Maple Leafs prospect pool ranking officially on the rise despite low volume of picks in recent years

The Toronto Maple Leafs' "NHL Pipeline Ranking" is rapidly rising, according to The Athletic's Corey Pronman.

There's no question that the Maple Leafs have been hard up for draft capital in recent years after former GM Kyle Dubas emptied the cupboard prior to being relieved of his duties in favour of new GM Brad Treliving, who was hired during the 2023 off-season.

Last year, around this time, The Athletic had the Maple Leafs ranked 27th in the NHL Pipeline Rankings. However, this year, thanks to the growth of several key young players within the organization, including Matthew Knies, Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten, along with the selection of right-shot D Ben Danford in this year's draft, Pronman has the Leafs moving up to the 22nd rank among the 32 NHL franchises.

A big reason for the boost in Pronman's rankings was the emergence of Easton Cowan and the breakout year that he had in the OHL last season. His 96-point campaign earned him regular season MVP honours, and his 34-point playoffs led to the kid from Mount Brydges, Ontario winning an OHL championship and being named Playoffs MVP as well.

In addition, the rookie season that Matthew Knies put up in the NHL was impressive, notching 15 goals and 35 points, often playing against top competition within the Leafs' top-6.

Pronman also listed Minten and Danford, as mentioned above, as well as 6'2, 183-pound winger Nikita Grebyonkin, who left the KHL earlier this year to ink his entry-level deal with the Maple Leafs.

Source: The AthleticToronto Maple Leafs rank No. 22 in NHL Pipeline Rankings for 2024

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