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Toronto Maple Leafs: Yegor Korshkov, the forgotten prospect

By Omar L

TORONTO,ON - APRIL 23: The flag skater performs prior to action between the Washington Capitals and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Air Canada Centre on April 23, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Capitals defeated the Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime to win series 4-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO,ON - APRIL 23: The flag skater performs prior to action between the Washington Capitals and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Air Canada Centre on April 23, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Capitals defeated the Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime to win series 4-2. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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With all the elite prospects the Toronto Maple Leafs have in their system, it’s easy to forget some of them — like Yegor Korshkov, for example.

The organizational turnover that the Toronto Maple Leafs have had the past three years is incredible. Before Brendan Shanahan was hired, the Leafs’ cupboards were bare. They had to continuously rely on trades and/or free agency to acquire talent to fill the roster. Now after the work of Assistant general manager Mark Hunter, the Leafs have one of the best prospect pools in the league.

Most fans pay attention to the big prospect names. Timothy Liljegren, Jeremy Bracco, Travis Dermott, Andrew Nielsen, and Adam Brooks are some of the names most Leafs fans know of. However, there is one name that is still worth investing in. That name is Yegor Korshkov.

Korshkov was the biggest surprise in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He didn’t put up the best numbers with only 12 points in 41 games with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of the KHL. The one thing that stood out was his size, standing at 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds.

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The hope going into the 2016-17 season was that there would be improvements offensively. Unfortunately, Korshkov suffered a broken league halfway through the season. At that point he had scored six goals and 12 assists on the team’s third line.

Korshkov returned in time for the playoffs and made an impact early, scoring in the first game. However, that was all he would do for the next 14 games, as he only added two assists the rest of the way.

It’s a new season in the KHL for the 21-year-old. Korshkov has played in both of Lokomotiv’s preseason games so far on the second line. It looks like he’s getting off to a hot start as he has scored a goal in both games.

The Russian-native isn’t the sexiest player in the Leafs’ prospect pool, especially when you compare him to those who will be making their AHL debuts on the Toronto Marlies next season. However, it’s obvious Hunter saw something in Korshkov that was worth taking at the top of the second round. We haven’t doubted Hunter and company before, so let’s give Korshkov a chance before casting him off as a bust.

Next: Leafs Prospect Rankings: 1-5

What are your thoughts on Yegor Korshkov? Will we ever see him play in North America for the Toronto Maple Leafs? Let us know what you think in the comments.

All stats in this post are from Elite Prospects.com

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