Joseph Woll/Ian Scott

[SeaOfBlue]

For those looking to next year's crop, there is Jesper Wallstadt but Sweden also has William Jupiter. I can see him becoming another solid 3rd round goalie prospect. Nothing else out of Sweden at this point.

Finland has Aku Koskenvuo, who is 6'4" and seems to be the best goalie out of Finland this year. He is not as highly touted as Blomqvist and, like Jupiter, was not their main international guy last year but he did well in U17 competition last year, has 3 or 4 inches on his main competition (who is not doing much better than him, if at all, which is pretty bad since he has an .899 .SV), and probably projects the best. He may end up 3rd round if he really lights things up, but at this point it is looking like Finland may only have a late round goalie this year.

Czechia has Patrik Hamrla, Pavel Cajan, Thomas Suchanek, and OA Nick Malik. Cajan and Malik are likely heading to the OHL (if that ever happens), so that will be the ultimately measuring stick for them since Bednar likely gets most of the international starts. Hamrla and Suchanek are competing for the U18 minutes. Suchanek had the edge last year, but Hamrla could pass him this year since he has generally done well everywhere, is bigger, and Suchanek has struggled to stand out. Suchanek may consider going to Tri-City in the WHL if that opens up, but he'd have to compete with 6'8" heir-apparent Talyn Boyko for the job.

OHL has a trio of high end goalies in Ben Gaudreau, Tristan Lennox and Joe Vrbetic. All three have starting potential in the NHL. Nothing really after that though (Cajan and Malik could be there as well though).

WHL has a pair of giants in Talyn Boyko and Sebastian Cossa, who is likely the second best goalie in the draft right now. Prince Albert backup Carter Serhyenko and Lethbridge OA Brian Thomson could also generate some attention if they can carve out ice time and show major strides from last year. Suchanek could arrive as well.

QMJHL has practically nothing. OA Fabio Iacobo is likely not getting drafted again. William Rousseau, Emerick Despatie, and Noah Patenaude are the QMJHL's best hope and I wouldn't spend a pick on any of them right now. Rousseau may end up as a mid-round guy if he reaches his potential.

USHL, USHS, NAHL and USDP all have practically nothing. Hobie Hedquist and Anton Castro are the most interesting, but are complete unknowns right now.

Russia has Maxim Motorygin and Pavel Kanayev, although both are 6'0", not high end prospects, and I don't think the Leafs have interest in another super long term Russian project after adding Akhtyamov.

Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, etc. have nothing.

A lot of question marks, but it is early and between Wallstadt and the CHL crop, there should be a good high end goalie in the 2nd round and maybe even the 4th round. There will likely be a few more later on once seasons start going.

 

[Space Coyote]

Should have picked Hart with their 2nd round pick back in 2016 but went with Korshkov.

 

[Tak7]

Should have picked Hart with their 2nd round pick back in 2016 but went with Korshkov.

I personally thought Korshkov was an awful pick at the time.

Looking at all the talent that went after him, and how awkward he looks on the ice, has only reaffirmed that.

People get well excited about his hands, but his skating looks so awkward and slow.

I don't think he has NHL potential in him

 

[Tak7]

I feel like Woll has a chance to play at the NHL level, but hes still 2 to 3 years away realistically. He needs to put up a solid season this year in the A.

Out of curiosity, what fuels this belief?

I didn't watch much Marlies, but was told Woll struggled quite a bit?

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Just wondering. Does anyone STILL think one or both of these kids are our future between the pipes?
And if you do how far away are they?

I just feel like no one is as high as they were on them as before....

I think Scott is the more developed polished positional goaler and while I don't know where he is on injury side of things he has received all da best Canadian goaler training you can get from a very early age. If he is fully recovered then I think he may very well get to NHL faster in next year or so. But his upside is likely NHL backup material as his athletics and reflexes are good but not world class. Woll has da exact opposite problem as he is way to reliant on his athletics and reflexes. But when you watch him take on breakaways from da Mitch's and Matty's in pre camp training you are left to marvel at how damn fast he is. He gives you his glove and then has snake like reflexes to catch a Matty bomb. And da kid has been making these kinda saves since he could p*ss straight. I literally saw him take maybe 70+ shots with 10+ clear cut breakaways to top Toronto 97 team with Mitch in a elte spring tournament and da kid is a 98 and stone every shot. Him and clayton carried team and that was with keith tkachuk kid on it. He is elevated with Leafs because Mitch and Matty pushed hard for him. But put Mitch and Matty together on woll on a 2 on 1 and they score almost every time because Woll is an aggressive gambler who challenges da shooter too much. That is his tendency. I don't know if he can FIX it or not. or maybe we do like STL and have our defender always take pass away and force a 1 on 1 test. It will be hard to handle for most of us but that is his best shot unless he can change what he has been doing for 15 years.

 

[stickty111]

I personally thought Korshkov was an awful pick at the time.

Looking at all the talent that went after him, and how awkward he looks on the ice, has only reaffirmed that.

People get well excited about his hands, but his skating looks so awkward and slow.

I don't think he has NHL potential in him

Yup I'm not sure on Korshkov still.

 

[TML Dynasty]

Yup I'm not sure on Korshkov still.

yeah i think he was a shot at a home grown power forward with skill that we sorely need. Would be nice if he developed into that but I agree with not having confidence in that

 

[The Iceman]

And if it is true that the power forward types develop a little later there still is some hope.

16 goals in 44 games +11 with the Marlies is decent.
1 in 1 for the Leafs
6'4" every day LOL

 

[stickty111]

Out of curiosity, what fuels this belief?

I didn't watch much Marlies, but was told Woll struggled quite a bit?

Here is my honest brief evaluation on Woll's play with the Marlies, since I watch some of the games.
The ability is all there, and I think his movements are fine. He made some saves he didn't have business making, but some pucks also went through him. He might just need to adjust to better shooters here then in College. Needs consistency. It didn't help the team was a mess in front of him most nights especially under Moore.
He is a huge student of the game which is a good thing. I think he rebounds, but it's a big year.

 

[Judas Tavares]

Have always been higher on Woll. Last year though, was not good. This would be a big year for him, but who knows how development will be for anyone at this point.

 

[Hogan86]

Out of curiosity, what fuels this belief?

I didn't watch much Marlies, but was told Woll struggled quite a bit?

He did. As a rookie on a bad AHL team that lost half their roster to the NHL. Woll is a big body that moves very well. His last year and a half at Boston College he played very well, despite what the win/loss column shows. Hes also in a farm system with unlimited resources to help him grow as a player and a young man. He was playing pro hockey (AHL) by 21, which as a goaltender is pretty incredible. He has lots of room to grow.

 

[pucksakes666]

I thought Ian Scott has lots of potentional seen his stats from his memorial cup run. The year he was drafted his team had bad defence and he faced lots of shots. Hopefully he’s fully recovered now from his surgery.

 

[BigBlu]

My money's always been on Scott.

 

[Lainehasaweirdface]

After last season why would anyone be high on these two? Woll had a brutal gaa and sv% and maybe should have been in the ECHL. As others have mentioned there was some bright spots but he was way behind even the marginal talents of Kaskisuo this year and well back of the rookie years of Bibeau, Sparks, Rynass and Gibson. So if he is way behind a bunch of guys who weren't legit NHL players it shows how far he has to improve to get some shine back. He wouldn't be the first guy to have a tanked year and turn it around but it is something you hope for rather than expect. Scott lost an entire season to hip surgery and even without an injury we know from Justin Pogge that being godlike in Junior doesn't mean you will be a successful pro. The injury seems like it was successfully rehabbed so today I am liking Scott a lot more than Woll but I won't start to get excited until he has some healthy starts.

With goalies that young, it's more about projectable skill-sets than numbers. Woll and Scott are both better mechanically than any of the others you mentioned ever were.

 

[Lainehasaweirdface]

Nah, it's all about my boy Akhtyamov now.

If he can learn to settle down a little bit he's got some real potential. He's extremely explosive and like most Russian tendies, his mechanics are fantastic. But he's way way way too aggressive.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Even if Korshkov turns into a middle-6 power winger one day, he isn't uniquely talented. Just in the 2nd round of the 2016 draft alone, we have guys like Allison and Grundstrom getting drafted with similar ceilings and likelyhood of hitting it. Take Hart or DeBrincat at 31 and trade up the 57 pick into the 40s if you really feel you need to grab one of Korshkov/Allison/Grundstrom.

What scares me most is that Hunter said he was shocked that Korshkov was still available at 31. There's a very real chance that we were exploring moving up into the first round to grab a double overager from Russia that probably would have been available in the back half of the 2nd/early 3rd.

 

[The Iceman]

Landscape has changed drastically since Korshkov was drafted.

1-The management values skill first
2-3-4th line players are available in abundance at massive discounts currently

 

[X66]

Even if Korshkov turns into a middle-6 power winger one day, he isn't uniquely talented. Just in the 2nd round of the 2016 draft alone, we have guys like Allison and Grundstrom getting drafted with similar ceilings and likelyhood of hitting it. Take Hart or DeBrincat at 31 and trade up the 57 pick into the 40s if you really feel you need to grab one of Korshkov/Allison/Grundstrom.

What scares me most is that Hunter said he was shocked that Korshkov was still available at 31. There's a very real chance that we were exploring moving up into the first round to grab a double overager from Russia that probably would have been available in the back half of the 2nd/early 3rd.

Can you imagine how we'd be set up if we grabbed Hart?

Oh well, what can ya do now.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Can you imagine how we'd be set up if we grabbed Hart?

Oh well, what can ya do now.

Don't make the mistake again.

Fortunately, there have not really been any Hart-quality goalie prospects outside of the 1st round since then, and we do have two guys who are about as good as anyone you could have realistically selected outside of the 1st round since Hart.

I am definitely curious to see how Joel Hofer does behind a weaker defensive team though.

 

[cupcrazyman]

One of the best ways to develop good goaltending is by having tons of depth ahead of them (goalies love the crease make 'em earn it)!

Andersen
Campbell
Dell
Hutchinson
Woll
Scott
Akhtyamov

Develop good goalie depth at the NHL level.Don't be like the Flyers who played with an NHL record 8 goalies during the 2018/19 season.

 

[Antropovsky]

I personally thought Korshkov was an awful pick at the time.

Looking at all the talent that went after him, and how awkward he looks on the ice, has only reaffirmed that.

People get well excited about his hands, but his skating looks so awkward and slow.

I don't think he has NHL potential in him

Didn't hunter select a bunch of overage guys? Maybe he was trying to find an older prospect after the first round, thinking the player could step in quicker and make an impact, so he could get a leg up on Dubas for the GM. Opposed to other players who may need a few development years first.

 

[Menzinger]

I personally thought Korshkov was an awful pick at the time.

Looking at all the talent that went after him, and how awkward he looks on the ice, has only reaffirmed that.

People get well excited about his hands, but his skating looks so awkward and slow.

I don't think he has NHL potential in him

I can potentially see him playing a games of he ever comes back to North America but I'm skeptical of him hitting 200 career games in the NHL level at this point.

A regrettable pick in retrospect

 

[peconcan]

Wish these 2 could be loaned out to Europe to get some playing time in, but I highly doubt a goalie unless they are a superstar will be loaned to Europe and take a job away from someone over there

 

[darrylsittler27]

Tough call on these two. They either progess or we start over. This year decides. Freddy might not be here in one year.

 

[Funk21]

Should have picked Hart with their 2nd round pick back in 2016 but went with Korshkov.

There are a group of players we should have picked instead of Korskov. Most draft sites didn’t even have him on board or if they did it’s was well into the later rounds and I mean like 6th or 7th.

This was clearly a swing for the fences because we already got the best player in draft. Lou should have never signed off on this. Especially given how bare our system was at the goalie position.