The PPP Top 25 Under 25 is back, and like most of the NHL world, is back to something close to its regular schedule after the challenges of the last two years. The 2022-2023 NHL season starts in mid October, with training camps beginning in the the second half of September, so we have lots of time to examine in minute detail the Maple Leafs prospects.
We just have one little problem, and that’s Rasmus Sandin. He’s an RFA, so he meets the criteria, and he makes the list, and it’s not the first time a player has been unsigned while we voted and discussed our players. The last time a really quality player was in this situation is likely Connor Brown. He signed his first post-ELC deal on August 26, 2017, long after we’d voted and started the T25 where he was ranked sixth. There were a couple of trades in late summer in various years that affected lower-level players on the list.
Sandin is going to be challenging for a top five position in this year’s vote, and could be in the top three, so the uncertainty around his status is a wrinkle for voting we’d like to avoid. The absolute need for the Leafs to make some other move or moves that could conceivably return an eligible player to be added is also causing me a little concern. This is a very interesting year in the life cycle of the Leafs. We’ve never had a T25 with so few NHL-level players, along with some really interesting, but very young prospects. I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone sorts out this group.
There’s no firm date set yet for voting to begin, but it will be this week or next.
Rodion Amirov is on the list of eligible players posted below. There have been some photos posted of him this summer showing him looking happy and doing well as he gets treatment for a brain tumor. But obviously, we aren’t including him in voting this year, we’re all just wishing him well.
The eligibility rules are simple: anyone who is under contract to the Maple Leafs or on their Reserve List who is younger than 25 as of July 1 of this year is eligible. The Reserve List includes all drafted players and anyone else the Maple Leafs have exclusive signing rights to. Not included are the players under contract to the Toronto Marlies or the Newfoundland Growlers because an AHL contract does not equal being on the reserve list. If, and this is very unlikely this year, the Maple Leafs were to sign someone under a Marlies contract to an NHL deal between now and when we vote, we’d add them.
This list is surprising in length. We all know the Leafs have had fewer draft picks the last two years, but it’s still 45 names long.
2022 T25U25 Eligible Players
| Player | 2021 Rank | Birth Date | Age in Days on July 1, 2022 | Nationality | Position | Career NHL Games Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikolai Chebykin | NR | August 1, 1997 | 9,100 | Russia | W | |
| Auston Matthews | 1 | September 17, 1997 | 9,053 | USA | C | 407 |
| Vladislav Kara | NR | April 20, 1998 | 8,838 | Russia | C | |
| Victor Mete | N/A | June 7, 1998 | 8,790 | Canada | LD/RD | 236 |
| Joey Anderson | 14 | June 19, 1998 | 8,778 | USA | RW | 58 |
| Joseph Woll | NR | July 12, 1998 | 8,755 | USA | G | 4 |
| Mac Hollowell | NR | September 26, 1998 | 8,679 | Canada | RD | |
| Pontus Holmberg | 20 | March 9, 1999 | 8,515 | Sweden | C/W | |
| Ryan O’Connell | NR | April 25, 1999 | 8,468 | Canada | LD | |
| Timothy Liljegren | 6 | April 30, 1999 | 8,463 | Sweden | RD | 74 |
| Nicholas Abruzzese | 13 | June 4, 1999 | 8,428 | USA | C | 9 |
| Filip Král | 22 | October 20, 1999 | 8,290 | Czech Republic | LD | |
| Alex Steeves | NR | December 10, 1999 | 8,239 | USA | C | 3 |
| Max Ellis | N/A | January 18, 2000 | 8,200 | USA | RW | |
| Semyon Kizimov | NR | January 19, 2000 | 8,199 | Russia | C/W | |
| Pavel Gogolev | 21 | February 19, 2000 | 8,168 | Russia | LW | |
| Curtis Douglas | N/A | March 6, 2000 | 8,152 | Canada | C | |
| Rasmus Sandin | 3 | March 7, 2000 | 8,151 | Sweden | LD | 88 |
| Axel Rindell | NR | April 23, 2000 | 8,104 | Finland | RD | |
| Semyon Der-Arguchintsev | 15 | September 15, 2000 | 7,959 | Russia | C/W | |
| Mikko Kokkonen | 12 | January 18, 2001 | 7,834 | Finland | LD | |
| Kalle Loponen | NR | March 13, 2001 | 7,780 | Finland | RD | |
| Mikhail Abramov | 11 | March 26, 2001 | 7,767 | Russia | C | |
| Michael Koster | NR | April 13, 2001 | 7,749 | USA | LD | |
| John Fusco | NR | June 12, 2001 | 7,689 | USA | LD | |
| Dennis Hildeby | N/A | August 19, 2001 | 7,621 | Sweden | G | |
| Nicholas Robertson | 5 | September 11, 2001 | 7,598 | USA | W | 16 |
| Veeti Miettinen | 17 | September 20, 2001 | 7,589 | Finland | RW | |
| Rodion Amirov | 3 | October 2, 2001 | 7,577 | Russia | LW | |
| Artur Akhtyamov | 23 | October 31, 2001 | 7,548 | Russia | G | |
| Roni Hirvonen | 8 | January 10, 2002 | 7,477 | Finland | C | |
| Ryan Tverberg | NR | January 30, 2002 | 7,457 | Canada | C | |
| William Villeneuve | 25 | March 20, 2002 | 7,408 | Canada | RD | |
| Topi Niemelä | 7 | May 25, 2002 | 7,342 | Finland | RD | |
| Wyatt Schingoethe | NR | August 3, 2002 | 7,272 | USA | C | |
| Dmitri Ovchinnikov | 16 | August 19, 2002 | 7,256 | Russia | F | |
| Vyacheslav Peksa | NR | August 27, 2002 | 7,248 | Russia | G | |
| Joe Miller | NR | September 15, 2002 | 7,229 | USA | F | |
| Matthew Knies | 10 | October 17, 2002 | 7,197 | USA | LW | |
| Braeden Kressler | N/A | January 5, 2003 | 7,117 | Canada | C | |
| Nikita Grebenkin | N/A | February 5, 2003 | 7,086 | Russia | RW | |
| Ty Voit | 18 | June 10, 2003 | 6,961 | USA | LW | |
| Brandon Lisowsky | N/A | April 13, 2004 | 6,653 | Canada | LW | |
| Nicholas Moldenhauer | N/A | May 25, 2004 | 6,611 | Canada | RW/C | |
| Fraser Minten | N/A | July 5, 2004 | 6,570 | Canada | C |
This is Auston Matthews last time on the list, and he will graduate leaving Joe Woll the oldest player next year, assuming there isn’t someone new added born in the first 11 days of July.
New drafted prospect Fraser Minten is the youngest player, and he was eight the first year PPP did a T25.
The standout fact from this summary is that these guys have no NHL experience. Victor Mete, who just squeaks in on age the way Alexander Kerfoot did after he was acquired in trade, has the second-most NHL experience.
I noticed how many American players there are, but also that the proportion of forwards, defenders and goalies almost matches exactly the available spots on a 23-player roster. The other slight surprise is that there are five players who have entered the list as undrafted free agents.
Make sure I haven’t missed anyone — if you think someone should be there, check their age, they might have sneakily gotten older while playing in Switzerland or something. And get ready for what might be an even tougher vote than last year’s.
