Maple Leafs Prospect Report: The Toronto Marlies

This post will not act as a full season preview for all of the Marlies. I've never been a constant Marlies watcher or follower, that's Species' turf! What I'm doing is previewing the season when it comes to some of Toronto's more noteworthy prospects that will be playing on the Marlies. I'm not saying all prospects on the Marlies, for me it's mainly the ones I am the most interested in. So all that said, let's get to it.

One thing I'm going to get out of the way is that trying to guess a player's role on the Marlies will be very tough, especially for the younger/newer guys to the roster. The Marlies always carry a LOT of guys, and roles move around as they shift rosters according to who got called up to the NHL, who got lost on waivers, who's hurt, who do they want to cycle in, and so on. And again, I also don't watch or follow the Marlies that regularly. I only really started to last year because of Minten and Greb, and this year because of Cowan and (to a lesser extent) Chadwick.

So I will be guessing at or stating my hopes and expectations.

Easton Cowan

This is assuming that Cowan will start the year on the Marlies, which I think is the more likely way the season will go. I'll be using other top prospects Toronto have had go through the Marlies to guess at how he'll be used. That would be guys like Minten, Greb, Hirvonen, and NRob. Typically, they all got pretty regular playing time, dressing for most games and having more than just a depth role. That doesn't mean they got a top role, however. From what I remember, Minten and Greb and Hirvonen may have gotten time on the powerplay or penalty kill, but not on the top units. So they got practice in that regard but were still somewhat sheltered.

Cowan will be the best forward prospect to go through the Marlies since NRob, but I don't expect that to change a lot. At least not to start the season. If he blows the doors off everything with how good he looks (and if that's the case why wouldn't he be on the Leafs?) that could change. But I'd expect him to be a middle six winger with some bigger and older players on his line to help him adjust. Last year, with Minten or Greb, I remember seeing Cédric Paré with them a lot. I think he could also work well with either Quillan or Haymes, who I'm guessing will be the 2C and 3C behind Shaw as their most frequent 1C last year.

As for expectations about performance, that will partly depend on how much playing time and what powerplay role he gets. He may not be given a top unit spot right away but he will at least get regular second unit time to start. He's more of a point producer than Minten or Greb was, but not as purely offense focused as an NRob. So let's set the bar somewhere between each of their first AHL seasons, which would be between around 0.6 to 0.7 points per game.

Luke Haymes

Haymes is one of the more interesting NCAA free agents that Toronto has signed in recent years, to me at least. If he follows the same usage path that Quillan did, he'll be a middle six centre this season. He bounced between the 3rd and 4th lines last year from what I remember, but this year the other guy who would have competed with Haymes and Quillan for a middle six centre spot was Blandisi, who left for the KHL.

I'm not sure who will be used where between the two, but I'd expect that for most games when Haymes and Quillan both dress that they will be the 2C and 3C in whatever order. For special teams, Haymes will fight for a spot on the second powerplay, like Quillan did last year – but I think Haymes has better offensive ability, so he could wind up taking a role on the top unit. Steeves, Abruzzese, Blandisi and Hirvonen are all gone from last year, so there will be spots available. I'm predicting a big season from him this year.

Jacob Quillan

Quillan is a guy I still like, as a regular AHLer at least. He came in as a two-way centre who could help push play in the right direction but was not a top offensive guy. That showed to start his AHL career, where in his first 27 games in the AHL he only had 5 points. But since December last season, he's had 17 goals and 33 points in 50 games. His shot rate increased too, from around 1.5 per game to over 2.5. Some of this is definitely more usage, but he's earned the usage by playing so well.

Already talked about his potential role when talking about Haymes, because the two will be (I think) very similar in terms of role. I said 2C and 3C above, but really I'd consider them more as each being 2.5Cs, with different special teams roles. Haymes I think is better offensively, goal scorer and inside-driven guy, and may get a bigger role on the powerplay. But Quillan is a better little things play-driver and potentially a better playmaker. I hope to see him continue his scoring pace from the last 2/3 of the season last year, maybe even with a little bump if he's made some small improvements this off-season.

Borya Valis

Valis will be an interesting guy to see how Toronto wants to fit him in on the regular Marlies roster. He got into three games (two regular season, one playoffs) after his WHL playoff run ended – in two of the three games he played he was on the 2nd line, and on the other game he was on the third. So they seemed to like him enough to give him that chance already last year, including the one playoff game.

I can see why. He's bigger, he's already older (21 years old), he plays a pro-ready game even if he's not a line driver. Honestly, I didn't mention him as a potential linemate for Cowan but that kind of player would work well with him. Be big, forecheck hard, clear space for him, get to the net and cause chaos while Cowan does his thing.

As for expectation in points, I'd ask him to aim for what Greb managed – around 0.5 points per game, since they have a similar profile and he was the same age playing his first AHL season last year as Valis will be this year. It will help if he can carve out a secondary PP role for himself as a net front guy, which I think he certainly has the potential for.

Noah Chadwick

I honestly have no idea what to expect from Chadwick on the Marlies. He has the benefit of size, but so much of my doubts about him have to do with him being able to translate his game to the pro level. Just because he was a star in junior doesn't mean he'll be one in the AHL, especially right away. His skating issues mean he can struggle to deal with speed, and the jump in pace and speed from the CHL to the AHL is significant.

I'll compare him to Villeneuve, since they were both drafted around the same area, and they both had similar strengths and weaknesses. I think Chadwick is probably better coming into the AHL than Villeneuve was, but given just how many defensemen the Marlies have even if some stick around on the Leafs roster and one or two others get lost on waivers, I'm guessing Chadwick will be eased into things on the third pairing. Maybe with some second unit powerplay time, maybe some penalty kill time.

How Chadwick adapts defensively is more important to me than if he can put up points. But if you care about that, then look at how Villeneuve did as an AHL rookie as your measuring stick – around 0.45 points per game.

Blake Smith

Smith is only 8 months older than Chadwick, but an inch taller and 20 lbs heavier. He's already a pro-ready size, and is a better skater. His offense isn't as good as far as junior goes, but I'll say it again for those who turned it into a drinking game – I don't care about the points, especially for a defenseman. While I'd say that Chadwick is more likely to get more of a shot/a bigger role with the Marlies to start because of his status as a prospect in the organization, I'm not sure I'd view Smith as being that far behind him. They're both lefties, so they'll be competing for playing time.

All that said, I mentioned that the Marlies defense is pretty stacked and I think it's worth illustrating that. Here are all the guys they have under contract paired up in no particular order:

Dakota Mermis – Matt Benning
Marshall Rifai – Philippe Myers
Cade Webber – William Villeneuve
John Prokop – Chas Sharpe (AHL contract)
Noah Chadwick – Ryan McCleary (AHL contract)
Blake Smith – Rhett Parsons (AHL contract)

You can make two entire rosters from the lot. Some of them will be sent to the ECHL team, where Sharpe, McCleary and Parsons were last year. But that's as good an indication as any that if Chadwick or Smith want more of a role, they should volunteer to play on their off hand/right side and practice like hell at it because there's a much easier opportunity than there is on the left side.

Artur Akhtyamov

Only including Akhtyamov here because of the weirdness around Hildeby's contract situation, since he's still unsigned. Akhtyamov is a guy who I think probably does better with a bigger workload, given he was a work horse at every level he played in Russia. Last year he was one of three guys getting starts, and while he was up and down he was generally meh.

If Hildeby doesn't wind up signing here (though I am still assuming he will) or for some reason takes time to do so, I'd love to see Akhtyamov get a run early in the year. If we're going to still believe he has some NHL upside, he's going to have to do what Woll finally did around the same age and take a leap in his performance to where there's no doubt he's a top AHL goalie.

And of course after I finished writing this, Hildeby signs. Oh well, still hoping him and Akhtyamov get the bulk of stars instead of splitting them three ways like last year.

AHL Contracts

All of the players mentioned above are among the more interesting prospects Toronto has signed to ELCs and will be on the Marlies this coming season. Then there's a few guys that are on AHL deals who I still find interesting. I won't go into the same level of detail talking about them, but

Gunnarwolfe Fontaine – Aside from the great name, he's interesting because he was always a very good NCAA player. He's already older, at 24 years old, but finished his season on a good run by Ohio and led the team in goals (17) and points (40) in 40 games. He's smaller, and not so good offensively that I think he has an NHL future. But I think he'll be fun to watch in the AHL.

Ryan Kirwan – In a similar boat as Fontaine, Kirwan is a year younger at 23 and has pro-level size at 6'2" and 205 lbs. He finished his NCAA career with Arizona, leading the team in goals (26) and points (39) in 37 games. In fact, he finished among the leaders in goals in the entire NCAA. He's a shooter for sure, but he has some speed to his game and will play with a physical edge. The question for him is how much his speed and shot will play up in the pros, and if he can turn that speed and physicality into at least being useful as a pro-style depth player.

Ben King – Unlike the other two, King has spent the past two seasons in the AHL already. He was in a similar boat as Borya Valis as a bigger player (6'3") who was an older prospect in the CHL when he had his breakout season, leading the WHL in goals with 52 and finishing second in points with 105. He played a shortened season after that, before making his AHL debut with San Diego before he was a free agent and signed instead with the Manitoba Moose for the following season. Both years he was around 0.5 points per game, not the mark of a star but was contributing in more of a depth role. He's more in the Fonaine camp for me, being 23 years old already and barring some late, miraculous leap in his development, I'm more hoping he can turn into a solid AHL contributor.

Chas Sharpe – Sharpe is a 6'3" right shot defenseman who's turning 22 in November this year. He's coming off his first pro season that saw him spend all but four games in the ECHL, but he actually tied for the team lead in goals (25) and was third in points (46) after leading in both for most of the season. Cincinnati was kind of an awful, hot mess for the entire first half of the year, and Sharpe was their lone bright spot.

Ryan McCleary – McCleary is someone who was invited to Toronto's development camp and rookie tournament last year, and stood out enough to earn an AHL contract. Both Cathy and myself liked him a fair bit then, even if we knew he likely wasn't going to explode – and he didn't. He spent his first season in the ECHL and was good, not great, but enough for Toronto to sign him to another AHL deal for this coming season. He's less of a purely offensive defenseman like Sharpe, and more of a two-way guy. I didn't watch any of the ECHL last year to check in on him, but as a righty he could be a sneaky option to get some AHL time if the team likes his overall play better than Sharpe. They only have three natural right handed defensemen on NHL deals, and I'd bet that one of Benning or Myers winds up claimed on waivers or starts the year on the Leafs.

And that's it for the previews!

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!