As the big club, Toronto Maple Leafs, begin to turn the tide on an ugly October, their prospects from around other leagues continue to pique the interest of the team’s brass and fanbase. Players like Matthew Knies and Ty Voit continue to produce in their respective leagues while the team’s goaltending prospects have also made noise around the globe.
As such, we continue to watch from afar as players within the organization make their mark on their respective leagues, whether it be the ECHL, the NCAA or European leagues. With that, here’s a look at how some of the Maple Leafs’ prospects are making out, in this week’s edition of the prospect report.
Ryan Tverberg Earning Honors at UConn
A name that doesn’t surface as much as it should in prospect talk surrounding the Maple Leafs is Ryan Tverberg. The 20-year-old was a seventh-round pick for the Maple Leafs in 2020, 213th overall and while he remains unsigned by the Maple Leafs, his play so far this season at the University of Connecticut is drawing the ire of prospect writers around the hockey world.
The product of Richmond Hill, Ontario, has played 13 games for the Huskies this season with nine goals and 13 points. He has eight goals in his last 10 games and four in his last five earning him the NCAA’s Hockey East Men’s Player of the Month award for October.
He leads the team in goals and points this season and has helped the Huskies to a top ranking in the Hockey East division of the NCAA through their first 13 games — one of their best starts in the program’s history.
Tverberg is a six-foot winger that can play down the middle as well and has strengths outside of his offensive production. But his speed and stick handling make him a threat regardless of where he picks up the puck. As mentioned, he remains without a contract from the Maple Leafs, but Tverberg continues to show why he may be one of those late-round picks that is worth keeping an eye on.
Season Stats (University of Connecticut – NCAA): 13GP | 9G | 4A | 13P | 12PIM | +6
Nicholas Moldenhauer Continues To Be A Steel
Yes, the Maple Leafs may have found another good quality prospect in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft and the Chicago Steel forward continues to impress as a member of the USHL club. Nick Moldenhauer is another unsigned prospect for the Maple Leafs at the moment, but the native of Mississaugua, Ontario, is just getting started.
As a commit to the University of Michigan for the 2023-24 season, Moldenhauer is tearing up the USHL for the Steel this season with 10 goals and 19 points in 15 games to start the year. The perennial top-end franchise, Moldenhauer sits second on the team in goals and points and the Steel sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 9-5-1 record through 15 games.
As for Moldenhauer, he also ranks second league-wide in goals and points and while he’s cooled off as of late — if you can call it that — with six points in his last five games, he remains a major add for the Wolverines in the NCAA next season.
He’s also another Toronto-area kid who should land a contract at some point with the Maple Leafs and could make some noise within the organization.
Season Stats (Chicago Steel – USHL): 15GP | 10G | 9A | 19P | 0PIM | -2
Dennis Hildeby Amongst a Handful of Goalies
One of the biggest shortcomings of the Maple Leafs in recent memory is their inability to develop goaltenders within their organization. Now, the team has names like Artur Akhtyamov, Vyacheslav Peksa and Dennis Hildeby to look forward to as they continue to progress in leagues overseas.
Hildeby is one of them, on a contract with the Maple Leafs, that might be of interest for the those keeping a close eye on the team’s development of their goalies. While the fourth-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2022 might not be getting all the playing time people would like for him, he has put up some good numbers to start the year with Färjestad BK of the SHL.
At six-foot-six and nearly 240 pounds, the 21-year-old Swede has a 2.33 goals against average (GAA) and .918 save percentage (SV%) with a 3-2-0 record through his first five games. However, he has looked better as of late posting 28 saves and only giving up two goals and one in a shootout in his most recent appearance nearing the end of October.
As we’ve seen with recent injuries to the Maple Leafs’ goaltenders, their goaltending depth isn’t a strong point for the organization. However, the continued development of players like Hildeby could prove to be beneficial for the organization.
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Still, while goaltending could be the toughest to predict, recent outings would suggest that Hildeby could climb the depth chart with a little more pro experience.
Season Stats (Färjestad BK – SHL): 5GP | 3-2-0 | 2.33GAA | 0.918SV%
That does it for another week of Maple Leafs’ prospect talk. If there’s a player within the organization that you’d like to discuss further, be sure to leave a note and we will discuss them as we head into the weeks to come.
