Leaf of the Day: Volume 7 - Peter Holland

By Alex Hobson

As many know, the Leafs have not had too much success over the past 10 years. Not only have they failed to produce at a playoff level on the ice, but their management has been very bad. One of these problems was bad drafting. Several prospects such as Greg McKegg, Jamie Devane, Brad Ross, Tyler Biggs, and Jesse Blacker were drafted with high hopes that they would crack the Leafs roster in coming years. None of them ever panned out, so lots of these prospects have been since dealt. The first one being Jesse Blacker, who was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks along with a third round pick and a conditional seventh round pick in November 2011 in exchange for forward Peter Holland and forward Brad Staubitz. Staubitz would fail to crack the Leafs lineup during his short tenure in the T-dot, but Holland would be an interesting player. Let's look into Holland's history and what you can expect from him in coming years.

Originally drafted 15th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Holland spent his career dating up to the trade with the Ducks, but failed to remain with the Ducks for even half of a season, with his longest season being in 2012-13 where he would appear in 21 games, recording 5 points. After Holland was traded to the Leafs, he would play in 39 games, recording 10 points. In his most recent year, he tallied 25 points in 62 games for the Buds, and has built up a healthy reputation as a utility forward who can play on any line, but preferably in the middle six. Holland began to find penalty kill as well as powerplay time, and developed his game into a more all around fashion.

STATUS: SAFE

This is the first of this status to appear in the Leaf of the Day series, but basically what it means is that he's not untouchable, but he's also not neccesarily availible to other teams, such as Jonathan Bernier or Jake Gardiner. I fail to see any reason why the Leafs would trade Holland, considering he's a young centre who plays offense and defense, and has a very cheap cap hit.

2015-16 ROLE: MIDDLE SIX CENTRE

The way things are shaping up for the upcoming season, it looks like Nazem Kadri will be given first line minutes, so the middle six duties will likely be patrolled by Holland and newly acquired Leaf Shawn Matthias. Whether Holland takes on second or third line duties, he'll likely flourish and stay off the fourth line.

What do you think of Holland, Leafs fans? Where will he play in the upcoming year? Weigh in below.