Toronto Maple Leafs

Developing Youth

Phil Kessel, Matt Stajan, Ian White, Nikolai Kulemin, Mikhail Grabovski, Viktor Stålberg, Christian Hanson, Carl Gunnarsson, Luke Schenn.  The list is lengthy when it comes to young Leafs that are being developed by Ron Wilson and his coaching staff.  So far it appears those players are developing in a manner that will serve them, and the team, in a positive way in the future.

Kulemin was recently named the game’s 1st star in the Leafs 3-2 OT loss to the Sabres.  Stålberg has 2 goals in his last three games, with both coming against Ryan Miller of the Sabres.  Christian Hanson is leading the AHL Marlies in scoring, while Phil Kessel is on pace to produce over 40 goals this year for the Leafs in a shortened season.  Grabovski looks to be cementing his spot as a 2nd line centre in the NHL, while White and Stajan head for free agency playing the best hockey of their young careers.  Gunnarsson and Schenn both look to be making strides in their development, and while not without hiccups, their games appear to be heading for reliable defensive play in the long term.

IIHF U-20 World Junior Championships

The Leafs hope to have two prospects suiting up for North American sides at the World Junior Championships in Saskatoon later this week.  Nazem Kadri will be centering the 4th line, and playing the power play for the Canadian outfit. He posted 3 assists in the Canadian’s pre-tourney game against last year’s silver medalists the Swedes.  The game was a 6-2 victory for the Canucks, and Kadri looked excellent on a strong power play.

Jerry D’Amigo is the last remaining Leaf on the US roster before the final cuts are announced at 11 AM on Wednesday. D’Amigo hopes to be playing up front for the American side.  The Leafs other prospect that made an appearance at the American selection camp, Kenny Ryan of the Windsor Spitfires, was sent home earlier this week as one of the earlier cuts from the US roster. *D’Amigo was named to the Final Roster at 11 AM this morning.*

D’Amigo has the 3rd highest point total of the NCAA players selected to the American squad, with 14 points in 18 games for RPI as a freshman.  He has more points than Jordan Schroeder so far this season, and he was the leading scorer for the US entry to the IIHF U-18 tournament 1 year ago with 13 points in 7 games.

That US entry to the U-18 tourney won the event in North Dakota, defeating Canada 2-1 in the semi-finals before trouncing the Russian’s 5-0 in the gold medal game.  D’Amigo and fellow Leafs prospect Kenny Ryan were key cogs at that tournament, and D’Amigo was named a tournament all-star.

Depending on how one looks at it, the fact that D’Amigo was a healthy scratch during the US’s last pre-tournament warm up game against the Czech Republic is a good thing.  The US lost the game 3-2 in a shoot out, and the team plans on announcing it’s final 2 cuts tomorrow morning.  It could be argued that the US coaching staff would most likely allow the bubble players to play in the final game in an effort to make their decision more clearly.

Unfortunately, D’Amigo sat alongside Jason Zucker who plays on the US U-18 team for the US National Development Program, who is one of the youngest players trying to make the US squad, and could easily be one of the final cuts.

IIHF U-20 Div I-A Junior Championships

Germany and Norway won their pools in the recently completed Div I-A Junior Championships in order to earn promotion to next year’s IIHF U-20 World Junior tourney in Buffalo, NY.  In a positive sign for the Leafs, prospect Jerome Flaake was named the best forward of the tournament in the pool Germany won.  He led the team in shots on goal, and goals scored (4).

On a less positive note, Flaake has spent part of this season playing for the Fischtown Pinguins, a Div.2 Oberliga team in Germany, a level below the DEL.  He has had limited success in the DEL, and as a 19 year old his progress has been minimal so far.  I would imagine if the Leafs hope to continue his development next season, they will likely hope to bring him across to play in the AHL with their coaches as soon as possible.

His CHL rights are possessed by the Prince George Cougars of the WHL, so if he came over to play Junior at this late stage, that is where he would do so.