Six more names were revealed this week, bringing us into the top 10. Last week we left off at number 14, William Villeneuve on both lists. There is no 13 on the official list because of a tie at 12th place, and that’s where we start today.

Official Vote

#12 Ty Voit in a tie vote (no, actually I’m not tired of this joke) impressed with a very good OHL season.

2022 Top 25 Under 25: Ty Voit is #12

Where do you see Ty Voit in five years?

Third line in the NHL164
AHL all star183
Getting traded to the Belleville Senators84

#12 Alex Steeves had some votes all over the middle of the list, but one person had him in the top 10. Steeves and Voit arrived 3.67 ranking points above Villeneuve, marking the biggest jump on the official list.

2022 Top 25 Under 25: Alex Steeves is #12

Is Steeves going to make it?

For a cup of coffee, sure130
He’ll play more games than Freddie Gauthier231
He’ll have one good year at 26 and some other team will sign him as a free agent133
He’s the future captain of the Marlies22
I’m an optimist, he’s going to play for the Leafs for 10 years50

#11 Joey Anderson couldn’t crack the top 10, not even with NHL games in the books. However, he was ranked at 8th by one person, and finished nearly a full ranking point ahead of the 12s in average ranking.

2022 Top 25 Under 25: Joey Anderson is #11

Where does Joey Anderson play most of his games this season?

The Leafs78
Another NHL Team319
The Marlies/AHL130

#10 Pontus Holmberg caught our attention with a pair of solid SHL seasons, and a few AHL games last year. He’s in the top 10, and his votes came in a tight group between 9 and 12.

2022 Top 25 Under 25: Pontus Holmberg is #10

What line will Holmberg be on at the end of this regular season?

Maple Leafs 3rd line106
Maple Leafs 4th line237
Maple Leafs press box65
Marlies 1st line208
Marlies 2nd line48
On an SHL team12

#9 Fraser Minten is a newly drafted prospect who vaults straight into the top 10. Last year Matt Knies debuted at 10th place with Mitch Marner still on the list.

2022 Top 25 Under 25: Fraser Minten is #9

Will Minten crack the top 5 in next year’s rankings?

Only if he has a monster season and makes Canada’s WJC roster254
Only if a couple of the guys ahead of him are traded AND he has a monster year63
He’ll make it close but won’t quite make it151
Nope, he won’t be able to until he has a good pro season.70

#8 Nick Abruzzese just barely outranked Minten on the strength of a good pro debut after a long college career.

2022 Top 25 Under 25: Nicholas Abruzzese is #8

How many NHL games does Abruzzese play this season for the Leafs?

60-8212
40-5933
20-39146
10-19165
1-9169
016

Community Vote

In our week two summary, the early signs of agreement between the two rankings were apparent. Now it’s blindingly obvious. Five of the six players on the list are the same, but we begin with one that was different.

#13 Victor Mete

There was a lot of talk in the Mete post (where he was ranked at 18) about his real value considering he might be lost on waivers, he’s almost too old, and he’s on his third NHL team. And yet the community vote had him significantly higher, essentially swapping him with Ty Voit compared to the official vote.  He got a lot of votes in the top 10 as well, and he had an average ranking of 16.72, up a touch from Villeneuve’s 17.51.

#12 Pontus Holmberg

Ranked one place higher than Mete, but with over a full ranking point in average ranking between them, Holmberg was a full step up. Notice how the votes tightened up for Holmberg, as they did on the official list. His average ranking was 15.44.

#11 Joey Anderson

With another jump in ranking, Anderson came in with an average of 14.14.

#10 Alex Steeves

Only half a point ahead of Anderson, Steeves had an average ranking of 13.65.

#9 Nick Abruzzese

Abruzzese was almost a full point higher than Steeves with an average of 12.73.

#8 Fraser Minten

So close to Abruzzese in ranking at 12.62, it’s as near as this list gets to a tie.

For all the agreement between who is on the two lists, the Community Vote is still ranking everyone with a lower average than the official list. The big jumps have already happened on the official list with Holmberg coming in at exactly 10 in average ranking in 10th place. The top 10 aren’t spread evenly to number one, but they are unambiguously the top 10.

On the Community Vote, Steeves at 10th place has a ranking of 13.65, and there’s a big jump yet to come higher up the ranking order in what I consider a fairly surprising place. However, as is now obvious, the top seven players are identical on both lists.

Players seven through four will be revealed next week, a short week after Labour Day. See you Tuesday!

Top 25 Under 25