TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 26: Jack Roslovic #28 of Team USA skates against Martins Dzierkals #10 of Team Latvia during a 2017 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship game at the Air Canada Centre on December 26, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The USA defeated Latvia 6-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

What is going on with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Martin Dzierkals?

Once a highly touted prospect for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Martins Dzierkals exists in a perplexing purgatory, begging the question, what happened?

Dzierkals, a native of Latvia, was selected 68th overall by the Leafs in the 2015 entry draft after posting an impressive 28 points in 32 games in the MHL (the KHL junior league). (Dzierkals was one of three players, along with Travis Dermott and Jeremy Bracco that the Leafs acquired by trading down not once, but twice during the 2015 draft).

Then, Dzierkals made the move to the QMJHL to play for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, where he continued to impress. In a total of 106 QMJHL games, Dzierkals scored 45 goals while adding 71 assists for 116 points, pretty good, right?

Dzierkals went pointless in a short 4-game stint with the Toronto Marlies to start the 2017-18 season, before being sent to the ECHL, where he was actually really good.

In 51 games with the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, Dzierkals scored 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 points. ( Elite Prospects )

Throughout this entire 4 year saga, Dzierkals went unsigned by the Toronto Maple Leafs. So, he went to elevate his game in the KHL, which is the arguably the 2nd best league in the world. More importantly, Dzierkals went home to Lativa, as he signed with Dinamo Riga.

During his time in the KHL, Dzierkals scored 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points in…42 games. This production is not exactly promising, but it is significantly higher than a lot of KHL rookies.

What’s the Situation?

So, what’s the issue with Dzierkals?

Well, he’s not playing anywhere at the moment.

This Tweet, from our very own Kyle Kushman, sheds some more light on what is happening with Dzierkals.

Pretty interesting that as Dinamo Riga takes the ice for their first pre-season game today, #Leafs prospect Martins Dzierkals remains unsigned after a promising rookie season. Had a falling out with Toronto when they didn’t guarantee he wouldn’t spend time in the ECHL in 18/19 — Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) July 24, 2019

Interesting to note here is that Dzierkals seemed to have a rough time in trying to prove his worth to the Toronto Maple Leafs, which explains his move to the KHL. What is not explained is the Leafs supposed lack of interest in Dzierkals.

Despite some underwhelming production, Dzierkals has never been bad. The playmaking winger has a solid offensive skill set complete with strong puck control and handling ability as well as slick skating. This can be seen in this video courtesy of ‘Leafs Prospects Vidyas’.

For whatever reason, Dzierkals remains unsigned by the Leafs, who still own his rights. Possibly even more confusing is that the 22 year-old is not even signed by Dynamo Riga, a team that he placed 8th in scoring on. ( Elite Prospects ).

So what’s the Plan?

It is hard to predict what happens with Dzierkals at this point, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be in the Leafs system for much longer.