Brian S

Akhtyamov has been in odd position the past couple of seasons. He was a mid round pick without much fanfare, and while he's had pretty strong numbers in all but one season since then it hasn't really mattered.

This weekend we were treated to some zero stakes hockey, as the Toronto Maple Leafs sent their prospects to Traverse City to compete against the prospects of Columbus, Detroit and Dallas. Here are some thoughts on Toronto's top prospects.

The season is just getting started in each country, and there has been a pair of noteworthy international tournaments that contained most of the top prospects mentioned in the earlier watch list: the Hlinka Gretzky is the big one.

Toronto has finally released their roster for the 2023 Traverse City prospect tournament. Let's break down some quick scouting of the undrafted invites, plus some notes on a few of Toronto's prospects.

Nikita Grebyonkin's season has already begun! It's time to look at his pre-season and early regular season play, and see how he's been doing.

Liljegren is only one of two players eligible for this list who is a regular NHL player, but he's also young enough that people still think that maybe he can still improve. Come see the debate about how good an NHLer he is, and if he can get better!

Nick Robertson has only played in 31 NHL games and 82 total games in the past three seasons, and the shine is off a former star prospect. Can he stay healthy and learn how to be effective in the NHL, or has his opportunity already slipped by?

As the second oldest player eligible for this year's T25U25, Timmins is in a weird spot to consider in our rankings. The Maple Leafs are familiar with highly regarded defense prospects struggling to find their footing in the NHL. So where does that leave Timmins?

Topi Niemelä is one of the few defensive prospects in Toronto's system, and clearly the best at this point. He'll start this year in the AHL likely as a top pair defensemen. How much do you buy into his NHL future?

One of the more debated areas of our annual rankings comes when we look at players who have gotten into a handful of NHL games, but haven't yet stuck in a full time role. Pontus Holmberg certainly fits this type of player after his AHL and NHL rookie season.

Hirvonen is a prospect that's difficult to project because of where and how he's played. He's been in Finland's pro league before Toronto even drafted him, as well as being part of Team Finland in various junior tournaments for years. But who is he as a player by now?

Grebyonkin is in a quite interesting place as a prospect. There are some reasons to think highly of him, but also reasons to be skeptical. I am here to tell you why you should be getting all aboard the Greb hype train.

On a team with so few defensemen prospects in their pipeline, Villeneuve is arguably their second best hope of being an NHLer. This year, he will have a chance to step up into a second pair role on the Marlies and get even closer to the NHL as a real possibility.

Noah Chadwick makes his debut at 18th after being drafted by Toronto this summer. He's a big lanky defenseman with questions about his skating but some interesting skill that hints at his potential.

Hudson Malinoski makes his Top 25 Under 25 debut at 20th. A fifth round pick in the 2023 draft, he has some interesting tools and some shiny new toy syndrome among the voters.

Last year, Dmitri Ovchinnikov was ranked 15th on our T25U25 list. This year he dropped six spots despite finally getting a full time KHL role. Let's talk about what's likely behind the drop.

Next on our countdown for this year's Top 25 Under 25 series is the Russian goalie Artur Akhtyamov. He had great numbers in the VHL last year, but does that mean much?

Scouting Toronto's latest defenseman prospect, Noah Chadwick. He profiles as a solid all-around defender who could get even better once he adds some muscle and improves his skating.

Looking at the scouting reports and mechanics for the Toronto Maple Leafs' recent 5th round pick: Hudson Malinoski.

Looking at a final, overall assessment of Easton Cowan, his future projection, and if Toronto was right to use their first round pick to draft him.

Breaking down the specific strengths and weaknesses of Easton Cowan's game, using scouting reports and video clips. This covers his skating, puck handling, passing, shooting, physicality/defense, and hockey smarts.

When the Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Easton Cowan with the 28th overall pick, it produced a mixed reaction. But Toronto has done the same thing with Knies and Minten, so is Cowan set to follow the same path?

On Saturday, Toronto wrapped up it's development camp with a scrimmage. Read up on who was said to have strong camps, and who looked good at the scrimmage.

It's not the slowest point of the off-season yet, but boy it's getting there.

Looking ahead to the 2024 NHL draft to talk about some of the top names, and all of the many interesting defensemen who could be first rounders.