 | .918 | 4 |
