Maple Leafs prospect update: Hayley Wickenheiser breaks down 10 of the team’s top prospects

If there is a characteristic that links Matt Knies to Fraser Minten to Roni Hirvonen and the rest of the Maple Leafs top prospects, it’s their hockey IQ.

Leafs assistant GM Hayley Wickenheiser runs the team’s player development program — keeping tabs on and giving pointers to players the Leafs drafted and hope to convert one day to the big club.

“Who doesn’t like a smart guy?” says Wickenheiser. “The way we talk about hockey players is a good hockey player can make other players around him better, and so do they add to the environment they are in, or do they take away?

“We look at the IQ and the ability of a player to translate to the next level. Can they work within the framework of the team but also complement the players around them? That to me is hockey IQ.”

Though GM Kyle Dubas hasn’t had a great number of draft picks the past few years, the Leafs scouting staff seems to have drafted well by putting high hockey IQ at the top of the list of qualities to look for in a young player.

The Star chatted with Wickenheiser regarding the Leafs’ top prospects who have yet to play in the NHL, AHL or ECHL. Any of these players could one day make the NHL, or be used as a trade chip to bring in an established player for the playoff run.

LW Matt Knies

Vitals: 20, six-foot-three, 209 pounds

Stats: 17 goals, 13 assists in 28 games at the University of Minnesota

Skinny: The 57th overall pick in the 2021 draft is a Hobey Baker finalist hoping to go to the Frozen Four. From Phoenix, he was coached by Shane Doan. Most believe Knies is the closest to NHL-ready among the Leafs’ top prospects, and could sign — and maybe even play in the top six — once his college season is over.

Wickenheiser says: “He’s definitely having a very good season. From a development perspective, he’s doing all the things that we’ve asked. He’s dominating physically. He’s scoring goals in tight, but also from those mid-to-long-range spots. He’s scored at key moments, getting goals, overtime goals and being a physical presence game in and game out, consistently through the year.”

C Fraser Minten

Vitals: 18, six-foot-two, 192 pounds

Stats: 23 goals, 22 assists in 38 games with the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL

Skinny: The 38th pick of the 2022 draft came out of the same Vancouver academy that produced his friend, Connor Bedard. Minten (wrist) was hurt in his first Leafs training camp, so started late. His season will go late with his Kamloops hosting the Memorial Cup. He’s on Hockey Canada’s radar and should be on the 2024 World Junior team. Signed an entry-level deal.

Wickenheiser says: “He’s a big body. So it’s taking time for him to physically fill out. Fraser is just a very intelligent kid who studies the game. He wants a lot of information, always trying to get better, always asking questions. His IQ is definitely what sets him apart. The next steps will be to develop his skating power, his ability to make plays in contact to get through the middle of the ice and become a more imposing player. He’s had a couple of setbacks (injuries), but it shows he’s also not afraid to engage physically. You like to see that in kids like that who are so smart and cerebral.”

G Dennis Hildeby

Vitals: 21, six-foot-six, 234 pounds

Stats: 8-7-0, 2.32, .917 with Farjestads of the SHL

Skinny: The 122nd pick in the 2022 draft is the starter for Farjestads. Passed over in the draft twice, his game blossomed last year and he continues to improve. Signed to an entry-level deal.

Wickenheiser: “Probably considered our top goaltending prospect. Playing really well in the SHL this year. He’s obviously huge. We continue to work on his rebound control and his finesses around the net. Well thought of in terms of what he’s done in the SHL, which is a good league.”

C Ryan Tverberg

Vitals: 21, six feet, 190 pounds

Stats: 12 goals, 12 assists in 28 games at the University of Connecticut

Skinny: Could be a seventh round pick (213th overall in 2020) who pans out. The centre from Richmond Hill came out of nowhere and almost cracked Team Canada’s world junior team in December of 2020, making the last cut. Finishing his third year at U-Conn and takes part in summer skates at the Ford Performance Centre with the rest of the Leafs in the system. Remains unsigned because he’s in college.

Wickenheiser says: “This is a kid who is really intriguing. He is fearless in the way that he plays. He flies up and down the rink so very hard. A north-south game. Plays with a lot of pace. The next level for him is we continue to work with him on adding layers to his game. He certainly has the ability and physicality that translates to the pro game. He’s a kid that we really like, maybe a little underrated but certainly is someone that we believe in.”

C Roni Hirvonen

Vitals: 21, five-foot-nine, 172 pounds

Stats: 13 goals, 11 assists in 45 games at HIFK in the top Finnish league

Skinny: The 59th pick of the 2020 draft, Hirvonen captained Finland’s world junior team 2022 and plays a solid defensive game. Signed to an entry-level deal.

Wickenheiser: “A little bit of an underrated player. He’s a very responsible, serious kid who is dedicated to his craft. And the biggest challenge for Roni is the skating part of his game. We’re not too worried about his point production. He’s fearless. He’s not afraid to go to the tough areas of the ice to make plays. He’s a 200-foot player. He’s very complete that way. The question is the pace.”

D Topi Niemela

Vitals: 21, five-foot-11, 170 pounds

Stats: Six goals, seven assists in 45 games with Karpat of the Finnish top league

Skinny: The 64th overall pick from the 2020 draft is on the small side for a defenceman, and the Leafs have plenty of those, but he shoots right and that should help. Was Hirvonen’s teammate on the world junior team, and has played on the national senior team. He’s got flare. Remains unsigned.

Wickenheiser says: “He’s got a bit of a surfer dude mentality. He may be the best passer in the SM Liiga in terms of the way he can distribute the puck. He’s slight, a little bit small. So he’s going to have to fill out physically and just get stronger.”

C Braeden Kressler

Vitals: 20, five-foot-nine, 165 pounds

Stats: 22 goals, 22 assists in 39 games for OHL’s Flint Firebirds

Skinny: Kressler was signed as an undrafted free agent. The pandemic with its limitations on playing time probably ruined the chances of the Kitchener native being drafted. He impressed at Leafs rookie camp and got an invitation to the main camp.

Wickenheiser: “Here’s a kid who’s tripled his point production from last year and had a rough year with injuries. He’s really come on and become a good relied-upon leader and a producer for them playing centre or the wing.”

RW Ty Voit

Vitals: 19, five-foot-nine, 150 pounds

Stats: 15 goals, 56 assists 71 with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting

Skinny: The 153rd overall pick in the 2021 draft is small, but has time to add weight. Former Marlies captain Rich Clune has been working with developing his physical game. Voit was disappointed to have been left off Team USA’s world junior roster. Signed to an entry-level deal.

Wickenheiser says: “Ty’s had a very consistent season in terms of his on-ice play. He’s a top scorer. He’s an excellent skater, and he’s going to put points up. It’s working on the defensive side, steals, playing in contact, the things that are going to translate to him playing at the next level. He’s a small guy. So he’s going to have to overcome that. He’s done everything asked of him up to this point.”

RW Nicholas Moldenhauer

Vitals: 18, five-foot-10, 180 pounds

Stats: 16 goals, 27 assists in 34 games with the Chicago Steel in the USHL

Skinny: The 95th overall pick in the 2022 draft is among the top scorers in the USHL. From Mississauga, he’s a product of the GTHL’s Toronto Titans. Remains unsigned.

Wickenheiser says: “He’s an older kid playing in the USHL, so we set that expectation to be able to dominate that league, point-wise and physicality. He’s got a good shot, but it’s just learning how to manipulate that shot is the next level for him. Hard-nosed. He competes really well on the ice and doesn’t back down I think is another solid two-way player for us.”

LW Brandon Lisowsky

Vitals: 18, five-foot-nine, 180 pounds

Stats: 26 goals, 23 assists in 45 games for the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades

Skinny: The 218th pick in the 2022 draft is third in team scoring in Saskatoon. Remains unsigned by the Maple Leafs.

Wickenheiser says: “A small kid in stature. Came in this year not sure what to expect of him. Good scorer. He’s got a very good shot. I think for him, the defensive side of his game and looking at what his identity will be as he looks to turn pro in the next few years. Will he be top six or bottom six? Can he play in the bottom-six role and be relied upon defensively? We know he can put up points and score.”

The Russians

Skinny: Russia’s status as a pariah nation leaves NHL teams on the outside looking in as far as their prospects go. It’s mostly watching video and occasional phone calls. Though signed, centre Rodion Amirov (15th overall in 2020) is no longer a real prospect due to his battles with brain cancer. Most of the rest are unsigned. Goalies Artur Akhtyamov (106th overall in 2020) and Vyacheslav Peksa (185th overall in 2021) have yet to make an impact on the KHL. But six-foot-two winger Nikita Grebenkin (135th overall in 2022) of the KHL’s Amur Khabarovsk is one to keep an eye on with nine goals, 14 assists in 40 games.

Wickenheiser says: “He’s playing top-six KHL minutes, averaging over half a point a game. Dynamic winger who can shoot and can make plays. He can skate really well. He’s a player who is very intriguing right now and is trending in the right direction.”

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