Maple Leafs Prospects Watch: Easter Edition

With the Marlies playing out the string with an eye towards the playoffs and the Maple Leafs doing nothing but trying to grind out a few wins in the role of a spoiler, the most exciting thing in Leafs Nation could very well be the start of the CHL playoffs. It’s a chance to get to see Mitch Marner, Jeremy Bracco, et al against the top competition in their leagues as the attempt to take their teams on a run toward the Memorial Cup.

The CHL playoffs started this week and as of tonight, each series will have completed at least two games. Just about every Leafs prospect is playing on a team that has a legitimate dream of the Memorial Cup, but through the first weekend of the playoffs both Marner and Andrew Nielsen have had their teams hit a bump in the road.

• It looks like The Shawinigan Cataractes and Leaf prospect Dmytro Timashov are in store for a grueling first round series. Through the first two games, each team as a hard fought 3-2 victory. Both games could have gone either way and the teams look very evenly matched as the prepare for game three in Sherbrooke. After having four shots on net in game one, Timashov had a goal and an assist in the game two victory and will be looked upon to be an offensive catalyst for Shawinigan.
• Toronto’s other prospect in the QMJHL playoffs is having a much easier go of things as Rouyn-Noranda has dominated the series thus far, outscoring Drummondville 16-0 through the first two games. Martins Dzierkais has contributed two assists for the Huskies.

After a great postseason run that saw a surprising upset victory over the University of North Dakota in NCHC tournament, last night saw the season come to an end for Maple Leafs prospects Tony Cameranesi and Dom Toninato. In the case of Cameranesi, it saw the end of his senior season and his last game at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The question now becomes whether or not the Leafs sign Cameranesi to keep him as part of the organization or if they simply move on from the 22-year old prospect that has no real ties to the current management team. I could see either happening, Cameranesi doesn’t look like a future NHLer but he is a solid hockey player that could help the Marlies down the stretch until the Leafs season is over. On the other hand, this isn’t a prospect that was drafted by the current regime and with all the draft picks coming in the next two season it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team walk away from this kind of former draft pick.

If nothing else, the UMD Bulldogs provided NCAA hockey fans with some incredible excitement on the way to the Frozen Four tournament. The team fought back from a 3-0 deficit last night and almost forced overtime before eventually dropping a 3-2 decision to Boston College in the regional final. This came only days after knocking off the defending national champion Providence Friars in an incredibly thrilling double-overtime win.

Those hoping to see Swedish forward Andreas Johnson join the Marlies for the stretch run are going to have to wait a little longer. Johnson’s Frolunda HC team made advanced to the second round of the SHL playoffs this week with a 4-1 series win against Djurgarden. Johnson continued to contribute to the team’s success with two goals and an assist in the first five games of the playoffs. There are two trains of thought on this, a deep run in the playoffs is never a bad thing for the psyche of a young prospect, but getting Johnson a taste of North American hockey before next fall could be incredibly valuable to his development.