If there’s one quality that ties Matt Knies, Fraser Minten, Roni Hirvonen and the remainder of the Maple Leafs’ brightest possibilities, it’s their hockey IQ.
Leafs workman GM Hayley Wickenheiser oversees the workforce’s participant construction program – holding tabs on gamers and giving them pointers the Leafs have drafted and hope to at least one time walk to the bulky membership.
“Who doesn’t like a smart guy?” says Wickenheiser. “The way in which we speak about hockey gamers is {that a} excellent hockey participant can manufacture alternative gamers round them higher, and so are they including to the circumstance they’re in, or are they casting off?
“We look at a player’s IQ and ability to translate to the next level. Can they work as part of the team but also complement the players around them? That’s hockey IQ for me.”
Even if GM Kyle Dubas hasn’t had many draft choices in recent times, the Leafs’ scouting workforce seems to have drafted smartly, striking a prime hockey IQ prime at the listing of qualities to search for in an adolescent participant must listen.
The big name spoke to Wickenheiser about the most efficient possibilities for the Leafs who have not begun to play within the NHL, AHL or ECHL. Any of those gamers may just one time manufacture it to the NHL or be impaired as a change chip to carry a longtime participant into the playoffs.
LW Matt Knies
Vitals: 20, six bedrock 3, 209 kilos
Statistics: 17 targets, 13 assists in 28 video games on the College of Minnesota
Thin: The 57th total pick out within the 2021 draft is a finalist from Hobey Baker, who’s hoping to manufacture the Frozen 4. From Phoenix he was once coached via Shane Doan. Maximum imagine Knies is the nearest factor to NHL-readiness some of the Leafs’ govern possibilities and may just signal then his faculty season — and perhaps even play within the govern six.
Wickenheiser says: “He’s definitely having a very good season. From a development perspective, he’s doing all the things we asked. He dominates physically. He scores goals in close, but also from these medium to long distances. He’s scored in key moments, scored goals, scored goals in extra time and been a physically present game in game and in game all year.”
C. Fraser Minten
Vitals: 18, six bedrock two, 192 kilos
Statistics: 23 targets, 22 assists in 38 video games with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers
Thin: The thirty eighth number of the 2022 draft got here from the similar Vancouver academy that produced his pal Connor Bedard. Minten (wrist) injured himself at his first Leafs coaching camp so began overdue. His season shall be overdue as his Kamloops host the Memorial Cup. He’s on Hockey Canada’s radar and must be at the 2024 Global Junior Workforce. I signed an entry-level promise.
Wickenheiser says: “He has a big body. So it takes time to fill it up physically. Fraser is just a very intelligent boy studying the game. He wants a lot of information, always tries to get better, always asks questions. His IQ is definitely what sets him apart. The next steps will be to develop his skating power, his ability to play with contact to get through the middle of the ice and become a more imposing player. He’s had a few setbacks (injuries) but it shows he’s not afraid to get physically involved either. It’s nice to see that in kids who are so smart and intellectual.”
G Dennis Hildeby
Vitals: 21, six bedrock six, 234 kilos
Statistics: 8-7-0, 2.32, .917 with SHL’s Farjestads
Thin: The 122nd pick out within the 2022 draft is the starter for Farjestads. Handed over two times within the draft, his recreation blossomed ultimate date and he continues to toughen. Signed for an entry-level promise.
Wickenheiser: “Probably considered our best goalkeeper. To play very well in the SHL this year. He’s obviously huge. We continue to work on his rebound control and finesse at net. Well thought out in terms of what he’s done in the SHL, which is a good league.”
C. Ryan Tverberg
Vitals: 21, six toes, 190 kilos
Statistics: 12 targets, 12 assists in 28 video games on the College of Connecticut
Thin: Can be a seventh-round pick out (213th total in 2020) that prevails. The Richmond Hill middle got here out of nowhere and just about cracked Workforce Canada’s Global Junior workforce in December 2020, making the general decrease. Completes his 3rd date at U-Conn and competes in summer time skates on the Ford Efficiency Heart with the remainder of the Leafs within the machine. Left unsigned as a result of he’s in faculty.
Wickenheiser says: “This is a kid who is really fascinating. He’s fearless in the way he plays. He flies up and down the rink so hard. A north-south game. Plays with a lot of speed. The next level for him is that we continue to work with him to add layers to his game. He certainly has the ability and physicality that translates to the pro game. He’s a kid we really like, maybe a bit underestimated, but definitely someone we believe in.”
C Roni Hirvonen
Vitals: 21, 5 bedrock 9, 172 kilos
Statistics: 13 targets, 11 assists in 45 video games at HIFK in Finland’s govern section
Thin: The 59th pick out of the 2020 draft, Hirvonen captained the 2022 Finland Global Junior Workforce and performs a cast defensive recreation. Signed for an entry-level promise.
Wickenheiser: “A somewhat underrated player. He is a very responsible, serious boy who is dedicated to his craft. And the biggest challenge for Roni is the skating part of his game. We’re not too concerned about his point production. He is fearless. He’s not afraid to go into the difficult areas of the ice to make plays. He’s a 200-footer. So he is very complete. The question is the pace.”
D Topi Niemela
Vitals: 21, 5 toes 11, 170 kilos
Statistics: Six targets, seven assists in 45 video games with Karpat from the govern Finnish league
Thin: The sixty fourth total select from the 2020 draft is at the small aspect for a defender and the Leafs have enough of them, however he’s taking pictures proper and that are meant to backup. Was once Hirvonen’s team-mate on the planet formative years workforce and has performed within the senior workforce. He has flare. Rest unsigned.
Wickenheiser says: “He more or less has a surfer dude mentality. He’s most likely the most efficient passer within the SM Liiga in relation to the way in which he can distribute the puck. He’s small, a negligible small. So he must refill bodily and simply get more potent.
C Braeden Kressler
Vitals: 20, 5 bedrock 9, 165 kilos
Statistics: 22 targets, 22 assists in 39 video games for the OHL’s Flint Firebirds
Thin: Kressler was once signed as an undrafted sovereign agent. The pandemic, with its enjoying life restrictions, has most probably ruined the probabilities of the Kitchener local being drafted. He inspired at Leafs rookie camp and were given an invitation to primary camp.
Wickenheiser: “Here’s a kid who tripled his points performance compared to last year and had a tough year with injuries. He’s really developed and has become a reliable leader and producer for them when they’re playing center or on the wing.”
RW Ty Voit
Vitals: 19, 5 bedrock 9, 150 kilos
Statistics: 15 targets, 56 assists 71 with OHL’s Sarnia Sting
Thin: The 153rd total pick out within the 2021 draft is small however has life to realize weight. Former Marlies captain Affluent prosperous Clune has been operating to manufacture his bodily recreation. Voit was once disenchanted to be dropped from Workforce USA’s global junior scores. Signed for an entry-level promise.
Wickenheiser says: “Ty has had a very consistent season in terms of his game on the ice. He’s a top scorer. He’s an excellent skater and he’ll score points. He works on defense, steals, plays with contact, the things that will push him to play at the next level. He’s a little guy. So he has to overcome that. He has done everything that has been asked of him so far.”
RW Nikolaus Moldenhauer
Vitals: 18, 5 toes 10, 180 kilos
Statistics: 16 targets, 27 assists in 34 video games with Chicago Metal within the USHL
Thin: The ninety fifth total pick out within the 2022 draft is without doubt one of the USHL’s govern scorers. He hails from Mississauga and is a made of GTHL’s Toronto Titans. Rest unsigned.
Wickenheiser says: “He’s an older boy playing in the USHL so we set the expectation that we’ll be able to dominate that league, on points and physically. He has a good shot, but learning how to manipulate that shot is next level for him. hardboiled. He competes really well on the ice and doesn’t back down. I think he’s another solid two-way player for us.”
LW Brandon Lisowsky
Vitals: 18, 5 bedrock 9, 180 kilos
Statistics: 26 targets, 23 assists in 45 video games for the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL
Thin: The 218th pick out within the 2022 draft is 3rd total in Saskatoon. Rest unsigned via the Maple Leafs.
Wickenheiser says: “A small child of stature. Wasn’t sure what to expect from him this year. Good scorer. He has a very good shot. I think for him, the defensive side of his game and looking at what his identity will be if he wants to go pro in the next few years. Will he be in the top six or in the top six? Can he play in the bottom six role and rely on him defensively? We know he can score points and score.”
The Russians
Thin: Russia’s situation as a pariah family leaves NHL groups sidelined relating to their possibilities. They basically watch movies and sometimes manufacture telephone calls. Even if middle Rodion Amirov (fifteenth total in 2020) has been signed, his battles with mind most cancers heartless he’s now not a viable anticipation. Maximum others are unsigned. Goalkeepers Artur Akhtyamov (106th total in 2020) and Vyacheslav Peksa (185th total in 2021) have not begun to manufacture their mark within the KHL. However KHL’s Amur Khabarovsk’s six-foot-tall winger Nikita Grebenkin (one hundred and thirty fifth total in 2022) is one to observe with 9 targets and 14 assists in 40 video games.
Wickenheiser says: “He plays top 6 KHL minutes and averages over half a point per game. Dynamic winger who can shoot and play. He can skate really well. He’s a player who’s very intriguing right now and heading in the right direction.”
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