In his second professional season, Jerry D'Amigo established himself as a prospect capable of succeeding at the next level. In addition, he cemented his status as possibly the first late-round draft steal unearthed by Brian Burke's tenure as General Manager.
And six months after our first edition of the Top 25, despite D;Amigo's progress in that time, he drops one spot in our rankings.
What caused D'Amigo's step back on our rankings? Let's examine this a bit further?
D'Amigo's took a big step forward from his difficulties in scoring at the AHL level in his first rookie season. Having secured regular playing time in the Marlies top nine (often top six), D'Amigo upped his production to over half a point per game, registering 41 points in 76 games.
In the playoffs, D'Amigo was instrumental to the success of their Calder Cup playoff run. He scored a number of timely (and empty-net) goals to help push the Marlies offence forward, finishing second in goals and tied for second with Matt Frattin in points in the playoffs, with 13 points in 17 games.
| Prior Rank | JP Nikota | PPP | Chemmy | SkinnyFish | birky | Plea From A Cat Named Felix | clrkaitken | Rank |
| 16 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 17 |
If you recall, the ranking system assigns a point value for each ranking. The full list is compiled by sorting the list from the most points to least. What's interesting is that D'Amigo actually increased the amount of points he received (106 total points compared to 101 in the winter), but dropped a spot in the total rankings. New additions to this edition of the Top 25 Under 25 have made the decision as we go higher into the rankings more difficult.
He recived modest increases on most people's lists, increasing between 1 and 3 spots. JP Nikota held him steady at #13, and Chemmy was the only person to drop him to #19, down seven from his ranking of #12 prior.
Jerry D'Amigo is an American hero. He's also a kid with a weird development path spanning the NCAA, OHL and AHL despite only being 21. He's about a half point per game player in the AHL at 21 which should translate into something like a 20 point season if he played 82 games in the NHL next year.
I ranked Jerry here because he seems like a solid lock for a third liner and in my mind I want prospects with upside. I think there's a great chance D'Amigo contributes in the NHL, I just don't think it'll be in anyone's top six.
Having a capable third liner who can kill penalties effectively is a successful use of a sixth-round pick, but if Jerry D'Amigo isn't able to crack into a top six role, then the mid-teens might be where he peaks on our list. The Leafs have been investing heavily in its young forwards (including a number of young forwards we've seen in the last week on this list) to shore up its scoring depth. Another season of improvement in scoring could go a long way towards solidifying D'Amigo's status as a future NHL prospect.
