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Happy Top 25 season, everyone. The full eligibility list will be posted this week, but first it's time to say goodbye to the 10 prospects who have left. Some haven't gone very far, mind you, they've just aged out of eligibility.
To review, or if you're new – and welcome to our summer argument extravaganza if so – this is the eligibility rules for the T25:
- Prospects can be playing in any league but they have to be signed by the Maple Leafs or on the reserve list.
- The reserve list is anyone for whom the Leafs hold the exclusive rights. This is usually drafted and unsigned prospects but there are other ways to get on this list.
- Players signed to AHL contracts with the Toronto Marlies are not eligible.
- No, really, the NHL rights of AHL-contracted players are not held by the Leafs.
- To be eligible, players must be born no earlier than July 1, 1999.
Which brings me to the first rule of T25 season: if you are wondering if so-and-so is on the list, do not ask until you have looked up their age. I could have missed someone and I rely on everyone to catch that, but I'm not "how old is that guy?" Google.
I'm hesitating to post the full eligibility list because I feel like the Leafs have fallen into summer lassitude a little quickly. Maybe there are no more moves to come, but the Marlies feel a little incomplete. If there are no more moves, the 10 new arrivals replace the 10 exits, making this year's list younger, and very inexperienced at the NHL level because of the players who have aged out.
Too Old For This Ride
Joseph Woll
Joe Woll made the age cut-off last year by 12 days, and at nearly 25, he finally ranked high on the list, coming in at fourth. We were all over the place with our rankings, though, something fairly unusual for a player who averaged out to such a high number. He got votes from 3 - 8, and the lack of certainty about his ability after one short, but very good performance in 2022-2023 for the Leafs was the main topic of conversation.
This summer, everyone just assumes he's the 1A goalie for the Leafs and he will be brilliant. Or at least close enough. When has that ever gone wrong with a goalie? On the other hand, how times has it gone right? I'm just glad I don't have to try to rank him, and I sure hope he goes right not wrong.
Conor Timmins
Timmins made the list last year with a couple of months to spare and we ranked him at fifth on not much prior experience of his play. I'll be honest, I thought he'd be gone off the team by now, but he might end up playing in the NHL this season, who knows.
Timmins was acquired as a Kyle Dubas clever scheme. He had lost his waiver exemption, and Arizona had at least seven other defenders they wanted to develop in the NHL into future trade bait, so they traded him to Toronto for AHLer Curtis Douglas (who Utah extended this summer). The plan was, that on the Leafs, Timmins could catch up on missed development years from several serious injuries.
He played a little, never gained any trust or a roster position, and showed some big areas of weakness. The Leafs now have the same dilemma. He has enough NHL experience that there is some risk he would not clear waivers, and yet they'd need to be sure they want to play him to keep him.
He's one player, not a proof or disproof of concept, but it seems like 24-25 is a difficult time to make up for lost years. We voted Timmins between 3-8 as well, and yet, I think we were more unsure of him than of Woll. Woll at least seemed like he could be an NHL backup at minimum, Timmins minimum was the presssbox.
Keith Petruzzelli
Petruzzelli was only on an NHL contract because the Leafs had so many goalie injuries, they needed to give him an SPC to have him sit as a backup. He's aged out of the list, and he's moved on to an ECHL deal with another organization. He was unranked last year.
Pontus Holmberg
Last year, we finally all admitted that Pontus Holmberg was a real NHL player. He's not a high-ranking one, but he's likely to play most of a season. We ranked him seventh last year, up from 10th the year before, after a few years of him languishing in the bottom half of the list.
We ranked him between 4-8, putting him in the same tier as Woll and Timmins, but he was the player we were more sure about. He also outperformed most expectations last year, but in a way that drew little notice a lot of the time. He had only 17 points in 54 NHL games, but suddenly shone very brightly as the 2C on Team Sweden at the World Championships.
For some reason, the general talk about him is as a winger, but on a team so desperate for centres, I figure he's got a job that is his to lose and not many people vying for it. I'd like to see him with Fraser Minten though, so maybe that does mean a move to the wing. They've got a lot of brains between them, and not a lot of sick hands, so if you can think of a guy who can't do anything but shoot the puck to be the third man, maybe they're the preseason line the coach doesn't really want in the NHL.
Ryan O’Connell
Ryan O'Connell was an NCAA defender whose rights expired in the middle of the T25. He's also aged out, so either way, he's gone. We've got a couple more this year, but he was technically on the list last year as Veeti Miettinen and Michael Koster are this year. O'Connell played in France last year.
Timothy Liljegren
I was also expecting Timothy Liljegren to be gone from the Leafs by now, but that plan seems to have been tried and failed so far. And yet he was unanimously ranked second on last year's list. The problem with him is not that his defence is suspect, although it is in some limited ways, it's that his impact on offence is negative, and he can't helm the second power play. He's been replaced, near as I can see, by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and for all that we were much more certain of who he was – a genuine NHL defender – no one seems very upbeat about his overall value or his fit on the Leafs.
That right-shot takes you far, though.
Nicholas Abruzzese
Nick Abruzzese has also aged out, while still playing in the AHL. Not a good sign for his future. He's on the final year of his contract, which expires with him as an RFA, and this really is his last chance to make an impact in training camp. He's a very good AHLer, and I think he could get some NHL time on some teams, but I don't think he will on the Leafs, not least because he'd need to climb over Alex Steeves, Minten and Holmberg to do it.
Moved On
Max Ellis
Max Ellis was signed as a free agent out of college and played on the Marlies for three seasons. He was, like Abruzzese and Alex Steeves, very nearly an NHL call-up, but he's just not quite enough. We didn't rank him last year, and his rights were traded to Dallas for the rights to Chris Tanev. Dallas didn't sign him and Ellis has gone to play in Finland for this season.
Dmitri Ovchinnikov
I liked Dmitri Ovchinnikov when he was first drafted, and he had gaudy numbers in the Russian junior league. I should have listened to Brian who said there was no depth to his game. Several people had him unranked last year, but of those who did, we ended up with him at 21st.
Ovchinnikov was traded at the deadline in the Connor Dewar trade, but was loaned back to the Marlies to finish the year. He has moved to the KHL this year.
Brandon Lisowsky
Ranked one below Ovchinnikov last year, Lisowsky might not be all the way gone. His NHL rights have expired with him unsigned, but he was invited to the development camp, and it seemed like they might offer him an AHL contract. He had similar votes to Ovchinnikov, and if he makes an AHL career, he'll be of a similar level. Seems like we were collectively right about these two even if we weren't individually on the same page.
And that's the exits from the list this year, tomorrow, the new faces get some attention.
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