2016 Top 25 Under 25: Honourable Mentions

With the Top 25 under way, questions have been asked about players who just missed the cut, who are numbers 30-25? Who got voted on by one member, but ignored by the rest? Lucky for you, seldo is here to help by spilling our secrets.

I know honourable mentions should probably go before the rankings start, but we didn't want to take the surprises out of the bottom of the list.

#33 JD Greenway

Greenway spent last season with the USNTPD, and made a huge jump from "scrappy kid" to becoming a reliable defenseman. His penalties went down, while his points shot up. We can expect good things from Greenway in the NCAA I'm sure. Ranked by only two voters, 25th both times, Greenway will have to make a huge impression in Wisconson this year. I discussed Greenway earlier in the series here.

#32 JJ Piccinich

Despite being part of the dominant London Knights team, Piccinich didn't get any love from the T25 voters. Only Acha put him in the Top 25 at number 22. Can he use this year to break free from Dvorak and Marners shadows? His points were good all season and in the playoffs, so use this time to shine JJ.

#31 Antoine Bibeau


Bibeau was the Marlies go to guy for the playoffs, and started the majority of the Marlies regular season games as well. Jumping into what was once a crowded goalie market in Toronto, Bibeau was clearly managements guy from the start for the Marlies, if this continues into the next season, Bibeau could get his first NHL start as a call up.

#30 Kasimir Kaskisuo


The NCAA goalie in the group got a big bump up, thanks to Acha placing him at number 15 in her rankings. You can see her reasoning here. As you can see, not many people were high on goalies this year. Kaskisuo had an impressive run with Minnesota-Duluth, something that couldn't escape the Leafs, who already had an eye on the team thanks to Cameranesi and Toninato playing there.

#29 Frederik Gauthier


Freddie the goat, one of the more debatable members of the Under 25 club on the Leafs fell short this year, but did crack the top 30 atleast. Ranked by four voters, Gauthier wasn't a world beater on the scoreboard but did enough for management to bring him up for seven NHL games. Can Gauthier step up his game this year on a crowded Marlies team?

#28 Viktor Loov

When I was at a Marlies ECF game there was a row of people with "WE (heart) LOOV" painted on their chests in the Marlies end. The only Marlie with his own devoted cheering section could have used their help this year in the voting. Personally, I put him at 20 as I saw a solid defender for the Marlies, who, with some work this year, could crack the NHL. He's someone I'd trust when the score is close in the final minutes, hopefully that is rewarded this year.

#27 Garret Sparks

Sparksy, Mr. Sparkles, Sprinkles, whatever you called him he was a hot topic in the Leafs world this year. Spanning three leagues, Sparks became the first goaltender in Maple Leafs history to pitch a shutout in his debut. He's always had his supporters, and his AHL numbers were good. If the Leafs don't have a backup by camp could Sparks be the guy they turn to?

#26 Adam Brooks


Probably the most popular player left off our rankings, Brooks missed by just 4 voting points. A 120 point scorer in the WHL last year and he put up almost 2 points per game in the playoffs for Regina. If Brooks makes the Marlies this year could he turn into the biggest whiff we've ever made in the Top 25?

There are the ranked players who didn't get into the Top 25. Do you have a favourite? Click the link below to vote for the player you think deserves to make it and the top choice will be included in the community rankings, which will begin this weekend!

Top 25 Under 25 Community Vote: Give one Maple Leafs prospect a second chance