Leafs prospect Fraser Minten displays his dominance in WHL Playoffs
With most of the prospect talk this season in Toronto focused heavily on Easton Cowan after a tremendous training camp, followed by an excellent season in London, another Leafs prospect., Fraser Minten, has been quietly humming along, playing some excellent hockey for the Saskatoon Blades.
Minten and the Blades entered Round 2 of the WHL Playoffs on Friday evening, with the 38th overall pick in 2022 putting up perhaps his best performance of the year at just the right time. During Game 1 of the Blades' Round 2 series against the Red Deer Rebels on Friday, Minten popped off for 2 goals, 1 primary assist, 8 shots on goal and 18 faceoff wins, going 18-6 on a dominant night in the dot.
After coming into Maple Leafs training camp as a 19-year-old and playing his way onto the opening night roster back in October, Minten was given a 4-game trial with the Leafs, during which time he did not look overwhelmed or out of place. It was a nice taste of what's to come in the future for Minten, but ultimately, the team's development staff determined that it was better for his overall development if he was returned to his junior club in Kamloops.
Not long after he was moved back to Kamloops, Minten was named captain of the Blazers, though that was short-lived as he was dealt to Saskatoon just 10 games into his season in a high profile trade featuring a lot of draft picks as the primary return for Kamloops.
After putting up 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points in 7 games with Kamloops, Minten went on a tear with the Blades, scoring 19 goals and adding 19 assists for a total of 38 points in 36 games, playing big minutes in all situations. Now, the Vancouver, BC native is cruising along in the playoffs with over a point per game, scoring 7 points in 6 games after his 3-point effort against Red Deer last night.
Having the opportunity to represent his country at the 2023-24 World Junior Championships in Sweden, along with fellow Leafs prospect Easton Cowan, although Canada suffered a devastating loss long before the medal rounds, Minten was able to gain some valuable experience at the tournament, being named captain of Team Canada and being relied upon heavily in a top-six role during the event. There's no question that losing on the world stage only motivated him to play much better and clean up the details of his game upon returning home to Canada without any hardware to show for his efforts.
Standing 6'2, and weighing in at almost 200 lbs, Minten has filled out a bit more this season, which is only going to help him when he returns to Maple Leafs training camp in September. I'm sure that the goal, at this point, is to have him return to Leafs training camp as a WHL and/or Memorial Cup champion, but I'm sure the Leafs are thrilled with how his year has gone for their top prospect, win or lose.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 13 | 359 ANSWERS Leafs prospect Fraser Minten displays his dominance in WHL Playoffs Will Fraser Minten be a full-time player for the Maple Leafs next season? | ||
| Yes | 175 | 48.7 % |
| No | 74 | 20.6 % |
| I'd give him a year in the AHL first | 110 | 30.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
