The names are becoming more familiar and as all seasons get underway for the 2023-24 regular season, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ prospects will continue to grow in notoriety with avid fans of the team.
Likewise, there will be a number of common names when we sit down to discuss prospects this season as some of the Maple Leafs’ top draftees from the past few years are beginning to develop into possible roster players in the coming seasons.
With that, here are some of the headlines out of the Maple Leafs’ pipeline this week — including the return of a Knight, an AHL first for a seventh-round pick and more top-end numbers from overseas.
Ryan Tverberg Adding Depth to Marlies’ Lineup
After finishing his NCAA career with the University of Connecticut in 2022-23, Ryan Tverberg jumped over the AHL as a reinforcement for the Maple Leafs’ AHL club. He played seven games to close out the regular season with the Marlies, but aside from a minus-two and two penalty minutes, he did have much to show for it.
That said, the Maple Leafs’ 2020 seventh-round pick has once again started the season with the Marlies and this time has a goal and an assist in just two games on the team’s fourth line. He’s lining up alongside Joe Blandisi and Kyle Clifford for the time being — not exactly two players you’d align with offence, however the 21-year-old Tverberg is adding some offence to his game to kick of the campaign.
The points came on Sunday in a game against the Utica Comets, a game in which the Marlies won. It was the team’s third goal and went down as the eventual game winner as the Marlies took the game 5-2. Tverberg picked up an assist early in the third as well on Nick Robertson’s second goal of the game.
While size might be a little bit of a question mark for Tverberg, consistency hasn’t been an issue. In fact, over his last two seasons with Connecticut, he average just under a point per game — similar to where he’s at after just two games with the Marlies.
As for where he sits organizationally, Tverberg has a number of players ahead of him on the depth chart, but as we’ve seen with Pontus Holmberg last season, the Maple Leafs are willing to give players opportunities that they earn. If Tverberg can continue to push in all aspects of his development, there’s no reason he can’t make a case to jump the depth chart this season.
Cowan Returns to London Knights
A surprise lengthy stay with the Maple Leafs during the preseason, Easton Cowan finally made his expected return to the London Knights’ lineup in the OHL. The 2023 first-round pick has already suited up for three games with his junior club with two goals and five points to show for it.
But it may be his defensive game that has stood out just as much as his offensive production since his return. Since coming back, Cowan has been blocking shots which has translated to opportunities for his teammates — specifically fellow 2023 draftee Denver Barkey.
As such, Cowan has taken a spot up on the Knights’ first line and in London, the Hunters love to play their top two lines big minutes each game. This should give Cowan a ton of opportunity to produce big numbers and show the rest of the league what he has to offer.
Related: Maple Leafs’ Keefe Discusses Focus for Domi, Team Defence
While it’s also unlike Cowan, he did get into a scrap in one of his most recent outings with the Knights. Even with the OHL’s stance on fighting, Cowan has shown a sense of leadership amongst his peers in the handful of games he’s played so far this season. I’ve said it before, count on Cowan to aim for that century mark in points this season — it’s far from unrealistic.
Artur Akhtyamov Continues to Dazzle
We’ve already talked about this prospect on a number of occasions and for those who know the Maple Leafs need some homegrown talent in net, it’s an exciting time for the team. Artur Akhtyamov is having quite the start with Ak Bars Kazan in the KHL where he’s playing on loan.
In fact, through 10 games this season, the 21-year-old netminder has a 6-3-0 record with a 2.10 goals against average (GAA) and .937 save percentage (SV%), which includes his first career KHL shutout.
Now, we know it’s the KHL and while it’s North American counterpart is different in a number of ways, for argument sake here’s where Akhtyamov would stack up against NHL goaltending numbers so far this season — in terms of GAA and SV%.
His 2.10 GAA would be good enough for 18th in the NHL — with most of those goalies having played just one or two games to this point. As for his save percentage he would sit 15th in the NHL right now, with the same restriction put on the NHL goaltenders of just a game or two.
There’s no denying that the eventual transition to the NHL could still be a tough one for Akhtyamov when he makes the move, but over the past two seasons it’s hard to discard what he’s done with his development.
As always, keeping an eye on the prospects is a fun way to watch the growth of the Maple Leafs organization and allows you to see which players might be next to don the blue and white. Even if it’s early in the season, we’ll be sure to keep you posted on some of the top headlines from the Maple Leafs pipeline as the year progresses.
