Toronto Maple Leafs: A Strong Marlies Season Proves Depth
The Toronto Maple Leafs enjoyed a great season by their farm club last year, but the 2016-2017 season will be more telling for the true depth of their prospect pool.
The expectations are that William Nylander will be a Toronto Maple Leafs player this year – and that Connor Brown, Zach Hyman and others could also join the big club on a regular basis.
That means that the Marlies are going to be led by a much different star cast this year.
Leafs Nation knows how good William Nylander is and there’s a consistent theme on other young players within the organization. Now it’s time to find out what players like Kasperi Kapanen, Tobias Lindberg, Rinat Valiev and Andreas Johnson really mean to the team.
Having Nylander takes pressure off of everyone else, regardless of where they are in the lineup. The focus is on him, and when other quality players like Brown and Hyman are around there’s even more focus off of Kapanen and others.
To be honest, I don’t care what players did while Nylander was playing with them. I want to know what they do in the spotlight; what they can create themselves.
The development that players make in the AHL this year will be extremely valuable in the Leafs assessment of needs heading into the 2017 NHL Draft and off-season. It may also lead to prospect trades throughout the year as players move up and down the ladder within the organization.
The hockey world has been propping up Toronto’s prospect system for a year now but we’re going to get a true sense of its worth by watching what the Marlies do during 2016-2017.
If they find the same amount of success as they did last season then it’s a confirmation of what they’ve got. If they fail to meet expectations of a playoff berth then maybe the pool isn’t as deep as everyone originally thought at the professional level.
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