Leafs Prospect Update – February 1st, 2015

If you’re not doing anything Tuesday afternoon and have a several bucks to drop on an online viewing pass, I’d suggest tuning in to watch Andreas Johnson and his Frolunda Indians face off against Lulea HF for the inaugural Champions Hockey League finals. 

The tournament, which began back in August, has been a coming out party of sorts for Johnson, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 7th round pick in 2013. In 11 games, the speedy winger has scored 11 goals and 13 assists. Those 24 points put Johnson exactly one point behind Frolunda teammate Mathis Olimb for the tournament lead. 

Admittedly, some of the competition Johnson faced during his time in the CHL wasn’t always the best out there, but the tournament isn’t filled with scrubs either. 

It’s difficult to make sense of Carter Verhaeghe’s season so far. On one hand, he’s scored 20 goals and 53 points in 48 games, which aren’t numbers you can exactly sneeze at. On the other hand, OHL players – especially offensively gifted ones – usually improve their numbers year over year, and Verhaeghe just hasn’t. Last year, Verhaeghe poured in 82 points in 65 games. This year, he’s projected to barely crack 70.

We’ve been over this before, though. The IceDogs were a terrible team to start the season, but with Brendan Perlini returning from injury and Joshua Ho-Sang arriving via trade, Niagara has improved dramatically and in turn so have Verhaeghe’s numbers.

For example, Verhaeghe lead his team with a goal and three assists in Wednesday’s impressive 7-4 rout of the Owen Sound Attack. Add another two points in two weekend games and Verhaeghe finished the week with six points in three games. That’s more in line with what we should be expecting from a Draft +2 player. 

While Nolan Vesey went pointless in yesterday’s 2-2 draw between the University of Maine and the University of Connecticut, that game snapped an impressive four game point streak. In fact, Vesey has been producing at an excellent clip since only managing three assists in his first 13 games of the season. 

In his past 12 games, Vesey has put up six goals and six assists. While those aren’t exactly Jack Eichel numbers, it’s still pretty impressive for a Freshman. A 6’2″, 210lb Freshman, no less. Who doesn’t love big wingers? Vesey’s 15 points on the season puts him 20th in scoring amongst U20 NCAA players.