Key takeaways from the Toronto Maple Leafs’ first Prospect Showdown game

Overall, Cowan’s game looked more mature than it did at last training camp. He showed patience when making passes to teammates, instead of panicking and making a bad play. He also looked good defensively, having broken up plays in his own end, and was fairly rough in his play. The defensive side of his game is one he will have to continue to work on if he wants to make the Leafs’ roster out of training camp.

Luke Haymes

Luke Haymes was a highly sought-after centre prospect in the NCAA last season. He is a two-way centre who has a high hockey IQ. He finished last season with Dartmouth College with 12 goals and six assists for 18 points in 22 games, but came to the Toronto Marlies and scored two goals and four assists for six points in nine games. Pretty impressive AHL debut.

In yesterday’s game, Haymes showed his offensive skills by getting the Leafs on the scoreboard late in the second period. He also made a pass in tight to Ryan Kirwan (who had an assist earlier in the game) to bring the game back within one on the power play:

While Haymes will likely start with the Marlies, the 6’1, 203 lbs centre looks like he could climb the depth charts in the Leafs’ organization. With Fraser Minten being traded at last year’s trade deadline, the Leafs need to develop players at centre in their system.

The other guys

Braeden Kressler showed promise on both sides of the ice. In the first period, his quick stick stopped a good scoring chance. His biggest asset by far is his speed. He looked engaged and used his speed to force defenders to make decisions.

His forechecking was what made the Leafs maintain puck possession in the Senators’ zone, which resulted in Haymes’ goal:

Artur Akhtyamov showed many things to like about his game. He made several key saves during the game, including a sprawling save that led to Quillan’s goal. He noticeably likes to handle the puck, which led to an excellent chance the other way:

However, what ended up being the game-winning goal for the Senators, he was way out of position and is likely a goal he would have liked to have back. Still, it’s hard to evaluate his performance after having limited practice time with the prospect squads. At just 23 years old, he still has a lot of promise.

The Leafs play tomorrow against the Montreal Canadiens. Having gotten the first game jitters out of the way, I would expect a better performance from the Leafs’ prospects. But what did you think of the first (mini) Leafs in action? Leave a comment below!