The Maple Leafs’ prospect pool took a real shake-up this year, and the fallout from that wild second day of the draft left a bunch of familiar names off the Top 25 eligibility list.
The list itself only grew by one player, which meant the clean-out had to happen somewhere. In all, 14 players who were part of last year’s discussion are now gone from consideration.
A few simply aged out of the conversation. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev was used by several voters last year as a sort of benchmark for where prospect status starts to fade, and he came in at No.
- He has played one game for the Maple Leafs and is said to be looking to return to North America, while Toronto still holds his draft rights.
Matias Maccelli is another major name off the board. After appearing in 71 games last season, he was not qualified by the Leafs and then signed with the Islanders as a free agent. He was ranked third last year as a full-time NHLer.
Cade Webber also disappears from the list after signing as a free-agent college graduate on defence. He hasn’t moved on from the organization and is expected to play for the Marlies this season. He was ranked 18th a year ago.
Henry Thrun, acquired in the trade for Ryan Reaves, is now with the Jets after playing four games for the Leafs. He had been ranked eighth last year.
John Prokop, a college free-agent defender, spent a year with the Marlies before moving on to the Milwaukee Admirals on an AHL contract. He was ranked 25th last year.
There were also some names moved out by trades. Dennis Hildeby, drafted by the Leafs and impressive in net across 26 NHL appearances, lost the third-chair job to Artur Akhtyamov largely because of waiver status. He was sent to Tampa as part of the Nick Paul deal.
Nick Robertson is gone as well, with his rights traded to the Penguins for a fourth-round pick. He had been qualified as an RFA but remained unsigned.
Then there’s the group that was effectively released or relocated. Roni Hirvonen and Topi Niemelä were both on last year’s list even though they had already gone back to Europe.
Toronto likely still holds their rights, but the team did not issue formal qualifying offers this year, which effectively cut ties. Niemelä was ranked 24th last year.
Vyacheslav Peksa showed enough for the Marlies, but with the Leafs adding other goalies, he did not get a qualifying offer. He has returned to his former club in Russia and is likely headed for the KHL. He was unranked last year.
Braeden Kressler, a CHL free-agent signing, spent two seasons mostly in the ECHL and appeared in only seven games last year. Injuries have been a major issue throughout his career, and Toronto did not give him a qualifying offer.
Matthew Hlacar and Nathan Mayes, both late-round drafted prospects, were not given a bona fide offer or an ELC after the draft, which removes the Leafs’ draft rights.
And Joe Miller, the lone NCAA player in the system whose rights were set to expire in mid-August of this year, recently signed with the Marlies’ ECHL affiliate. That means he is no longer a Leafs prospect.
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