Heading into the home stretch of the hockey season, for some there’s excitement about their respective team’s upcoming postseason, while others are looking ahead to what the offseason might hold.
For those embedded in the prospect pool of NHL teams, they’re looking ahead — if they haven’t already — to see what players could make an impact for their team in the next season or two.
While the Toronto Maple Leafs might not have those top-end prospects like some other franchises, they do have a strong prospect pool when it comes to possible future NHLers. Secondary prospects or not, the team’s cupboard is full and there are a number of players that could get a taste of the NHL in the coming years.
For now, however, we’ll check in on some of the big headlines surround the Maple Leafs’ prospects as they close out their regular seasons and ready themselves for what might come next, respectively.
Nick Moldenhauer Among Top USHL Performers
Once again, the Chicago Steel are atop the Eastern Conference in the USHL. It’s a stat that seems to be a perennial headline when it comes to the Steel and the USHL. Fortunately for the Maple Leafs, this season that team includes their forward prospect Nicholas Moldenhauer who sits seventh in league scoring and fifth on the Steel in scoring.
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Moldenhauer has excelled at the USHL level and is developing well from the third-round pick he was for the Maple Leafs in 2022. Still, smaller in stature, offence is one of his biggest assets for this team and he certainly hasn’t disappointed this season with the Steel.
In fact, he has 23 goals and 54 points in 43 games this season for the Steel. That gives him a 1.26 point-per-game average — a number that has him sixth in the league when it comes to that stat.
On top of that, his shooting percentage is up at 19.8 percent and while you can take that as a little high for a career average, it’s good to see he’s picking his opportunities when they are given to him.
Moldenhauer is projected to top his previous point total by more than 20 points this season, setting a new career-high with the Steel and you can bet the Maple Leafs will take notice, with or without Kyle Dubas at the helm next season.
Joe Miller Earning Ivy League Rookie of the Year
A former member of the Steel in the USHL, Joe Miller has put up a good year as a freshman at Harvard. While he’s…
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