Toronto Marlies depth chart 1.0: Expect a shift toward prioritizing development and opportunities for prospects

MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 14: Toronto Marlies defenceman Joseph Duszak (21) skates away from the far end of his zone with the puck during the Toronto Marlies versus the Laval Rocket game on March 14, 2021, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
By Joshua Kloke
Oct 9, 2021

After two disappointing seasons, it’s reasonable to expect that the Toronto Marlies could be turning a corner coming into the 2021-22 season.

Their 2019-20 campaign was marred by a coaching change midway through the season, which saw Greg Moore struggle to find his footing in his first professional coaching job after taking over for Sheldon Keefe. The season being abruptly cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t boost morale around the team, either.

Advertisement

Last year’s abbreviated season saw the team struggle through just 35 games. The lineup from game to game featured a turnstile of players, thanks to a variety of tryout contracts, juggling players coming in and out of the Maple Leafs taxi squad, injuries and the need to get young players valuable minutes. In all, 48 different players logged time for the Marlies last season. As a result, the Marlies often lacked cohesiveness on the ice.

“Coming in halfway in my first year, getting a grasp of everything here, it was tough to go through that process,” said Moore, who added that last season, he felt he was constantly trying to remind players of the team’s playing style or organizational philosophies again and again.

This season could mark the return to Marlies’ lineups going heavy on prospects and the team serving as a vehicle for development first and foremost. And the chance to see some of the team’s prospects, including Nick Robertson, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Mikhail Abramov and Filip Kral take steps forward in their first full AHL season is reason enough for the sense of optimism around the Marlies these days.

Not only could Moore and the coaching staff possibly hand the keys over to their prospects and expect them not just to log valuable minutes, they could fill that leadership role in the dressing room themselves, as Robertson did throughout the recent Leafs development camp.

“As everybody knows, if you focus on the process and the development, the winning should take care of itself,” Moore said.

New Marlies general manager Ryan Hardy said when he was hired that he and Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas “are unified in this mindset of believing that investing in development of our players and our people is what will ultimately lead to success on the ice.”

Hardy comes from one of the more renowned player development programs in North American hockey, the USHL’s Chicago Steel.

Advertisement

And Moore himself spent a season-and-a-half coaching for the Steel.

“My entire mentality has been, ‘How are we developing hockey players, and through that process, how are we finding the results?’” said Moore. “Hopefully we can continue with that this year.”

While there are still a few cuts coming with the Maple Leafs, those cuts should be free of any major surprises.

So ahead of the start of their preseason on Saturday, we’ve now got a decent idea of what the Marlies could look like this season as they attempt something of an organizational reset and return to the Calder Cup playoffs.


Forwards
LWCRW
Nick Robertson
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev
Joey Anderson
Pavel Gogolev
Mikhail Abramov
Josh Ho-Sang
Brett Seney
Antti Suomela
Alex Steeves
Rich Clune
Curtis Douglas
Jeremy McKenna
Ryan Chyzowski
Marc Michaelis
Zach O'Brien
Marcus Power
Gordie Green
Bobby McMann

Possible additions: Michael Amadio, Kirill Semyonov, Adam Brooks, Pierre Engvall, Kurtis Gabriel

Before we go any further, let’s be clear: The Marlies lines are far from set. On Thursday, Moore said he only might start to experiment with line combinations he has in mind during Sunday’s preseason game. No one should come away from this thinking Der-Arguchintsev is going to log top-line minutes all season.

Players on ECHL contracts or Marlies PTOs at training camp were not included in this depth chart.

The top of the Marlies forward group will get an injection of talent once the final Leafs cuts are made. Amadio and Semyonov are all but locks to slot into the top two lines, bumping Der-Arguchintsev and Abramov down. I could see these players rotating in and out of the lineup. Each has tremendous creativity and skill, but each also has defensive holes in their game. I don’t know how often Moore is going to want to have two young centres learning to play off the puck in the lineup night after night. There’s still a lot of questions about whether Der-Arguchintsev can learn the defensive side of the game, and the Marlies want Abramov, in particular, to show more aggressiveness in his game.

As my esteemed colleagues have detailed almost relentlessly on The Leaf Report, it seems like it will come down to either Pierre Engvall or Timothy Liljegren (more on him in a bit) making the Leafs this season. Like Siegel and Mirtle, I’d be surprised if Engvall clears waivers but if he does, he’ll log plenty of time with the Marlies.

Advertisement

If I had to bet, Brooks will be one of the final cuts from the Leafs camp and clear waivers.

Gabriel makes sense in a more of a checking line role. Josh Ho-Sang’s decent Leafs training camp and really strong first few practices and scrimmages with the Marlies has him looking ready to log plenty of ice time with equally skilled players.

Moore values Joey Anderson’s consistency, which should keep him high in the lineup too.

Pavel Gogolev remains something of a wild card. The playmaking is there, but the skating and consistent effort is a work in progress. That the Leafs signed him to a three-year entry-level contract suggests they’re in no rush with him, so I don’t know how often he’ll log top-six minutes.

“I wouldn’t say things have come very easy for him up to this point, but now some of these young guys are getting to a level where it’s starting to get harder,” said Moore of Gogolev. “So it’s just about pushing these guys to be continuous everyday with their effort, their details, game management items, how they’re approaching practice.”

Nevertheless, that’s a lot of offensive skill up the middle, which the Marlies have had a dearth of lately.

Robertson should benefit from a full season spent prioritizing his development in the AHL. The organization believes he can become more of a commanding presence around the team at just 20, and he needs to learn to manage the physicality in the pro game. There’s probably no need to dangle the NHL carrot in front of him this season and instead allow him to focus on adjusting to the AHL. He’s going to be a Leaf one day, and with plenty of NHL-ready left wingers ahead of him in the organization depth chart, an AHL season shouldn’t be seen as a knock on him.

Alex Steeves put in plenty of time this offseason getting up to speed on the organization’s style of play, and it showed in development camp and the rookie tournament when he looked better by the day. Once he returns from injury, he’ll be in the mix for top-six minutes. On Tuesday, Moore didn’t sound optimistic for him to return for the start of the Marlies season on Oct. 16.

Advertisement

Captain Rich Clune is the oldest player under contract at 34. Zach O’Brien, 29, and Marcus Power, 28, return to the organization after time spent in Europe. While they could provide some veteran leadership on the Marlies, time spent with the Newfound Growlers in the ECHL isn’t out of the question either.

Ryan Chyzowski impressed throughout the development camp with his off-puck movement and physical spark. He should be a regular toward the bottom of the lineup.


Defencemen
LDRD
Kristians Rubins
Joey Duszak
Carl Dahlstrom
Brennan Menell
Filip Kral
Mac Hollowell
Teemu Kivihalme
Brennan Kapcheck
Noel Hoefenmayer
Ben Finkelstein
Matt Hellickson
Riley McCourt
Matteo Pietroniro

Possible additions: Timothy Liljegren, Alex Biega

I fully expect Biega to start the season with the Marlies and log top-four minutes. My sense is Liljegren is a Leaf to start the season, but if and when he does log some AHL time, it’ll be on the top pair. Even with the skepticism over his future as a Leaf, I’m not sure what else he has to prove at the AHL level.

Beyond those two, it’s on the blue line where the organization’s emerging prospects project to shine.

Kristians Rubins may seem like a stretch for the top pair, but his steady style of play continues to impress the coaching staff. When asked if he could envision Rubins on the top pair, Moore didn’t hesitate.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Especially his last preseason game at home against Montreal, that was probably the most mature version of his game I’ve seen since I’ve been here.”

Joey Duszak’s game really rounded into form toward the end of development camp, and the idea of him playing in more of the aggressive, fourth forward role with Rubins makes some sense.

Carl Dahlstrom’s 64 games of NHL experience makes him an important player to have in the system should injuries occur with Leafs blueliners.

“We’re going to really value his presence in our lineup, build consistent minutes and do our best as a staff to help him along his journey and get him back to where he wants,” Moore said of Dahlstrom.

Advertisement

Brennan Menell is coming off a very productive KHL season (38 points in 47 games with Dynamo Minsk) and he could offer more offensive punch lower in the lineup.

Filip Kral remains an important part of the Marlies’ blue line, and the organization sees him as a player who can continue to take positive steps forward after his swift transition to the North American pro game last season. Kral said the organization wants him to “not be as soft” in the corners and when he’s boxing out around the net. But even with those holes in his game, he’s made fans in the organization.

“Throughout Leafs training camp, he really impressed everybody,” Moore said of Kral. “I would project he’s going to be a big part of the group this year.”

Given what Moore wants to see from Mac Hollowell this season, pairing him with the more defensively-minded Kral makes sense.

“There’s times when he gets moving and dancing in the offensive zone and makes a lot of really smart, high end plays, but I think he can have more of a mentality of how he’s attacking the net, and how he’s getting to the net himself, or how he’s threatening in that moment,” Moore said of Hollowell.

Teemu Kivihalme will likely rotate in and out of the lineup, and Noel Hoefenmayer could bounce up and down between the ECHL and the AHL.

Matt Hellickson’s offensive game made him an intriguing player throughout Leafs development camp and rookie tournament, but there are still questions about where he fits into the lineup.


Goalies
G
Michael Hutchinson
Erik Kallgren
Ian Scott
Keith Petruzzelli

After re-upping Joseph Woll to a one-year contract extension, the Leafs will once again give him the opportunity to improve as one of the Marlies de facto starting goalies. He’ll need to make the most of that opportunity after his first two seasons with the Marlies were largely disappointing. The Leafs will want Hutchinson to stay sharp in case of an injury to Jack Campbell or Petr Mrazek and Erik Kallgren should also get some starts. Though on a two-year deal, more of his starts could come in 2022-23.

Advertisement

Once Ian Scott returns from injury, he should start as many games with the Growlers as possible. The organization desperately wants him to play consistently after playing just six games since 2019. Keith Petruzzelli remains a project on a two-year AHL deal and could bounce back and forth between the Marlies and the Growlers.

(Photo of Joseph Duszak: David Kirouac / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.

Joshua Kloke

Joshua Kloke is a staff writer who has covered the Maple Leafs and Canadian soccer for The Athletic since 2016. Previously, he was a freelance writer for various publications, including Sports Illustrated. Follow Joshua on Twitter @joshuakloke