This weekend we were treated to some zero stakes hockey, as the Toronto Maple Leafs sent their prospects to Traverse City to compete against the prospects of Columbus, Detroit and Dallas. If you need a reminder for the complete roster Toronto brought, you can see it here:

Traverse City Leafs roster and schedule
Matthew Knies headlines the Maple Leafs Traverse City Roster.
PPP LeafsCathy Squires

I watched all three games – well, the two full games and half a period of actual broadcast we got to see – and want to share some thoughts and highlights for some of the top players of Toronto's that stood out to me.

Easton Cowan

Games — 3
Goals — 2
Assists — 4
Points — 6
Shots — 7

All respect to the other top prospects Toronto had at Traverse City this weekend, but this was Easton Cowan's coming out party. Caveats about this being an exhibition tournament aside, Cowan was presented with a challenge going into these games. He was a freshly drafted pick, playing against other top prospects only his age or older, and he was played as a center on their second line — a position he did not play at all last season. Toronto did the smart thing and paired him with a couple of older prospects in Hirvonen and Tverberg, whose skills suited each other well.

Despite the age difference, Cowan was clearly the one driving that line. His famed motor and work ethic shined through, especially in the second game. He was all everywhere, always involved with or supporting the play. He was creating turnovers and helping transition from defense to offense. He was killing penalties and creating havoc and creating scoring chances short handed. He was finding Hirvonen and Tverberg off the rush often, and showed some adept puck handling to evade defenders in the neutral zone. He still doesn't show a high level of skill in that area (it's worth noting that a pre-season prospect exhibition is not NHL-level defense), but he's smart enough that he's still highly effective at this level.

Cowan's third game was not as good. He was the top line left wing, though because they only played with 11 forwards the actual forwards he played with changed every shift. He was still quite good, but he did have a sloppy first period with a few unforced turnovers. He was very strong from the second period onward, though he did still have a problem turning the puck over when trying to be cute or fancy with the puck. I honestly don't mind that. I subscribe to the theory that a guy trying to make higher difficulty skill plays in games helps their development when they're still in junior, and I want to see him show and develop more skill. But he definitely had more of a problem with it in the third game than in the second.

Matthew Knies

Games — 2
Goals — 0
Assists — 3
Points — 3
Shots — 3

Knies was what we'd expect. He was very good, with three points (all assists) in the first two games. He was his usual strong, forechecking self who took pucks to the middle and created effective chaos offensively. Some might think that Cowan was the best player on the ice for Toronto in the first two games, but I don't necessarily think so. These were pretty unimportant games, and while I would never say Knies is not trying since he clearly is still giving a high effort, I'd also say he's also clearly not playing at his very best. He didn't need to be.

In the end, I think Knies was the best player on his line. I'd say he was also probably the best player on the team, despite everyone (including myself) fawning after Cowan's performance. Knies had expectations he met, Cowan was an unknown without much in the way of expectations that was easy for him to surpass and be a pleasant surprise. But it was close. He did not play the final game, likely because they wanted to get him some real game action but didn't want to push three games in four days for a guy about to join their full NHL training camp.

Fraser Minten

Games — 3
Goals — 1
Assists — 4
Points — 5
Shots — 12

Minten was the 1C for all three games, and he definitely looked like one of their better players as well. He may not have looked as flashy, or as visibly strong as Cowan or Knies, but I'd argue his consistency and effectiveness was still up there with them. He simply has more off-puck strengths in terms of his positioning, supporting the defense and two way play. He had an excellent defensive play against his former teammate in the WHL, who is no slouch as a prospect:

Offensively, Minten showed off his wicked shot. He had a few chances in each game, using a heavy and quick wrist shot that looked dangerous most times he fired it. One small thing I noticed was that his shots were never into the goalie's chest, and part of the reason why I think it usually looked dangerous is because he always located his shots at the corners. He scored a goal in the second game that was a very good snipe – he was in a good position where he was loaded to shoot, so when he got a quick sudden pass he wired a quick and hard shot that seemed to surprise the goalie that it sneaked through despite not being a great angle.

He also had three assists in the third game, almost scoring a couple of times himself off a cycle and subsequent scramble before Lisowsky tapped in the rebound. He was in on their third period goals as well, making some strong passes cross ice

Roni Hirvonen

Games — 3
Goals — 0
Assists — 1
Points — 1
Shots — 9

Honestly, Hirvonen may have been one of the biggest 'pleasant surprises' for me. He was always the second line left winger, and he and his line (with Tverberg all three games, Cowan two games, and a blender in the third) was always dangerous and effective. The one thing that stood was he looks quick, shifty and highly skilled – he was pulling off some very creative plays in every game, and did so with confidence. This was not something I never really saw when watching him in Finland, and while I didn't catch every game I always had the impression he played differently in the Liiga than he did with Team Finland in various international games.

Because we only got to watch half of the first period, there wasn't a lot to take from the first game. But in the few times he was on the ice, he made a couple of nice plays to set up good scoring chances. In the second game, he was very good carrying the puck. Cowan did the heavy lifting carrying through the neutral zone, but Hirvonen chipped in there as well. He was also effective in the offensive zone helping move the puck and set up chances even if he didn't have a point in that game. Himself, Cowan and Tverberg combined for 12 shots on net between them.

In the third game he looked just as good, and played with a surprising physical edge.

Ryan Tverberg

Games — 3
Goals — 1
Assists — 4
Points — 5
Shots — 13

Playing mostly on the wing but at center for the final game, Tverberg played to his type and looked good on that second line with Hirvonen and Cowan. He skated well, played with a lot of energy and pace, was pretty physical, and was not afraid to shoot. He had three points and nine shots through the first two games, and was used in all situations. I don't see a powerplay role in his future, but with his speed and physical play he could make for an effective penalty killer. Watch him create this odd-man rush on the PK by just outskating the other team:

Tverberg will never be mistaken as as a highly skilled forward, but he gets by on speed, physicality and effort. He does have a pretty good shot, but doesn't necessarily have the requisite skills to be able to use it in effective areas. What he will do is play hard around the net, create chaos, and see if he can jump on a rebound, pass, or loose puck to score. He's not a great defensive forward but his skating and tenacity can create turnovers and create rush chances.

Dmitri Ovchinnikov

Games — 3
Goals — 0
Assists — 1
Points — 1
Shots — 3

I was originally not going to write about him. I've made it known I'm off his bandwagon after being frustrated by him all of last season, whether it was in Russia or for his short stints with the AHL. I didn't really see that much in the second game, and I was continually frustrated by him just not doing anything. He is a quick and speedy guy, but never seemed to use it. If he got to a loose puck first, even if he didn't have much pressure I saw him just swat at it which just resulted in a weak clearing attempt the defense handled easily – he had the time to at the very least get off a harder/higher backhand, or try to corral it and do something with the possession. That kind of thing has become common for me watching him, and why I think I seldom get the impression that he ever really exerts himself on the play to have a positive impact.

But in the third game, I finally started to see him do just that. It wasn't ever shift, still, but it was signs of life of what I used to see from him in Russia, even in his first KHL season when he barely got any minutes. I just wish that this was the kind of thing he would do more often than we've seen it so far. If it's a confidence thing for him, hopefully a longer period of consistent time with the Marlies and the players around him gives him that comfort to play a fast and skilled game – for offense or otherwise. But I'm still not really a believer given how slow and passive Detroit looked in the game, where it was pretty easy for anyone with speed to look good.

Dennis Hildeby

Games — 2
Shots faced — 58
Saves — 54
Save % — .931

The only other player that we saw a lot of (more than one game) that made a good impression was Hildeby. He played all of the second and third games, and looked solid in both. In his first game he was excellent, giving up only one goal on 30+ shots with a couple of really good ones when the game was close.

The goals he gave up in the third game were off a turnover in their own end, a snipe on a Detroit powerplay, and one off a partial breakaway that he initially stopped but had no defense around to clear the rebound... right after he had stopped another breakaway.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

For the rest of the forwards, a few of them looked good at times. Max Ellis had two points in three games. He played on the top line for the final two games, and looked pretty dangerous and feisty at times. Jordan Frasca scored a couple of times and showcased a surprisingly good shot but I didn't see a lot out of him otherwise. Robert Mastrosimone looked very quick, but never really did anything with it. And unfortunately I can't really add any comments on Ty Voit since he only played in the first game, of which only the first 10 or so minutes was actually broadcast.

One forward I'll shout out is Brandon Lisowsky. He not only had four goals in three games, including a hat trick in the final one, but I noticed in the third game he was used on the PK a bit. His second goal of the final game was an absolute snipe that gave them the lead in the third period. And those two tidbits are what you need to know. Him being able to kill penalties and help out on defense will help him a lot, because he's been pretty one dimensional in the WHL and at he can't just rely on that shot at higher levels... even if it is a heck of a shot.

On the blueline, here wasn't much to write home about for anyone. Again, it's a prospect exhibition just as everyone is trying to get warmed up for the regular season. It's not clean, 100% effort, top NHL-level defense from anyone involved.

Topi Niemelä was his usual self when it came to moving the puck, and I believe he scored in the first game as well. He also showed his usual self as a skater, but the same weakness defending in his own zone. Mikko Kokkonen looked like the best defenseman on the team considering every state of the game, and he played in all three games. But I wouldn't say he looked spectacular in spite of his four points. Everyone else was there. They did some good things, they did some bad things, and they did a lot of things where they didn't stand out.

Spencer Sova is someone I'll highlight because he didn't look out of place. He skates very well and has some quick hands, plus he moves the puck well. Defensively, didn't have many huge gaffes that I spotted. I didn't see enough to make me scream that Treliving needs to sign him right now, but I can see an eventual pro of some kind in him. Honestly, the more I saw him the more he impressed me. I'm not fully sold on him, but I can see a similar level prospect as, say, Kressler, so if they think they have an SPC slot to gamble on him I would not tear my hair out if they gave him an ELC.

Finally, aside from Dennis Hildeby there isn't much to say about the goalies. Luke Cavallin got shelled in his one game, but again most of it wasn't broadcast. Peksa I thought might play in the third game so each of the three goalies they brought played one full game... but Hildeby wound up playing the first two periods of the final game, and Peksa played only the third. Peksa did still make the highlights for his humour though!

That's it for Traverse City this year. Let us know your thoughts about who impressed or surprised you in the comments!

Maple Leafs Prospects