The ascendance of the Toronto Maple Leafs from last place in the NHL standings two years ago to consecutive playoff appearances can be attributed in part to the selections of Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, but it also has to do with the organization upgrading their amateur and professional scouting and improving their player development with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

In 2016, the Marlies made it to the third round of the Calder Cup playoffs with a group that graduated to the NHL the following fall with Toronto, including William Nylander, Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, Kasperi Kapanen, Josh Leivo and Nikita Soshnikov.

This season, the Marlies finished with the AHL’s best regular season record at 54-18-2-2, completed a four-game sweep of the Syracuse Crunch earlier this week and are making another run at the Calder Cup with a group that will undoubtedly have an impact with the Leafs in the near future.

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Winger Andreas Johnsson and defenseman Travis Dermott were second half call-ups and played for Toronto in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but returned to the Marlies once they were eliminated last month. The pair helped Toronto get past the Utica Comets in a tight first round battle and were central figures in the sweep of the Crunch.

Johnsson, who scored 26 goals in 54 AHL games before being promoted to the NHL in March, has eight points (3 goals, 5 assists) in five games and scored the game-winner on Tuesday.

🚨GOAL!🚨



Andreas Johnsson rips it upstairs and it's now 2-0 Marlies! 🔥#MarliesLive pic.twitter.com/0NELGoVY8W — David Nestico (@davidnestico200) May 8, 2018

Dermott, who was called up by the Leafs in January, led the Toronto blueline with a +16 and scored a goal in the team's season-ending loss to the Bruins in Game 7. In his return to the AHL, he has been more of a stabilizing presence and is heavily relied on by Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe.

“It goes without saying how good players they are and the impact they can make on the ice, but they are just two very positive people and have great energy about them.” Keefe said. “It’s pretty clear that (Johnsson) offensively (is) a difference maker for us and (Dermott) was doing a lot of good things on both sides of the puck.”

With the expected exodus of James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, Dominic Moore and Tomas Plekanec from the Leafs forward group via unrestricted free agency, there will be opportunities for players on the Marlies to make an impression on the club’s management prior to training camp next September.

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Trevor Moore leads the Marlies with nine points and Dmytro Timashov has five goals in nine playoff games. Moore (a California native signed as a free agent out of the University of Denver) and Timashov (the Leafs' 2015 fifth-round pick) are both skilled and quick, but their pro prospects may be limited due to their size.

Carl Grundstrom and Pierre Engvall provided Toronto with a late season infusion of offense after completing their seasons in the Swedish Hockey League and are considered legitimate NHL prospects.

Grundstrom also came over in 2017 after completing his season with Frolunda and scored three goals in six playoff games. This year, the 20-year-old has six points (4 goals and 2 assists) in nine games. Grundstrom appears to be well suited to playing the North American style of game and could make the Leafs with a good performance at training camp.

Creating space in close quarters, Carl Grundstrom makes no mistake after some pretty passing in the slot.#MarliesLive pic.twitter.com/2IxQ5h4Bjr — Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) May 6, 2018

Engvall is an enticing physical package (6’4” 200 lb) that, like Johnsson, was drafted in the seventh round by Toronto in 2014, but similar to his countryman, the 21-year-old may need some time with the Marlies before he is ready to challenge for an NHL job.

After averaging nearly a point-per-game in a brief stint at the end of the regular season, Engvall has maintained that pace with seven points in the postseason.

“(Engvall) is a big guy with a pretty good skill set," Keefe said. "He can skate. We’ve been really happy with how he’s played since he’s been here.”

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Another successful performer for the Marlies who could be in the mix for the Leafs is Miro Aaltonen. The former Anaheim draft pick was signed out of the KHL, but lost the battle for fourth-line center to Moore. The 24-year-old scored 20 goals in his first AHL season and has five points this postseason on the top line with Johnsson and Grundstrom.

With Plekanec and Moore not expected to be back, Aaltonen, former first-round pick Frederik Gauthier and SHL free-agent signing Par Lindholm may be vying for a depth center job if the Leafs do not make any major additions in free agency or in deals over the summer.