After a summer of training, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens rookies came together for a pair of games over the weekend at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The Leafs escaped with 4-3 and 5-4 victories to earn the two-game sweep. As expected, both teams played with an abundance of energy in an effort to impress upper management and earn an invite to main camps later this week.
My colleague Eric Engels has provided his takeaways from the Montreal perspective, here are my observations from the Toronto Maple Leafs side:
Toronto’s overall collection of prospects
Toronto isn’t an organization flush with prospect depth. They are working at restocking the cupboards and drafting/developing players who fit the mold of how Brad Treliving and his staff want to build the infrastructure of the team.
The group competed to the best of its ability and won both games on the weekend, but they were generally outplayed by a much deeper Montreal Canadiens team that, especially on Sunday, controlled most of the offensive zone time and puck possession. Toronto’s skill players did what they do best on the power play and capitalized on a few lucky bounces along the way, while the defence and goaltending provided just enough detail in their zone and some timely saves.
Along with Fraser Minten, Cowan was the most visible forward for the Leafs. He’s expected to compete for a job on the NHL roster, so it was imperative for Cowan to hit the ground running and impact these prospect games in Montreal.
Cowan was deployed in all situations on the weekend, contributed two goals, one assist, and was around the play every shift. He’s clearly stronger and even more explosive than a year ago. His open ice pace led to chances in transition and his small area quickness ended with puck possession ahead of his opponents when he darted to loose pucks.
I would like to have seen a bit more physical push back at times to create more space for himself or win a half wall battle in the defensive zone, but he was impressive overall and appears ready to challenge for a slot on left wing with the Leafs.
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Fraser Minten
Minten suffered a lower-body injury in the second period Sunday. He went into the boards feet first after being pushed off balance by Montreal defender David Reinbacher.
Before the injury Minten, who played alongside Cowan, was noticeable almost every shift. He was strong in the face-off circle, battled to extend plays along the wall, and was physically involved. A lot of what Minten does goes unnoticed. He subtly contributes to creating open space for his linemates and goes to the net to set screens and create a distraction. He will likely need time in the AHL to further develop, but he too looked bigger and stronger this weekend.
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I have little concern about Niemela’s ability to handle the puck and distribute in the offensive zone. He’s a two-way/transitional defenceman who can quarterback the power play. Niemala contributed five assists in the two weekend games, which is obviously impressive.
I appreciated his offence, but I’m still not convinced he can defend at the NHL level consistently enough to allow his offensive element to thrive. Time will tell as camp rolls along, but far too often in these prospect game he found himself on the wrong side of his check in the defensive zone, or struggling to handle weight in the trenches.
Webber isn’t young by prospect standards. The 23-year-old has four years of NCAA experience under his belt and he’s physically mature. Webber is a giant of a man (6-foot-7 216 pounds) and a defensive defenceman who fronts shooting lanes to block shots and uses his length to keep opponents to the perimeter.
Webber won’t move the needle much offensively, but he did pick up an assist on the weekend via a nice cross-crease feed to Roni Hirvonen. He was paired with Niemela in both games and the two complemented each other. Webber was deployed at even strength and the penalty kill. He was generally aware of his surroundings in his zone, especially at even strength, and was difficult to manoeuvre around for Montreal forwards.
The pace of the game will increase exponentially in the coming days and it will be interesting to monitor how Webber adjusts. He can’t afford to extend himself too far from his net and chase the play up the half wall because it exposes his small area agility. Webber is a good skater for his stature, but he takes longer to make tight turns due to his height.
Chadwick is a much stronger version of himself compared to a year ago, now listed at 6-foot-4 and 201 pounds. He sees the ice, identifies his options, and has good puck touch. His offence at the junior level with Lethbridge (WHL) more than doubled last season. He’s a potential two-way NHL defenceman with some mid-range bump in his game.
His skating, for me, continues to be an area that requires improvement and Montreal pushed Chadwick to his limits with their quickness on the weekend. His turns/continuation pace will have to go to another level, especially when defending against a speed rush and when pucks are chipped behind him. His hockey sense and compete are in place, but I felt he struggled with how fast things were happening around him in his zone.
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The 6-foot-7, 222-pound goaltender is coming off a nice season at the AHL level, posting at 2.41 GAA and .913 save percentage with the Marlies. He could, at some point, see NHL games this season, but he’s destined to continue his development in the AHL.
Hildeby provided a mixed bag of results on Saturday. He came up with some timely saves from high danger areas, and generally tracked well, but he also allowed a couple of pucks to go “through” him. Adam Engstrom and Owen Beck both snuck pucks under Hildeby’s arm when he was dropping to the butterfly. There’s a lot to like about Hildeby, but a goalie his size can’t afford to allow shots like those to beat him when he eventually arrives at the NHL level.
Grebenkin skated alongside Cowan and Minten on Saturday and the threesome were easily the most dominate of the four Toronto lines. Grebenkin brings a combination of size and skill. He’s listed at 6-foot-2, 192 pounds, which is plenty strong to leverage in traffic and go to the net to create distraction. I thought he did both on Saturday. His combination of skill and will is enticing. I’m curious to see how much impact he has at main camp.
Roni Hirvonen
Toronto selected Hirvonen in the second round (59th overall) in 2020. He has suffered some injury setbacks in the past and only skated in 37 games for the Marlies last season, producing 7G-6A.
Hirvonen scored twice for the Leafs on Sunday. He lurked around the crease area and was rewarded. It’s important for players to identify where to be on the ice and anticipate how a play might develop. Hirvonen was in the right place at the right time.
Going forward I’m monitoring his impact on and off the puck. Hirvonen doesn’t provide pure skill, so he needs to bring relentless energy and compete. Despite his two goals on Sunday, I feel like he has more to give overall.
