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Ranking every NHL team by prospect pipeline (ABC via ESPN)

1) Toronto Maple Leafs Previous rank: 2
Toronto has the best farm system in the NHL and it isn’t close. Based on my prospect definitions, there are zero reasonable arguments for anyone to even be in the same conversation. Not only do they have a ton of elite talent in players like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, but their depth is elite too. There are at least 20 prospects in this system that would fit in many other teams’ top 10.

2) Arizona Coyotes Previous rank: 4
The Coyotes’ system is one of the very elite ones in the NHL, having a bundle of highly skilled players who can steal the show with their talents. The system was very good already, but adding two top prospects via selections ( Clayton Keller, Jakob Chychrun) and one by trade (Anthony DeAngelo) at the 2016 draft — as well as getting Lawson Crouse in an August trade — solidified a top grade.


Toronto Maple Leafs announce 2016 rookie tournament roster (MLHS)

The Maple Leafs would-be headline performer is off playing against elite competition at the World Cup of Hockey, while their recent picks out of Europe this past draft also won’t be in attendance. Among the four 2016 draftees participating are Adam Brooks, Keaton Middleton, Jack Walker and Nicolas Mattinen.


Kerby Rychel: A Q&A with Aaron Portzline (MLHS)

Alec Brownscombe: I’m curious to know a little more about the trade request scenario with Kerby Rychel last summer. How did that come about and why wasn’t it facilitated originally?

Aaron Portzline: I think they would’ve traded him if the offer was right. I don’t think they ever got an offer that blew them away or they would’ve made the trade. I think they just reached a point where they decided they would get what they could for him and move on. It was a pretty sour relationship. I think both sides handled it professionally publicly, but it was not a rosy relationship. Shortly after he got drafted, it kind of took a turn.


Toronto Maple Leafs Systems Analysis – The Power Play (MLHS)

Positive steps were taken on the ice as well, despite the lacklustre overall results. A long-time possession bottom feeder, the team moved to the middle of the pack in terms of controlling play (13th in corsi-for percentage, 17th in fenwick-for percentage). I previously outlined Babcock’s breakout systems to help identify and explain the mechanics of their improvement:


Maple Leafs’ Top 25 Under 25: Nikita Soshnikov is no. 10 (PPP)

Soshnikov was not drafted by an NHL team. He played through the Russian development league, the MHL, with the affiliate of Atlant (Atlas), and eventually made their KHL team. It was there a scout from the Maple Leafs saw him and talked him up to team management. They came to see his play, and liked it. They liked it so much, they told absolutely no one about it. Why?


TLN Top 20 Prospects: #5 Kasperi Kapanen (TLN)

Kapanen bursted on to the scene as a pretty highly touted prospect. He was taken 22nd overall by the Penguins in 2014 in what looked like a bit of a steal as he was rated higher than that by a number of scouting organizations. Perhaps the teams that passed on him knew something the rest of us didn’t as Kapanen’s progression has been a bit slow since he was drafted. He’s gotten better with every passing year, but not as quick as you’d have hoped from a guy with his draft pedigree.


NHL’s analytics revolution yet to take hold (TheStar)

In Toronto, where the analytics community is loudest, there was downright concern that the organization was ignoring its analytics department in favour of an “old-school” approach with the signings of enforcer-type Matt Martin and rough-and-tumble defenceman Roman Polak.

Not true, says Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello.

“I’m a total supporter,” Lamoriello said. “It’s a measuring tool that gives you an awareness that sometimes supports what you’re thinking, or allows you to think differently. It’s a tool that is valuable to decisions that are made.”


NHL rookies not conceding Calder Trophy race to Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine (TheStar)

For others, it’s a bit more obvious. Most assume the award will come down to Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine, who were the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the draft. But as someone who already came out of nowhere, Dubois believes the rookie race could get crowded — that is, if he isn’t back playing in junior next season.

“Well, we’ll see,” Dubois, a 6-foot-3 and 212-pound centre, said. “I think if I’m in Columbus I might have a shot for that. We’ll see. It’s a different level, so it’s new. But if I’m in there, I’ll have a shot.”


Maple Leafs’ Morgan Rielly ready to take on mentor role for younger teammates (TheStar)

Decked out in his full Maple Leaf workout gear, Morgan Rielly walked a stride or two behind Auston Matthews as the two made their way to the ice Monday at the MasterCard Centre.

It was suggested to Rielly he could use a workout.

“I don’t need it,” said the defenceman, pointing his stick toward Matthews and smiling. “He does.”

Matthews, the No. 1 overall pick in June’s draft, looked back and laughed. It was all in jest of course, teammates getting on one another as they do in the spirit of bonding.

“He’s great,” Rielly said of the rookie centre. “He’s mature for his age. He’s got a very bright future. We’re all looking forward to it, being a part of it and helping him out with whatever that may be.”

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