Martins Dzierkals heads to the KHL for 2018-19

Some (very) minor Leafs news to pass along this morning, as it seems prospect Martins Dzierkals is going to head home to Latvia and suit up for Dinamo Riga of the KHL.

Dzierkals was taken in the 2015 draft; You know, the one where Dubas/Hunter really started to make their mark on the team. An undersized forward, and coming off a year where he scored 67 points in 59 games for Rouyn-Noranda, he was a good swing-for-the-fence pick later in the draft where Toronto got him 68th overall. But since then there wasn’t a marked improvement in his QMJHL performance, and last season he was a mediocre ECHLer with the Solar Bears, at least numbers-wise.

With that said, it isn’t necessarily over for Dzierkals as far as the Leafs and the NHL go. Toronto will still hold his rights until next June, and if he turns in a strong season at home, perhaps he gets a longer look with the organization. At 21-years-old however, his time as a “prospect” is very quickly coming to a close.