This weekend, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ top prospects will face off against their historical rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. While the franchises are in two different phases at the moment, it should take nothing away from the intensity of the match-up. Montreal will almost undoubtedly wield the stronger lineup. Le Tricolore hosts many of the league’s top prospects, making them a good measuring stick for the Leafs and their young players.
The Habs opened rookie camp on Wednesday, while the Leafs hosted a development camp a few months back in early July. Given the breakdown of the roster, here are some potential line combinations and players to keep an eye out for ahead of this weekend’s games.
Easton Cowan – Fraser Minten – Roni Hirvonen
I’m bummed that Toronto didn’t bring Nick Moldenhauer this year. The choice was taken out of their hands given he plays in the NCAA but him in place of Hirvonen would have made for a fantastic line. I still strongly believe Toronto is a big fan of the Easton Cowan – Nick Moldenhauer duo, I remember Hailey Wickenheiser raving about the line of Cowan – Moldenhauer – Voit during the Leafs 2023 development camp scrimmages. Despite a rough 2023–24 season, outlined in my under-the-radar prospects series, Moldenhauer got the nod on Toronto’s top line during inter-squad earlier in the summer. It’s clear the Leafs foresee both Minten and Cowan being NHLers as soon as this season and are experimenting to see their effectiveness together before training camp. Minten seemed to enjoy playing alongside Hirvonen during last year’s development camp so I do think those two will likely stick together.
From a stylistic fit, I like this line a lot. Cowan has the explosiveness as a skater, has an incessant motor, and after an MVP calibre performance with London, newfound confidence as a play driver. I’m excited to see if he can impress again like he did at Traverse City last year. Hirvonen is a worker bee type of player who will get in on the forecheck and do all the little things across the ice. I think Cowan and Hirvonen will be efficient enough in transition to be able to mask Fraser Minten’s deficiencies in that area and allow him to be a finisher and defensive-minded player first.
Ben Danford, Topi Niemela and Noah Chadwick
Unfortunately, since the time of writing, Ben Danford suffered an injury and has been ruled out of the prospect tournament altogether. This is a tough one as Danford looked the part during the scrimmages at camp. He closes off space really well, and the four-way skating is legit. Great distance management and discipline defensively with his positioning. I expected that he would be challenged with some tough matchups against Montreal but still give Leafs fans a taste of what we saw out of him during Oshawa’s run to the OHL championship. There is some untapped potential offensively, seeing more signs of him jumping into plays and activating off the blue line will be something to keep an eye out for from Leafs fans, but unfortunately that will have to wait.
Topi Niemela is still one of my favourite prospects in the Leafs system. I’ve consistently said he was a steal from the moment he was drafted and this past season with the Marlies has been nothing short of magnificent. Calm, and poised, he handles pressure well. He plays with a bit of an edge and has the hockey IQ to know when and when not to jump into plays. He’s been a PP quarterback for the Marlies and was a confident puck mover from the back end. If he’s at the Rookie Showdown I expect him to man the first powerplay unit. A strong showing for the Leafs against Montreal could go a long way for Niemela who has an outside shot to win a spot on the Leafs opening-night roster.
Noah Chadwick is going to have a storyline for Leafs fans to follow. His assertiveness offensively and passing vision are aspects of his game that allowed him to break out last year. I still think the skating and decision-making when defending rushes needs to improve, and he wasn’t super noticeable at Leafs camp or the World Junior Showcase this summer but his body of work over this past season makes him someone to keep a keen eye out for this weekend. He’ll likely get second-unit powerplay time, maybe even first if Toronto wants to see more of him at his best. Lethbridge’s new captain will have one of Topi Niemela or Ben Danford as his partner, so it’ll be a nice periscope into what a future defense pair looks like. He’s also a name to look out for when Hockey Canada begins its selection process for the World Junior Championships.
Nikita Grebenkin – Braeden Kressler – Miroslav Holinka
Grebenkin will be the player Leafs fans will be most excited to see. After back-to-back impressive seasons in the KHL, this will be our first opportunity to see Grebenkin in blue and white. Grebenkin’s craftiness and creativity on the puck and his puck skills at high speeds will be super fun for Leafs fans to watch. Funny enough, I mentioned in my write-up that there are some parallels between him and Miroslav Holinka, which is why I believe Grebenkin is the perfect line mate for developing Holinka’s game.
Miroslav Holinka was my favourite Leafs pick in the late rounds this past draft, and he made me look good with his Development Camp performance. A lot of the things I loved about his game translated during inter-squad scrimmages; he was strong as a puck carrier, showed some nice hands, and was engaged throughout the camp as a forechecker. I loved his off-the-puck awareness shining through on his first goal in camp, and a great series of showings against Montreal could catapult him higher on Leafs prospect rankings. Playing alongside Grebenkin will force him to defer more often to an equally if not more skilled teammate which is one of the glaring weaknesses of his game right now.
I don’t have a ton of optimism on Kressler whose profile doesn’t have a ton of NHL upside, but it’s clear that Toronto and their development staff think highly of him. He was tendered an ELC after some productive seasons in the OHL. Like Hirvonen who’s also undersized, Kressler is also a better player in support. He’s a plus-passer with a decent motor. Stylistically he’ll fit pretty well alongside the other two, who are more skilled and puck-dominant. He played with Lisowsky last year at camp and a full year in the AHL will bode well for his development.
Brandon Lisowsky – Jacob Quillan – Ty Voit
Jacob Quillan didn’t have a super noteworthy camp outside of getting into it a few times with Sam McCue, but the Quinnipiac alum is someone I’d like to see at camp this year. It would be a nice way for the National Champion to get some reps and ice time with potential future linemates on the Marlies and that will hopefully allow him to hit the ground running at the start of the AHL season. I’m still bullish on Quillan’s odds of making the Leafs out of camp, but he will need a strong showing over these two games to set his trajectory off on the right step.
Ty Voit’s someone I’m excited to see if he’s a member of the roster. If the Leafs had a skill-per-pound measurement Voit would top the list by a wide margin. I’d love to see what a pairing of him and Lisowsky could do with a strong two-way presence at centre in Quillan. His passing and edgework are ridiculous and getting him as many reps on the ice as possible this year is important to his development; he’s already lost so many games over the last few years from Covid and injuries.
To finish this EA Sports-esque lineup, we pair our Sniper with the Two-Way Forward (Quillan) and Playmaker (Voit) with Brandon Lisowsky. Lisowsky always felt like a given to make the roster; he was invited last year, was a former Leafs draft pick and has a lights-out NHL-level shot. I’m still surprised he hasn’t gotten an AHL contract yet but I’m almost certain that will come soon after this weekend.
Final Thoughts
Ryan McCleary and Marshal Finnie are the free agent returnees I’m most excited see for the Showdown. It’ll be intriguing to see Finnie and McCleary in a real game setting, especially after Hailey Wickenheiser’s comments after Development Camp. It seems the Leafs think both have more to give than what was shown in scrimmages back in July. I think Quinn Hutson had the most intriguing track record of production at the college level and would probably be a cool option to invite but I’m not sure he showed enough during Development Camp to get a second look so it’s not something I’ll be too upset about.
Despite having an inferior prospect pool to Montreal, there’s a bevy of intriguing prospects nearing a crossing point in their development path that Leafs fans should keep an eye out for this weekend. Are there any players you’re excited to see at the Rookie Showdown? Let us know in the comments below!
