Prospect Info: 2019 Maple Leafs Development Camp

Isaac Nootin

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
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The Toronto Maple Leafs open development camp today.

Anyone have any info on Camp invites and who will attend?

Camp will be run by Director of Player Development - Scott Pellerin.

Coaches for the week are Sheldon Keefe, and newly hired Paul McFarland.
 

Patmac40

BESTPOSTERINTHEGAME
Jun 7, 2012
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Halifax, Nova Scotia
One of the invites is Xavier Simoneau - 5'6" centre from Drummondville. Was my top ranked player who was passed over in the draft, had him ranked late 2nd, early 3rd. He is a guy I want them to seriously consider signing to an ELC. He's an incredibly tenacious player who plays a lot bigger than his size, he has a good frame to build muscle, and he's extremely skilled with great vision. He played on a stacked Drummondville squad and was pushed down to the 3rd line but was nearly a point per game. I think this is a guy who explodes offensively next year with the additional icetime and opportunities and has a good shot of being an NHLer despite his size.
 

SprDaVE

Moderator
Sep 20, 2008
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One of the invites is Xavier Simoneau - 5'6" centre from Drummondville. Was my top ranked player who was passed over in the draft, had him ranked late 2nd, early 3rd. He is a guy I want them to seriously consider signing to an ELC. He's an incredibly tenacious player who plays a lot bigger than his size, he has a good frame to build muscle, and he's extremely skilled with great vision. He played on a stacked Drummondville squad and was pushed down to the 3rd line but was nearly a point per game. I think this is a guy who explodes offensively next year with the additional icetime and opportunities and has a good shot of being an NHLer despite his size.

Well worth the gamble on Simoneau. The Leafs seem very careful with who they give ELCs to but if he comes into camp and impresses, I would not hesitate to secure his rights this summer. Makes you wonder why they didn't keep their 7th round pick this season to draft him... they probably are on the fence about him too.

With that said, he's already suffered a few injuries in his career because of his fearless style. Could be cause for concern. This is a good video of Simoneau:

 
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SeaOfBlue

The Passion That Unites Us All
Aug 1, 2013
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Simoneau's issue always seemed to be speed for his size. He's not slow, but for a 5'7" guy, he's definitely not fast. He also did not dominate enough in the QMJHL, especially in the goal department. He did not play a full season, but I think the fact he has yet to eclipse 20 goals despite playing on a good team is a cause for concern for teams. He is going to rack up assists on a great team like Drummondville no matter what, but he should have still been able to put up at least 25-30 goals by now on a team like that.

He's going to be going up against a lot of smaller prospects from our draft class whom many say are not the strongest of skaters. I say otherwise, but nonetheless, I think Simoneau would have to show he's better than all of them to have any kind of chance at an ELC from the Leafs.

At least he was 53.1% on the draw, so he should be able to stick at center. Mikhail Abramov was only 49.1%, but he took over 300 more draws.
 

SprDaVE

Moderator
Sep 20, 2008
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Undrafted invites :

FAlistrov, Vladimir02/12/2001Edmonton (WHL)
FBradley, Trey05/06/1996Colorado College (NCAA)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
FCarroll, Joe02/01/2001Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
FConrad, Colton04/27/1997Western Michigan (NCAA), Toronto (AHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
FFontaine, Gunnerwolfe09/16/2000Chicago (USHL)
FHamblin, James04/27/1999Medicine Hat (WHL)
FHaudum, Lukas05/21/1997IK Patern (Allsvenskan)
FKartye, Tye04/30/2001Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
FPolin, Jason06/17/1999Cedar Rapids (USHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
FRotenberg, Pavel02/20/2000Brookings (NAHL), Dynamo St. Petersburg (VHL), MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg (MHL)
FSimoneau, Xavier05/19/2001Drummondville (QMJHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
FWoods, Riley06/25/1998Spokane (WHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
DKapcheck, Brennan11/17/1996American Int'l College (NCAA)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
DLarsen, Oliver12/25/1998IK Pantern (Allsvenskan)
DLarochelle, Sean02/11/2001Victoriaville (QMJHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
DPepin, Marc-Antoine03/07/2001Shawinigan (QMJHL)
DSapego, Sergei10/08/1999Prince Albert (WHL)
DStaios, Nathan05/17/2001Windsor (OHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
GCooley, Devin05/25/1997Denver (NCAA)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
 

SprDaVE

Moderator
Sep 20, 2008
51,545
32,304
What's up with JD Greenway, thought he was no longer a part of the TML franchise?

Left the NCAA to go back to the USHL. We still own his rights but I suspect this will be one of his last dev camps with us. I could see him signing an AHL/ECHL deal and start working his way up from the Growlers, similar to Piccinich.
 

SeaOfBlue

The Passion That Unites Us All
Aug 1, 2013
35,591
16,773
Undrafted invites :

FAlistrov, Vladimir02/12/2001Edmonton (WHL)
FBradley, Trey05/06/1996Colorado College (NCAA)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
FCarroll, Joe02/01/2001Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
FConrad, Colton04/27/1997Western Michigan (NCAA), Toronto (AHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
FFontaine, Gunnerwolfe09/16/2000Chicago (USHL)
FHamblin, James04/27/1999Medicine Hat (WHL)
FHaudum, Lukas05/21/1997IK Patern (Allsvenskan)
FKartye, Tye04/30/2001Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
FPolin, Jason06/17/1999Cedar Rapids (USHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
FRotenberg, Pavel02/20/2000Brookings (NAHL), Dynamo St. Petersburg (VHL), MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg (MHL)
FSimoneau, Xavier05/19/2001Drummondville (QMJHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
FWoods, Riley06/25/1998Spokane (WHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
DKapcheck, Brennan11/17/1996American Int'l College (NCAA)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
DLarsen, Oliver12/25/1998IK Pantern (Allsvenskan)
DLarochelle, Sean02/11/2001Victoriaville (QMJHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
DPepin, Marc-Antoine03/07/2001Shawinigan (QMJHL)
DSapego, Sergei10/08/1999Prince Albert (WHL)
DStaios, Nathan05/17/2001Windsor (OHL)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
GCooley, Devin05/25/1997Denver (NCAA)
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

I know some things about these guys.

Alistrov plays like a power forward but I believe his issue is he lacks skating ability. Joe Carroll had issues with IQ and consistency in both ends. He does possess some decent skill, but he does not possess a ton of upside, and his skating is also kind of an issue. Really, there is not a lot which doesn't need a fair amount of work, and even then you may only get a solid 3rd/4th line grinder out of it. If he takes major leaps, I could see him maybe getting drafted as a D+1 or D+2, but it would be a Leason-like rise. Very similar to Alistrov from what I've seen from him, but I've seen a lot more of Carroll than I have Alistrov. Both seem like filler.
I've seen a lot of Kartye as well. Smart, responsible, respectable two-way center but lacks upside. He should be a great OHLer, but I doubt he ever becomes a pro player from what I've seen out of him, and if he does, it'll be on an AHL contract at best. He's filler.

Sapego is a puck moving PP QB type whom I believe has a physical edge to him along with solid two-way ability. I thought he could have been drafted this year possible. I think out of everyone, he could have the best chance at an ELC. Staios is very similar, but is much smaller and was held back by a poor Windsor team. He could be drafted next year. Pepin is solid in his own zone but can move the puck well. He too could be drafted next year after doing well in a small sample size with Shawinigan this year. Those guys need to make some improvements and lead teams that should be on the rise for that to happen though. People already know quite a bit about Simoneau. Undersized with not enough skill to make up for it, but he's a potential breakout candidate for next year's draft.

Larochelle is a pure offensive defenseman who is undersized. Needs a lot work in his own end. I don't expect much out of him at any point. QMJHL produces a ton of guys just like him every year, but he'll be a great QMJHL PP QB for the next few years. Maybe gets an AHL deal at the end of it. He's filler.

Rotenberg was here last year. That's about as good as it gets. He's not very good, so he's mostly filler.

Fontaine is a decent player. I believe he was on Abrusseze's line and I think in a few highlight packages I've seen he's shown he has some good hands and shot. He's going to go to the NCAA next year so really this is just an early scouting report for a potential late 2020 pick. He may be more than filler, so I'll trust the couple of scouts we have in the USHL/Chicago area now on him.

Haven't seen the rest of them. I've heard of Haudum and I know he was often Austria's best player in international tournaments. Put together a decent season in the Allsvenskan points-wise last year but he's filler. Same with Larsen and the rest of the guys I haven't mentioned above. Hamblin is a guy who could explode in his OA year and earn an ELC, but more than likely he could just be another solid AHL contract candidate like Riley Woods. Keep tabs on him for that.

C/LW Josh Nelson also looks like he is on that list. He played in London, speedy, skilled, good IQ. Low upside though. He's a potential AHL contract candidate next year. I don't think he does enough to earn an ELC, and even an AHL contract would require a fair bit of improvement out of him offensively. He can play a solid defensive game, but he's small.

So to break it down:
Solid Invites (i.e. guys with a solid chance of getting drafted/earning an ELC): LD Marc-Antoine Pepin, C Xavier Simoneau, RD Sergei Sapego, LD Nathan Staios, LW Gunnarwolfe Fontaine
Filler: The rest.
 

hamzarocks

Registered User
Jul 22, 2012
20,120
13,065
Pickering, Ontario
What ever happened to Xavier Parent. Thus guy was insanely hyped 3-4 years ago. Didnt ebd up getting drafted. Wiuldnt have mind dubas giving him a camp invite but seems like he wont get one from the leafs. He and Simoneau were both considered for 1st overall in this draft around 2014 or so
 

SeaOfBlue

The Passion That Unites Us All
Aug 1, 2013
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Left the NCAA to go back to the USHL. We still own his rights but I suspect this will be one of his last dev camps with us. I could see him signing an AHL/ECHL deal and start working his way up from the Growlers, similar to Piccinich.

Most likely finishes his two years at Maine first though. I think he still has ELC potential and I want to see where he is at in this camp.

The invites are for the most part underwhelming. I don't expect any of them to stand out enough to earn an ELC (and even AHL deals seem unlikely for all of them except maybe Sapego), and only a small handful may be worth a draft pick (likely late round) next year if they take some large steps forward next year.

The more interesting guys to see are ones we already own but don't see much of, especially the new guys. That's pretty much everyone except for Scott and Hollowell.

Obviously it'll be cool to see guys like Scott and Hollowell play as well, but I've already seen quite a bit out of them.
 

SeaOfBlue

The Passion That Unites Us All
Aug 1, 2013
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Abramov only 2019 draft pick not at development camp

Forgot about him :laugh:

I wonder why he's not there? He should be in the CHL again next year so it's not like he doesn't like it. Maybe he's hurt? I doubt he passes up the opportunity by choice.

After all, the NCAA guys are paying their own way to be here.
 

SeaOfBlue

The Passion That Unites Us All
Aug 1, 2013
35,591
16,773
Anything to make of this?

I don’t really think so.

I wouldn't mind seeing them one more time over some of the other filler guys we brought in. At the same time, I can see them preferring to focus their time on training at home and making strides to be productive in the KHL next year. Abramov too may be at home trying out for some Russian Junior National Teams over this camp. I've seen that with good Russian players before.
 

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