Everybody is aware of the job Mark Hunter has done with the Maple Leafs' prospect pool since being hired prior to the 2014-15 NHL season. Before the 2015 NHL Draft, the Leafs easily had one of the worst prospect pools in the NHL. They had William Nylander occupying the top spot, with Connor Brown, Andreas Johnson, and Frederik Gauthier following behind him. Nylander was a blue chip prospect, Brown and Johnson were good prospects, and Gauthier was decent. After that, they had essentially nothing. With the additions of Mitch Marner and Kasperi Kapanen among others this summer, they now have one of the best. I will now take a look at three of the Leafs' most underrated prospects in the system.
1. Nikita Soshnikov, RW, Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL (Undrafted Free Agent)
Soshnikov joined the Maple Leafs after being signed from the KHL by the club last March. There were other teams in the running to sign him, and when asked why he chose Toronto he said it was because they were rebuilding, he would have a better chance at making the roster. That wasn't the case right away, as Soshnikov couldn't join the Maple Leafs organization until the 2015-16 season and the Leafs didn't want to drop him into the NHL before giving him a taste of AHL action.
The Nizhny Tagil native has put up a respectable 18 goals and 28 points in 50 games for the Marlies this season, and recently earned himself a callup. He's been great since his NHL arrival, putting up 2 goals in 4 games so far and playing with an edge. "Shotnikov" has turned himself into one of head coach Mike Babcock's favourite players based on his gritty yet offensive play style. He has the grit of Leo Komarov and the shot of Nikita Kucherov, and could easily become an NHL regular with proper development.
2. Andreas Johnson, LW, Frolunda HC, SHL (7th round, 202nd overall in 2013)
I know, I know, Johnson wasn't the work of Mark Hunter. He was taken the season before Hunter was brought into the organization, but he is still nonetheless a great underrated prospect for the organization. He's one of the few prospects playing in Sweden right now, and he currently has a very respectable total of 42 points in 51 games for Frolunda HC. These are very good totals for a player his age playing in a men's league.
Since Johnson is playing in Europe, he has the option to join the Marlies whenever he wants. That being said, Leafs' management will be trusted to make the right decision. The SHL was becoming too simple for William Nylander last year as he was producing just under a point per game, so they brought him over to the Marlies and he benefitted from it. Johnson isn't quite producing at the rate of Nylander, so the Leafs will likely let him play out his final season in Frolunda before making the transition to North America. That being said, he could become a very effective top nine goal scorer for the Maple Leafs.
3. Andrew Nielsen, D, Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL (3rd round, 74th overall in 2015)
If there's any prospect who's surprised tons and turned heads this year, it's Andrew Nielsen. Not to say fans weren't happy or expecting much with this pick last year, but after producing 24 points in 59 games as a member of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, people assumed he was a stay at home defenseman who wasn't overly flashy.
This year, however, he's absolutely exploded. The Red Deer native is currently the top defenseman on a very good Hurricanes team and has 17 goals and 67 points in 65 games this season, which are very good totals for a defenseman in the CHL and a player of his style. He draws a lot of comparisons to Luke Schenn, a former Leafs 5th overall pick who was sent to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for James van Riemsdyk. Nielsen is a big, physical defensive defenseman who proved this year that he's good offensively as well, and if his development keeps up he could blossom into a top six, maybe even top four defenseman in the NHL.
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