Welcome to the 2015 edition of “Top Shelf Prospects”. As we go through the Summer of 2015 I will be featuring a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. I will go team by team through the NHL bringing you a look at each Teams Top Prospects. I will be following the order of the first round of the NHL draft (as if there were no traded draft picks) and you can find all the articles here. Since we had an extensive NHL Draft preview, I will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in the 2015 draft, as there have been no games since then, and my reports on them will not have changed. What I will be doing is linking you to those articles, as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year’s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2015-16 roster of the NHL team in question. I will also bring you one sleeper pick – a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who I pick as my darkhorse to make the NHL. For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn’t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played or being 25 years old. These are not hard or fast rules though, and I may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.

Its been a year of transition for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gone are Dave Nonis, Randy Carlyle, Phil Kessel, Cody Franson, Steve Spott, Peter Horachek and a slew of front office personnel and scouts. Coming into Toronto are Lou Lamoriello, Mike Babcock, Mark Hunter, and Kyle Dubas as the Leafs rebuild their front office staff, and are on their way to rebuilding the team. The Leafs had an excellent draft (as far as the picks are concerned) in Sunrise in June, but questions remain if they got enough for Phil Kessel that weekend, and if Dion Phaneuf, Tyler Bozak and Joffrey Lupul will soon be following him out of town. The rebuild has just begun, and the start of any good rebuild is a solid foundation of prospects.

Leading the way for the Leafs in that regard is the newly drafted Mitch Marner. Mark Hunter drafted Marner in the OHL for his London Knights. He is very familiar with the 18-year-old, and the Leafs feel comfortable putting their faith in the 18-year-old to help lead this rebuild. Very few games have been played since I previewed the NHL draft, so I won’t re-write his scouting report. It is available along with the rest of the 2015 picks we reviewed below.

Players Drafted: Mitch Marner, Travis Dermott, Jeremy Bracco, Andrew Nielsen, Martins Dzierkals, Jesper Lindgren, Dmytro Timashov, Stephen Desrocher, Nikita Korostelev

Graduates: none

Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects

Top Prospect: William Nylander, Center/Right Wing

Born May 1 1996

Height 5.11 — Weight 174 [180 cm/79 kg] — shoots Right

Drafted in the first round, 8th Overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2014 NHL Draft

The son of former NHLer Michael Nylander, who played for the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, and New York Rangers, William Nylander is looking to follow in his father’s footsteps. Statistically Nylander was off the charts good this year putting up incredible numbers for an 18-year old in the SHL and AHL. Historically, there are very few 18-year-olds who are able to approach a point per game in either of these leagues. He was also one of the best players at the 2015 World Junior Championships.

William Nylander is an outstanding skater. He has very good top end speed and excellent acceleration and change of pace ability. He uses this to fool defenders off the rush and to open up passing and shooting lanes by quickly changing speeds. He also shows very good agility and the ability to get around defenders one-on-one. His balance is good, but he could use more core strength in order to avoid getting knocked off the puck by bigger defenders.

In the offensive zone, Nylander shows off outstanding hands, and incredible stickhandling ability. He can control the game with the puck on his stick, and protects it well. He is an outstanding playmaker with great vision, and can pass the puck through the eye of a needle. His shot features a quick release, and good accuracy, but needs to add some power. There are plenty of skills there, but there are also some things Nylander has to work on. He must add mass, and become better along the boards and in front of the net. He also needs to make smarter decisions with the puck, sometimes he should make the simple play when it is available, instead of making the more complicated and riskier play. These are minor concerns though, most 18-year-olds have the same issues with needing to add muscle, and those with high end offensive talent often need to be coached to take a few less risks with the puck.

Nylander will also need to work on his defensive game over the coming years. He has a tendency to float and puck watch in the defensive zone that will need to be addressed. He needs time, and a good coach, to teach him to be in the right spots defensively, and he needs to become more tenacious on the back check.

Coming off a half-season in the AHL where he seemed to get better each game, Nylander will go to camp trying to wow the new Leafs brass and earn a spot on the roster. However, all indications are that the new regime will be extremely patient with prospects, so it would not be a surprise to see him back in the AHL next year, and joining the big club at some point during the year, or even in 2016-17. That said, the wait will likely be worth it for this dynamic prospect.

#2 Prospect: Kasperi Kapanen, Right Wing

Born Jul 23 1996 — Kuopio, Finland

Height 6.0 — Weight 181 [183 cm/82 kg] — Shoots Right

Drafted in the first round, 22nd overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in June 2015

Another prospect with NHL bloodlines, Kasperi Kapanen is the son of former NHLer Sami Kapanen, best know for his time with Carolina and Philadelphia. He has been a fixture on the international stage for Finland with great results at the World Under 17 Hockey Challenge in 2013, and the World Under 18 in 2014. He was also part of Finland’s team at the World Juniors last year. In terms of club play, he’s been playing against men in Finland’s top league, before coming to the AHL for a few games at the end of last season.

Kasperi Kapanen is an outstanding skater, with great speed, and acceleration. He also has very good agility and outstanding edgework. He can cut quickly past a defender and get to the net if they don’t respect his speed off the rush. He has the ability to fool defenders with his changes of pace. His balance needs some work, as he could stand to bulk up so that he is stronger on the puck and has more of an ability to fight through checks and not get knocked off the puck by the bigger, stronger defenders he will face going forward.

Add to Kapanen’s great skating ability, a set of soft hands and great stickhandling abiltiy and its easy to see that he is deadly off the rush. He can be both a scorer and a play maker. Kapanen’s wrist shot is extremely impressive, he generates tremedous power, has lethal accuracy, and does it all with a lightning-quick release. It is close to NHL ready already, especially when he is coming down the wing. Kapanen also has a very good one-timer. As a playmaker, Kapanen has extremely good vision and passing skills, with the ability to thread the needle with a pass right on a teammates tape. Kapanen understands the game at a high-level and almost always seems to make the correct play with the puck. Without the puck, he finds the soft spots in the defence and gets open for teammates. Despite his size and age (playing in a men’s league) Kapanen is gritty and always involved in puck battles.

He also has a well-developped defensive game. Again, the hockey sense is key, as he reads the game extremely well, and cuts down passing and shooting lanes extremely well. He puts a lot of effort into his backchecking and shows a concerted effort at the defensive end, and this is one of the biggest reasons he’s gotten ice-time in the SM-Liiga in each of the last two years despite being just 17 and 18 years old. Going forward he could stand to add some muscle and bulk up before he will be ready for the North American pro game.

Kapanen will surely start this season with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL, and is young enough that he could be loaned to Finland for the World Juniors. Its unlikely he will see much NHL time this year, as the Leafs are committed to being patient with him.

Prospect #3 Connor Brown, Right Wing

Born Jan 14 1994 — Toronto, ONT

Height 5.11 — Weight 170 [180 cm/77 kg] — Shoots Right

Drafted by Toronto Maple Leafs in the 6th round 156th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft

Connor Brown followed up on an absolutely massive season which saw him lead the OHL in scoring, and win the OHL player of the year award in 2013-14, with a solid first pro campaign in the AHL. His 61 points was the most by an AHL rookie, and saw him named to the league’s all rookie team. Brown is proving that he is not just someone who padded his OHL stats playing with Connor McDavid (this perception was there even though his 2013-14 season only saw him spend about half his ice time with McDavid, and half centred by Dane Fox), but Brown is a legitimate scorer in his own right.

Brown plays an industrious game where he never stops moving his feet. A big improvement between his 2012-13 and 2013-14 season was that he became a more explosive skater, with a better first step, improved acceleration, and better agility. He also seemed to get a quicker release on his wrist shot using it to pile up the goals. Couple that with Brown’s already strong stick handling ability, and good vision and passing skills and outstanding hockey sense it made for an offensive dynamo. He’s still a little undersized though. 5’11” isn’t too bad, but Brown will need to add muscle to his frame before facing the rigors of the pro game.

Brown is also a strong defensive player, contributing greatly on the penalty kill. His ability to anticipate plays, cut down passing lanes, and be a threat in transition really help him to be a two-way threat. Add in a work ethic that never quits no matter the score or what zone the puck is in, and you have a player who is greatly outproducing his draft rank so far.

Brown could see some time as an injury call-up this season, but again, the Leafs plan will be to develop their prospects with the Marlies, and so I think he would need an incredible training camp to crack the roster to start the season.

Andreas Johnson, Left Wing

Born Nov 21 1994 — Gavle, Sweden

Height 5.10 — Weight 183 [178 cm/83 kg]

Drafted by Toronto Maple Leafs, round 7 #202 overall at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft

Since being drafted in the 7th round of the 2013 draft, Andreas Johnson has been on quite the tear in Sweden. He won the SHL’s rookie of the year with 15 goals and 24 points in 2013-14, and followed that up with leading his team in scoring with 22 goals and 35 points this season. The 22 goals were good for 5th in the league. These are extremely impressive totals for a teenager playing hockey in the country’s top mens league. Even more impressive were his 11 goals and 25 points in 12 games in the Champions Hockey League competition.

Johnson is an absolute speedster. He has tremendous speed and acceleration, making him extremely dangerous in the transition game. If defencemen aren’t paying attention, a turnover by one of the their team’s forwards can quickly become a stretch pass and a breakaway. This threat is present every time Johnson is on the ice. His agility and edgework is above average, and his lower body strength makes him strong on his skates and gives him good balance. This certainly helps him in puck battles.

Johnson has a hard and accurate wrist shot, and a very hard one-timer. He also has an excellent backhand, and will often take a shot with his backhand when he is buzzing around the zone. He has good hockey sense and the ability to get open in the offensive zone. Johnson also is a very slick stickhandler, and this helps him to protect the puck and extend plays. He is always chasing the puck and constantly forechecking hard, and involved in battles along the boards which he is able to do quite well in for his size. If there is any issue in his offensive game, its that he always thinking shoot the puck, and can sometimes pass up good opportunities to pass to an open teammate, instead taking a lower percentage shot.

Johnson is tenacious on the back check, pressuring puck carriers, and he knows how to get himself into good positions. He cuts down passing lanes with an active stick and is willing to sacrifice and block shots.

The Leafs signed Johnson to an Entry Level contract after last season, however he also has one season remaining on his contract in Sweden. For now it looks like he will be loaned back to Frolunda for one more year before he tries to make the Leafs in 2016-17. He should be a Leafs training camp this year though, so fans will get a glimpse of Johnson in blue and white.

The Leafs prospect pool has improved by leaps and bounds in the past couple of seasons, and with the commitment to acquire more draft picks (they already own Pittsburgh’s first round pick next year), and more talent on the roster that could be traded during this next season, it should continue to improve. In goal Antoine Bibeau is greatly outperforming his draft status, but there are still some questions as to whether or not he can be a number one goalie. In addition to those listed above and drafted in 2015, the Leafs have some other forward talent. They hope to see Frederik Gauthier develop into a big, strong, two-way centre for the bottom six, while Brandon Leipsic put up some good numbers with the Marlies after being acquired in the Cody Franson trade. Casey Bailey was a nice signing out of the NCAA, and Nikita Soshnikov was signed out of the KHL.Josh Leivo and Carter Verhaeghae provide depth. The defence is still a little thin, though the drafting of Tyler Dermott, Jesper Lindgren, and Stephen Desrocher helped. Stuart Percy has gotten a cup of coffee in the NHL, and could be a reliable two-way defender. I always liked Matt Finn with Guelph, and think he still has potential, but his year with the Marlies was dispointing. Scott Harrington, also acquired in the Kessel deal projects as a bottom pairing stay at home type. Rinat Valiev had a big season for Kootenay, showing an offensive flair. Victor Loov and Petter Granberg provide depth of prospects. Morgan Rielly is not a prospect due to his games played, but is still very young and looks like the number 1 defenceman of the future for Toronto. When you look at the Leafs prospect pool, you see lots of high end talent on the wings, and very good depth at other positions. You also have a top notch young defender already in the NHL who is just 20 years old. The rebuild has just begun, but the Leafs still need to find that high end centre talent, and another top pairing defenseman. The prospect pool is very good right now, but an addition of those pieces would make them elite, and they have plenty of current assets to try and trade for prospects and picks.

Main Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images/NHL Collection