Well, it’s safe to say the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t off to the hottest start to the season. Giveaways in the neutral zone, poor defensive coverage and a lacklustre performance up front has them off to a rocky start and has plagued them early on, but the same can’t be said about a number of the team’s prospects.
Whether it’s the ECHL, the NCAA or players in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), previously picked players within the organizational pipeline have got off to successful starts to their respective campaigns.
With that, let’s have a closer look at some of the Maple Leafs’ top prospect performers and some that have climbed the ranks recently, in this week’s edition of the prospect report.
Filip Král Gets the Call
While the Maple Leafs are looking for answers, holes in the lineup have offered up opportunities to some players to earn their spots with the big club. Injuries early on to Jake Muzzin, Timothy Liljegren and Jordie Benn have led to more playing time for Rasmus Sandin and a bump to the NHL for 23-year-old Filip Král, the Maple Leafs’ fifth-round pick in 2018.
Král, a six-foot-two and nearly 200-pound defenceman, is coming off his first full season with the AHL Toronto Marlies last season in which he tallied three goals and 21 points in 58 games for the Maple Leafs’ baby club.
While it’s been a small sample size in the NHL, in his first two games with the Maple Leafs this season, Král hasn’t looked out of place — even pulling a nifty, but risky, spin-o-rama as the last man back to get away from the defender in his most recent contest against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 30.
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While he won’t be the most offensively-minded defenceman in the Maple Leafs lineup, Král can skate fairly well and has shown some real responsibility within his own end over his professional career. Still, two games isn’t enough to judge a player on how he will fit in, especially when he’s averaging under 10 minutes in those games. But it’s safe to say that Král could develop into a solid replacement for a guy like Muzzin if he’s out long-term or Justin Holl if the Maple Leafs decide to move him at some point this season.
Ty Voit Leading the Charge in the OHL
Fitting into that smaller mold that the Maple Leafs have run with when it comes to draft picks in recent years, Ty Voit is just five-foot-nine and roughly 150 pounds. But that hasn’t stopped the fifth-round pick in 2021 from making noise with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting.
Voit’s kicked off the season averaging two points per game with six goals and 24 points in just 12 games, while the Sting are sitting second in the West Division just four points back of the Windsor Spitfires.
But the playmaking forward hasn’t allowed his size to dictate his overall success. To this point he leads the OHL in both points (24) and assists (18) with the next closest in the helper department being four back of Voit.
With the Sting this season, he has developed into a power play specialist off the side boards where he has earned eight of his helpers thus far and his puck control has been very reminiscent of Mitch Marner during his days with the London Knights. While the two point-per-game average will be tough to maintain for the remainder of the season, Voit is definitely making a case to be noticed by the Toronto brass.
Fraser Minten Didn’t Miss A Beat
An injury during his first camp with the Maple Leafs hasn’t held back their most recent second-round pick, Fraser Minten. While he missed the start of the year with the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL, Minten has come back and totalled 10 points in his first five games of the season — including three goals and seven assists.
In fact, he’s one of seven Blazers’ players to have recorded double-digit points this season, however he’s suited up for the fewest games amongst any of them.
Minten was a bit of a surprise pick for the Maple Leafs this past draft, however, his play has shown that the 18-year-old could develop into quite the asset for the organization moving forward. He has the size and can play big when needed, but the production should be the most intriguing part of his game moving forward.
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Three of his five games this season have been multi-point games and he’s not afraid to shoot he puck either — even with how his numbers have accumulated this season. Face-offs are a key to his game as well making Minten an all-around threat to the opposition.