Toronto Maple Leafs: What Were the Prospects Up to in October
Sep 26, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (62) skates against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Toronto Marlies
The Marlies have many young players leading their team this season and the one player who has the spotlight on him now is William Nylander. So far the 19-year-old has gotten off to a great start this season, leading the team in goals with five and points with nine. There is still a chance that if Nylander continues to produce like he is, then he could possibly come up and play with the Leafs. He would have to be overly impressive, though.
Kasperi Kapanen has struggled at the start of his season, one reason has been his inability to generate quality scoring chances. He only has two goals in seven games, so hopefully he keeps working hard towards producing more offensively. At 19 years old there is no rush for Kapanen but the longer this drags on the more concerned the Leafs will have to be with Kapanen’s mental approach, however that seems unlikely.
Kapanen’s lack of shot generation (and assists to match) is concerning. He’s shown flashes, but needs to start producing. Only 8SOG in 7GP.
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) November 2, 2015
A player to watch for moving forward has to be Joshua Leivo. He is off to a good start this season with three goals, four assists, and seven points in eight games. He could be a candidate for a call up given his previous experience with 16 games played in the NHL. He is currently playing on the Marlies top line with Nylander and Casey Bailey so maybe management will want him to remain in that spot with the injury to Connor Brown.
Oct 3, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Antoine Bibeau (30) during the pre game warm up against the Detroit Red Wings at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
The Marlies goaltending has been a bright spot this season with both Antoine Bibeau and Garret Sparks splitting time in the crease.
Bibeau will probably see the majority of the playing time this season with the Marlies. For the moment, he is backing up James Reimer while Jonathan Bernier recovers from an injury. Coach Sheldon Keefe had not played either goalie on consecutive nights until recently where Bibeau made consecutive starts. He was drafted No. 172 overall in 2011 and Sparks was selected 190th overall in the same draft.
Both figure to be important pieces moving forward for the Leafs, but with Sparks at 22 years old and Bibeau at 21 years old, neither should be rushed to the big club until they have proved otherwise, but that should not take long.
Next: Prospects at the Junior Level