Maple Leafs Prospect Report: Playoffs and Debuts

Last week, I wrote a preview for the various playoffs that were beginning across multiple leagues for Toronto's prospects.

Maple Leafs Prospect Report: Let the Playoffs Begin

With the regular seasons over, it’s time to look at all of Toronto’s prospects that will be continuing their seasons in the playoffs.

PPP LeafsBrian S

Since then, we had a weekend of some fun playoff hockey to watch, as well as the professional debuts for two recently signed NCAA free agents: defenseman John Prokop and centre Luke Haymes. They also signed Ryan Kirwan, a big goal scoring winger from Arizona State, but only to an AHL deal. He has yet to make his AHL debut, since he was only signed over the weekend.

Toronto to sign John Prokop

The NCAA defenceman will be on an ELC.

PPP LeafsCathy Squires

Maple Leafs Sign Luke Haymes

Toronto has signed one of the top NCAA free agents to a two-year contract.

PPP LeafsBrian S

So, let's talk about the standouts from Toronto's playoff and newly signed prospects from over the weekend. I'll start with one of the newbies.

Luke Haymes

Turning to the AHL, there were two debuts for the Marlies from their recent NCAA free agent signings. I won't write much about Prokop, who played in only one game and just looked okay to me. Haymes, on the other hand, played in back to back games on Saturday and Sunday and was given a bump up the lineup from 4C to 3C for the second game.

Haymes' first game he was held to no points, but I thought looked good overall. You can see the strengths of his game coming from being an intelligent play-reader, and being a strong physical force even if he has only average size. He just has that niche ability for knowing when and how to physically engage to get leverage on opponents, kind of like Hyman or Knies. Both make him an effective and opportunistic forechecker and backchecker.

You can see what I mean from the two points he had in Sunday's game. You can watch him make two great reads on defense – on his goal, you can see him read the breakout pass and quickly jump into the intended lane with perfect timing. With speed going towards the net that no one on the defense can stop or catch up with, he makes a slick move to beat the goalie.

Then for Haymes' assist, he's skating backwards through the neutral zone in proper positioning to defend the blueline. He tracks the puck carrier and closes on him at the blueline quickly and aggressively. He them times his route as Villeneuve waits to set up the offense, and gets the pass wide along the boards with speed. He sees the defender being pretty soft on him at the zone entry, and takes the ice given to him so he gets deeper towards the net. He times it right, so he can get closer to the net without getting too close to the defender to block or deflect the shot and fires a wicked toe-drag wrist shot with a lot of power. The goalie couldn't handle the shot even though he got a glove on it, which created a scramble that Blandisi scores on. So that's two goals for the Marlies that came from Haymes' two-way play, turning defense into offense.

Honestly the Marlies are keeping themselves in it despite a lack of prospects coming their way, and others being traded away, by filling the cupboards with NCAA free agents the past couple of years. I've thought Quillan has looked greatly improved over this season, and he's become the Minten replacement and done it well as the 2C.

I only have a very small sample to watch him, but my early impressions of Haymes is that he could be better right now than Quillan did last year when he made his debut at a similar age. Haymes is a bit younger than Quillan was at that point, and he's a bit taller – that's more room to pack on some muscle.

If Haymes follows a similar arc for small improvements as Quillan did over the past year, that's good news for Haymes' progression. Next season, I think we'll see him adding more explosiveness to his skating as he refines his technique and adds that muscle. He'll be able to be more involved in the play, and better able to fight off/through opponents with and without the puck. He'll also have more time to adjust to a new system with the Marlies, as well as the timing and difficulty of the AHL.

Victor Johansson

Johansson's playoff run with Leksands continues to the semi-finals, after they swept Mora in two games. Johansson had two strong games, including helping to set up the game winning goal late in the third period with a stretch pass. He was pretty solid defensively, and continued to showcase his strength transitioning the puck out of the defensive zone and into the offensive zone.

They're taking on Skelleftea AIK in the semis, with Leksands again being the on-paper favourite. The series will start on Wednesday this week.

Game 1: Wednesday April 2nd @ 1 pm EST

Game 2: Friday April 4th @ 1 pm EST

Game 3 (if needed): Saturday April 5th @ 9 am EST

Easton Cowan

As expected, London are dominating Owen Sound. Cowan is tied for second on the team with four points through two games, only behind his fellow twin Denver Barkey who had five points in the second game yesterday afternoon. It's kind of hard to add any meaningful commentary because of how lopsided it is, even if there was almost a late comeback in game two. London have outscored them 12-4 through two games. They've outshot them 83-50. They're up 2-0 in the series, and will likely wrap up a sweep before the end of the week.

Cowan is one of the best players on a very deep team that is, collectively, the best in the league. The team has been dominant in this series, and Cowan has looked dominant too. I've not seen anything really new from him, aside from him continuing to be a multi-point machine like he kicked off a bit before the regular season ended.

Borya Valis

Despite being the favourite, by record in the standings, going into their series vs Portland, Prince George actually struggled to beat them in the regular season. It's seemed to continue these playoffs. Prince George staged a fun and entertaining comeback in game one after being down 5-2, with Valis contributing three points and being named first star. But they've been outshot 77-66 between both games, and Portland have pulled ahead with sizeable leads in both games.

Valis may have been the hero in game one, but they could only manage six shots on net in the third period in game two. He looked good in game two as well, but didn't get the same good bounces to finish the plays he created. They're going on the road now, and they'll need to solve whatever it is that Portland has over them to keep it close.

Nathan Mayes

Speaking of dominant and also comebacks, Mayes and Spokane are up 2-0 in their series against Vancouver. They took the first game 4-1, and outshot Vancouver 44-26, giving up only 6 shots on net in the third period while holding the lead. In game two, they pulled ahead 6-0 by the end of two periods thanks to a 33 shot, 5 goal second period. Vancouver almost pulled off the comeback, making it 6-5 and having a 5 minute powerplay with 4 minutes to go. Spokane held the line and sealed it with an empty net goal with around 10 seconds to go.

Mayes has been very good on their second pair. He has three points and has been a +6 in the two games. He's showcasing improved speed and skating to jump into the rush and make defensive plays, as well as better solid puck movement even if he isn't a dynamic offensive creator. I really think he may be the most surprising/most improved prospect this year, along with Johansson.

Noah Chadwick

Chadwick and Lethbridge are also up 2-0 in their series vs Brandon. It hasn't been as dominant as, say, London and Spokane though. They're outscoring them 10-6, so not a big margin. The shots are also a narrow 72-63 edge for Lethbridge as well. Chadwick has been his usual solid self, helping move pucks up the ice, facilitating puck movement and scoring chances from the blueline in the offensive zone, and playing solid defense. Nothing about his game has ever looked explosive, flashy, or elite level, but for junior he's always been a two-way force. He has had two primary assists, one in each game, so far.

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!