TLN’s February Maple Leafs prospect rankings: 15-11

Welcome back to TLN’s February Maple Leafs prospect rankings! Today, we continue our countdown, starting with the 15th-ranked prospect in the Maple Leafs’ system. While the bottom end of the prospect pool amounts to long shots and players who have seen their stock drop a bit over the last couple of years, the group of players listed below features a couple of fresh faces and a player who has elevated his status through the first part of the season.

TLN’s February Maple Leafs prospect rankings: 20-16

15 | Sam McCue | W | Flint (OHL) | Drafted: 2024, 7th round, 216th overall

The second of three picks the Leafs made in the final round of the 2024 draft, McCue has made the biggest impact this season and done the most to establish himself as a legitimate NHL prospect. He began the season lighting the lamp for the Owen Sound Attack and has since been traded to the Flint Firebirds, but his pace has only improved since joining his new club. After potting 18 goals and 31 points through 35 games with Owen Sound, McCue has notched nine goals and 15 points in just 14 games since being traded to Flint.

McCue’s offensive outburst through the first half of the season might have been a bit unexpected, but it is a byproduct of the way he plays the game. The Sudbury native is a max-effort player who doesn’t give an inch to the opposition, banging bodies on the forecheck and hunting pucks with a relentless motor. McCue has gotten better at creating his own looks this season, but he is still more of a finisher than a creator, thanks in large part to his quick catch-and-release wrister. At 6’2″ and 190 pounds, he is built to play that physical style of game along the walls, but he also uses his large frame to drive to the middle of the offensive zone to create space for his teammates, leading to second-chance scoring opportunities around the net. In order for McCue to reach his ultimate potential, improvements to his overall skating posture and puck skills will be key, but it isn’t difficult to envision him as a high-energy fourth-liner at the NHL level down the road.

14 | Victor Johansson | LHD | Leksands (SHL/J20 Nationell) | Drafted: 2024, 4th round, 120th overall

Unranked by Central Scouting, Johansson was certainly an off-the-board pick for the Leafs in the fourth round of the 2024 draft. His production in Sweden’s U20 league didn’t jump off the page, and he was listed at just 143 pounds on draft day, but the Leafs have been rewarded by placing their faith in Swedish scout Thommie Bergman before, and they trusted his evaluation of Johansson enough to take the swing.

Johansson is the youngest of three brothers to be drafted into the NHL and is the cousin of San Jose Sharks centre Alex Wennberg. That type of pedigree may have helped put him on the radar for the Leafs, but there are plenty of tools in his game that provide reason to believe in his potential. Johansson has a projectable frame, standing at 6’1″, and despite having plenty of filling out left to do, he doesn’t shy away from engaging physically. He does a good job maintaining his gaps in transition and directing oncoming attackers to the outside, and he will step up to separate his man from the puck when given the opportunity.

With the puck on his stick, Johansson does a good job of quickly assessing his options and finding an outlet to get play moving up the ice, and his offensive output has increased in a big way so far this season. He has good mobility that allows him to hold the offensive blue line and retrieve pucks under duress, and he does a good job of mitigating risk with his decisions. Selecting Johansson was a long-term play, but he has already added around 20 pounds since the draft and has even gotten a couple of recalls to the SHL. It will still be a while before this pick can be declared a success or otherwise, but the early returns have been encouraging.

13 | Roni Hirvonen | W | Toronto (AHL) | Drafted: 2020, 2nd round, 59th overall

It’s been a slow burn for Hirvonen since being drafted by the Leafs back in 2020, and he’s been met with plenty of obstacles along the way. After a few solid seasons in Liiga, he made his way across the pond to begin his North American career prior to last season, but things didn’t start well for the former second-round pick. First, he was concussed as a result of a massive open-ice hit in development camp, and when he finally suited up for his Marlies debut, he took a high stick to the eye that nearly ended his playing career. To Hirvonen’s credit, he has persisted, but his time with the Leafs’ organization may be running short, with his entry-level deal set to expire after this season.

Hirvonen is a versatile, gritty player who can play in all situations, but his small stature and lack of separating speed could hold him back from breaking through to the top level. He processes the game well enough, can make plays off the wall, is a responsible defender, and is more than willing to get into the dirty areas around the opposing net. He has good vision in the offensive zone, and he can beat goaltenders cleanly when given a chance to let it fly from a good spot. Aside from his lack of foot speed, there are no real glaring holes in Hirvonen’s game, but he hasn’t really differentiated himself in any one area, either. With the Leafs’ organization still in a bit of a transition period under the Treliving regime, Hirvonen could be at risk of not receiving a qualifying offer this summer as they clear the deck for more recent picks and undrafted free agents.

12 | Ryan Tverberg | C/W | Toronto (AHL) | Drafted: 2020, 7th round, 213th overall

The Leafs had already made 11 picks in the 2020 draft before they traded a future pick to get back into the seventh round and select Richmond Hill’s Ryan Tverberg out of the OJHL. It was an intriguing move at the time, and Tverberg’s development over the last few years has vindicated that process.

Tverberg blossomed into a bit of a fan-favourite type of prospect over three seasons at UConn before turning pro and joining the Marlies at the end of the 2022-23 season. He continued to impress in his first full pro season a year ago, but he has taken a step back this year and put his projection as a bottom-six NHLer back into question. When Tverberg has it going, it’s not difficult to see why he’s a player that fans could rally behind; he brings a high work-rate to every shift, plays the game with speed, and has shown an ability to finish scoring plays around the net. He isn’t quite a shutdown defensive presence, but he brings a consistent effort at both ends of the ice and does a lot of little things that help drive possession.

Tverberg can play down the middle or on the wing, but I think he is more effective on the wing, where he can better utilize his speed to stretch defensive coverages and wreak havoc on the forecheck. The physicality that he displayed in college hasn’t shown up as consistently at the pro level, but it’s still in there, and unlocking that part of his game could put him on the path to being an energetic fourth-liner with a bit of scoring touch at the NHL level.

11 | William Villeneuve | RHD | Toronto (AHL) | Drafted: 2020, 4th round, 122nd overall

When it comes to young hockey players, development is rarely linear, but Villeneuve has been on a slow and steady upward trajectory since being drafted. Chosen on the strength of his offensive output in the QMJHL, Villeneuve has worked to soften the rough edges in his game over the last four-and-a-half seasons to the point where he is tracking to earn a second contract and an opportunity to continue that development in the Leafs’ system.

In his draft year, Villeneuve was a dynamic offensive threat from the blue line with a sloppy stride and little in the way of risk management skills. The following season brought a more committed defensive game at the cost of some offensive production, but he was able to find more of a balance a year later, putting him among the best two-way defencemen in the QMJHL in his final year of junior hockey. In his first two seasons with the Marlies, Villeneuve continued to refine his approach and become a more reliable defensive presence while still helping to drive offence from the back end. This season, he has started to find that balance as he did in his final year of junior, and he has continued to earn a larger role with the Marlies as the season has progressed, tracking for a career year offensively in the process.

Villeneuve’s skating has also improved significantly, and while mobility still isn’t a strength of his game, it is no longer an obvious weakness. He is a capable puck mover who can manipulate lanes in transition, and he can run a power play with good vision and a heavy shot from the point. In the defensive zone, Villeneuve does a good job of picking spots to attack puck carriers, and his puck skills translate to a good defensive stick that helps him win contested pucks and break up passes. He was a project when he was drafted by the previous GM, but the work that’s been put in has started to pay off, and Villeneuve looks like a potential depth piece that Brad Treliving will want to keep around.

Statistics from EliteProspects.com