The Future Looks Bright! Toronto Maple Leafs Edition
Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner. These are the three names Leafs fans look at and think "Finally- we have a core". A core we can build with. A core in which we can see a competitive product on the ice since God knows when. It's safe to say that at this point, the Leafs have three players that are destined for greatness. All of which were top 10 picks in the National Hockey League Draft, proving the skeptics that building through the draft isn't the best way to assemble a championship team. In addition to these young and talented forwards, the Maple Leafs also have an impressive pipeline to look at on the back end. The likes of Andrew Nielsen and Travis Dermott are two very exciting players to look at as the Maple Leafs try to fix a position that has been their Achilles heal for too long. Along with the two 2015 draftees, the Maple Leafs also boast some positive youth already establishing themselves in the big leagues. 22 year-old Alternate Captain, Morgan Rielly, off-season KHL acquisition, Nikita Zaitsev, Jake Gardiner, and Connor Carrick fill out a solid quartet for the Maple Leafs as the team continues to progressively rebuild. Although not a fan favourite, Martin Marincin is a player who head coach Mike Babcock seems to like. In fairness to Marincin, he does possess a long reach and large frame. However, with the Leafs continuing to add more and more enticing prospects with high upside, it puts Marincin's future with the Maple Leafs in question. Veteran players who are not part of the Leafs long term future include Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak. Although the two are not seemingly part of the Leafs' future doesn't mean they haven't contributed to the team's rebuild. Having their leadership and positive influence is helping shape a young Leafs roster that still requires guidance. And in net, the Leafs seem to finally have not only found a stable present but exciting an future as well. After a rough start to the season, Frederik Andersen has been phenomenal in the month of November, hovering around a .930 save percentage. His calm demeanour in the net, and recent consistent success should give Leafs fans a feeling of comfort with the man between the pipes. In addition to Garret Sparks and Antoine Bibeau in the American League, the Maple Leafs have a very intriguing prospect in Joseph Woll who is currently the starting goaltender at Boston College. According to hockeydb.com, Woll has posted a 7-3-1 record along with an impressive .924 save % and 2.32GAA. Other prospects who are having breakout years for the Leafs include crafty Kitchener Rangers forward, Jeremy Bracco- who is on pace to finish with just over 2 points/game. In fact, Bracco was spotted at the Leafs practice today as many around the sports world are speculating Leafs Management are preparing to offer him his much deserved 3 year ELC. Other prospects playing very well include Nikita Korostelev, Martin Dzierkals, Jesper Lindgren, Pierre Engvall, and along with a number of others. After a friendly twitter exchange with the always kind and engaging, Craig Button of TSN, he stated that Pierre Engvall is indeed progressing well in the Swe-1 league and looks as though he may be a bright spot for the Leafs.
[Craig Button on Twitter][Craig Button on Twitter]The Leafs have proven to the hockey world that they boast arguably the best prospect pool in the NHL. Now, it's just a matter of hope for Leafs Nation that those promising young players grow and develop into studs for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
