Breaking down the Maple Leafs' rookie tournament roster | Part 1, Forwards
2022 Traverse City Rookie Tournament
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced their 27-man roster for the upcoming Traverse City rookie tournament on Tuesday. With a notable amount of prospects based in Europe and the NCAA, it was going to be interesting to see which players the Maple Leafs did and did not elect to bring to the four-game event.
In the end, Toronto is bringing a team with an intriguing mix of young talent vying for NHL minutes in the near future, junior-eligible players getting their first taste of rookie tournament action, AHL-signed prospects looking to make a good impression, and a handful of undrafted invites chasing down an entry-level contract. Let’s dive into things.
Forwards
Nick Abruzzese
Nick Abruzzese is easily the first-year professional I’m most interested to watch this season with the Marlies.
His nine-game sample in the NHL was a bit underwhelming, but there was a clear progression from Game 1 to Game 9. As a small and slight player without high-end skating, it was always a long shot that Abruzzese was going to stand out immediately in his NHL cameo.
Whether he can push play in the right direction and remain a connector at the professional level will be answered this season. That process starts this week in Traverse City and I’ll be keeping a close eye on Abruzzese as a result.
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev
Years removed from being drafted and two seasons of pro hockey under his belt, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev remains as much of an enigma as ever.
Marlies brass lauded Der-Arguchintsev’s progression last year, describing him as one of their most improved players over the course of the season. There are eye-catching tools, but as has been the case since 2018 when he was selected by Toronto, how he puts it all together and what an NHL role for him looks like is still a massive question.
Entering his second season with the Marlies, Der-Arguchintsev has the experience to cement his place as a legit top six centre in the AHL. At what is almost certainly his final rookie tournament, SDA can start by putting together dominant shifts as one of Toronto’s top centres at the event.
Curtis Douglas
One of the big success stories of the Marlies’ 2021-22 season (no pun intended), Curtis Douglas comes into the rookie tournament this year in a very different situation.
A year ago, Douglas was a fascinating, no risk swing on an AHL contract. This year, he has an NHL contract and is looking to take the next step towards a legitimate NHL future.
At 6-foot-9 and 238 pounds, Douglas doesn’t have much upside beyond a future 4C. But that’s okay, because if he can continue to work on his skating and rounds into form as a strong penalty killer, there is an incredibly unique player to be unlocked.
Douglas is still only 22 years old and is coming off of a stellar rookie season with the Marlies, all things considered.
Despite rarely playing above the fourth line and having lots of different wingers over the year, Douglas still produced 34 points in 67 games. His assist rate was particularly strong, if he can convert on more chances around the net, the Leafs could have something here.
Max Ellis
The Maple Leafs’ lone undrafted free agent signing this year, Max Ellis makes his rookie tournament debut as he begins his professional career. The diminutive right-winger brings a ton of speed to the table and aggressiveness on the forecheck.
The 22-year-old was stellar in the first half of the season with Notre Dame, scoring at a point-per-game rate, before struggling down the stretch as he played through an injury. I’m very interested to see how he performs at the tournament and into training camp.
Pavel Gogolev
It’s crazy what a year can do to a prospect’s stock. Coming into the 2021 rookie tournament, interest in Pavel Gogolev was pretty high. He had a stellar 13-game stint with the Marlies that earned him an upgrade to an NHL contract the previous season and some were expecting him to be a real breakout candidate.
Instead, he did just about…nothing.
Gogolev struggled mightily out of the gate and was demoted to the fourth line as his woes continued. Eventually, Gogolev was sent down to the ECHL to refind his form, but failed to get back in the Marlies lineup the rest of the year.
I hope this was a positive offseason for Gogolev and he can use the rookie tournament as a springboard to a bounceback season. There are serious offensive skills there but significant work needs to be done elsewhere. At 22 years old, he needs to right the ship quickly.
Avery Hayes
It wasn’t a surprise to see that Avery Hayes was one of the six undrafted invites returning from development camp.
Hayes had some good moments at development camp but it’s his OHL playoffs that really make him a fascinating free agent. He was good in the regular season, scoring 41 goals and 79 points in 66 games with Hamilton, but exploded for 14 goals and 34 points in just 16 playoff games.
As a 2002 birthdate, it may be difficult for the Leafs to bring him in if he impresses in Traverse City. Toronto only has one contract slot remaining and Hayes would count towards the limit, unlike the aforementioned Fimis.
Hayes would be eligible to play for the Marlies right away and could sign an AHL contract but I’m not sure if he would forgo his final year of junior eligibility for an AHL deal.
Pontus Holmberg
Pontus Holmberg is one of my favourite stories in the entire Maple Leafs organization. Drafted as an overage prospect playing for his hometown team in the Swedish third division, Holmberg progressed from an unknown sixth-round swing to a legitimate first-line centre in the SHL by the time he’s making the move to North America
After scoring 41 points in 46 games last year in Sweden, Holmberg begins his pursuit of an NHL roster spot in Traverse City. He'll likely centre the first line for the Leafs at the tournament and could get quite the look between Nick Robertson and Alex Steeves if Manny Malhotra elects to shape the roster as such.
Holmberg is 23 years old and has four years of SHL experience behind him. If he starts strong here and carries that through Maple Leafs’ camp, don’t be surprised if he’s stealing minutes at 4C sooner than later.
Braeden Kressler
Last year’s development camp and rookie tournament darling that earned an entry-level contract, Braeden Kressler returns looking to reset.
After the high point that was earning an NHL contract, it seemed like everything else went wrong for Kressler the rest of the season. He was bumped down Flint’s lineup early in the season before suffering a torn UCL that kept him out for a significant chunk of the year.
He came back just before the playoffs and had some solid moments, but overall the season was a disappointing one considering where Kressler was coming into the year. A chance to reset this week in Traverse City heading into the OHL season could be just what Kressler needs to find that form once again.
Brandon Lisowsky
It’s a bit funny that Toronto’s last pick of the 2022 draft outscored their first pick of the 2022 draft in the same league. It’s true, Brandon Lisowsky had a more productive draft year than Fraser Minten.
Now, there’s a lot more that goes into player evaluation than points, but this fact does make me wonder how people would feel about Lisowsky if he were a third-round pick instead of a seventh-round pick.
Lisowsky feels like a bit of a “dollar store” Nick Robertson at this point. He’s small but is a legit shooting threat, though he incorporates it primarily in solo efforts and hasn’t quite figured out how to utilize his teammates yet.
There’s a lot of forward depth on this roster so I’m not quite sure how high Lisowsky will play at the event. When he is on the ice, I’m particularly interested to see who it is with and how he performs against stiffer competition.
Sean McGurn
I’m a bit surprised undrafted free agent Sean McGurn is attending the rookie tournament rather than another forward on an AHL contract.
McGurn didn’t stand out much at development camp and doesn’t seem to be a contender for a contract. He had a solid breakout year with the London Knights as a DY+2 but a lot of that production came from playing with Luke Evangelista. I would expect McGurn to be the least used forward at the event.
Fraser Minten
Toronto’s top pick gets his first taste of rookie tournament action this week. He looked good at development camp earlier in the summer and picked up a primary assist in his lone WHL pre-season action before departing for Traverse City.
Given the tight schedule of four games in five days and the anticipated rotation that comes with it, I’d love to see Minten get reps high in the lineup with the likes of Robertson and Steeves at some point over the weekend.
These next two weeks will be a great test for Minten before returning to Kamloops. I liked what I saw in my post-draft viewings of him, there are a lot of raw tools waiting to be refined. I’ll be watching to see if he’s less trigger-happy and gets into more dangerous positions before firing pucks to the net.
Nick Robertson
I didn’t think Nick Robertson would return for another rookie tournament after his dominant finish to the AHL season. He looked the part of pushing for an NHL spot at the end of the Marlies campaign.
Considering the significant leg injury Robertson suffered last year that kept him out for a long period, the rookie tournament is likely being used to help get him a head start prior training camp. I expect Robertson to push for a top nine NHL job and his presence on this roster does not change that whatsoever.
While some already have prospect fatigue with Robertson, I can’t reiterate enough that in what would’ve been his first year in the AHL if not for COVID, he scored at a 40-goal rate. He may be forced to start the season with the Marlies purely due to roster constraints, but I’m ready to see him get a legit run of games in the top nine after what he showed at the end of the 2021-22 season.
Graham Slaggert
Graham Slaggert is the only AHL-signed forward on the rookie tournament roster, which came as a surprise.
Orrin Centazzo attended development camp, Brett Budgell participated in the rookie tournament last year as an invite, and Brandon Kruse is a former NHL draft pick who was signed after his collegiate rights expired. Yet it is only Slaggert who gets the trip to Traverse City.
The former Notre Dame forward will likely be called upon for the dirty work at the event, playing bottom six minutes and killing penalties. Slaggert had some good moments in college but will need to see his offensive output find another level if he is to mix in for the Marlies above a rotational fourth line role this season.
Alex Steeves
Alex Steeves exceeded expectations in his first year as a professional, becoming an important forward for the Marlies early and earning a three-game stint in the NHL.
Steeves impressed last summer at development camp and early in the rookie tournament before being sidelined with injury. I expect he’ll be paired with Robertson once again and form a lethal duo on the Leafs’ top line, regardless of who their pivot is.
Ty Voit
There isn’t much for Ty Voit to accomplish at the rookie tournament considering he already has an NHL contract and he’s headed back to Sarnia for his final year of junior hockey.
That being said, the silky playmaker will enjoy getting to play with linemates that are on his level after a dominant season in the OHL where he didn’t get a ton of help from his Sting teammates. I’ll be interested to see if he is used at centre, where he played last year with Sarnia, or at right wing, likely his long term position.
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