Maple Leafs Prospect Report: Last Week's Three Stars

I wasn't originally going to do anything like this, and I may not do it very much going forward, but there were a few noteworthy performances and the "Three Stars" was some convenient framing for it. I didn't want to wait to talk about them until I did more full profiles on each player, so I'll give a special shout out to the following three (and three extra minor shouts) players.

Miroslav Holinka

Holinka was by far the star of the holiday weekend. He had a lone goal on Saturday, then absolutely went off in the afternoon yesterday. In a 6-2 win, Holinka scored 2 goals, had 3 assists (2 primary), added 7 shots on net, was a +4, and won 5 of 7 faceoffs. No other teammate had more than 2 points.

More than I've ever seen from his play in the WHL the past two seasons, Holinka wasn't just producing but was showing off his more flashy skills. In his final two assists, you can see he was feeling it. Chipping pucks over a defenseman's stick to start a rush, dangling through his own legs, firing no-look spinning passes, threading a perfect pass to a teammate with two defenders around him. Him being able to figure out how he can be more dominant and flash his skill during play while still being the same reliable two-way center is exactly what I was hoping to see from him this year.

So in two games over the weekend, Holinka had 3 goals and 3 assists, raising his season totals to 7 goals and 11 points in 6 games. Both lead the team despite missing the first three games while at Toronto's pre-season camp.

Tyler Hopkins

Hopkins didn't play as much this weekend, and not since Friday, so his big game got overshadowed. He had 2 goals, 2 assists, 8 shots on net, was a +3, and won 13 of 24 faceoffs in Kingston's 9-1 drubbing of Peterborough. He's up to 4 goals and 4 assists in 7 games. He's tied for 2nd on the team in points, one point back of the leader. Playing as the top line center and in all situations by Kingston, his production and shot rates are all well up. He's not the main offensive driver of his line, but you can see how his speed and playmaking work well with his usual line and powerplay mates.

Victor Johansson

Johansson's bizarre month where he just disappeared from all games finally ended! He played two games leading into the weekend, one on Wednesday and one on Friday. It was finally with the Allsvenskan team he was loaned to, so not the top pro league in Sweden but still pro-level hockey.

Johansson played 13-14 minutes both games, got some powerplay time, and was used late in the first game when they were pushing for the tying goal. He had four shots on net in the first game, then none in the second. Combined, he was a +3 in the two games where they lost the first then won the other. It was a pretty solid debut for him, and I think as he adjusts to the level and the different pace and physicality he can earn more playing time.

Honorary Mentions

There were some other good, but not spectacular performances I wanted to call out at least in brief.

Ben Danford—Since being sent back to Oshawa in the OHL, he's been getting regular powerplay time and averaging over 4 shots per game. I like to see him being more involved in the offense, and he had this lovely primary assist on Monday that was 100% deliberate. You can tell when you see the one replay angle that shows his teammate calling for the pass a bit wide, and Danford perfectly nails the pas right where he wanted it.

Nick Moldenhauer—After two rough years in a row in the NCAA, Moldenhauer has started this year on the second line with Michael Hage and has been doing at least better than last season. He's been a plus player in each game, he has three points in four games, his shot rate is up (so far) even in more limited minutes.

Alexander Plesovskikh—He's still a weird guy to watch, but he's been on a roll of late. He's scored a goal in three straight games, he's been a plus player in each of those games, he's averaged over four shots per game and his ice time has gone up with it. He has 7 goals and 15 points in 13 games, including 5 goals and 6 points in his last 5 games. It would be nice to see him dominate more while he's in junior and earn some playing time in the VHL, but he's definitely on a hot streak.

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!