Leafs Prospect Roundup: Leafs cash out Minten and Grebenkin, Danford suspended

The Leafs went into the trade deadline with limited future assets to spend in an effort to upgrade their club, and following the acquisitions of Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo, the cupboards look even more bare. Not only did the Leafs ship out valuable draft capital to shore up some holes in their lineup, but they also parted with two of their top prospects in the process.

Neither Fraser Minten or Nikita Grebenkin project to be frontline players in the NHL, but for the Leafs, they represented projectable NHL talent that could be expected to contribute to the big club relatively soon while counting for next to nothing against the salary cap. But in a seller’s market, the Leafs didn’t want to be left holding the bag, and they paid up at the expense of their already underwhelming prospect pool.

Given where the Leafs are at in their competitive window, cashing out future assets for immediate help made all the sense in the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to watch two promising young players go out the door. Minten, in particular, is a tough loss. First off, everyone who has been around him has raved about his maturity, intelligence, and overall personality, but the fact that he had already proven capable of handling NHL minutes at centre – a position the Leafs are particularly thin at – made him especially valuable to the cap-strapped Leafs. Ultimately, however, Minten’s ceiling is limited, and he likely tops out as a quality third line centre who can handle tough matchups. Considering that he was part of a deal that brought in a legitimate top four, right-handed defenceman on a manageable contract for two seasons beyond this one, the potential risk seems worth the reward.

As for Nikita Grebenkin, who had quickly made himself into a fan-favourite, the Leafs decided to capitalize on the value he had built in the KHL and AHL since being drafted as an overaged player in the fifth round back in 2022. Beyond the draft picks they had in the cupboard, Grebenkin was one of very few prospects the Leafs had who was likely to draw any interest from teams on the trade market, and they used him to help push a trade for another potential fan favourite across the finish line. The fiery young Russian could eventually become a viable third line option with a bit of skill and the willingness to crash and bang, but the Leafs needed that player now, and they’re banking on Laughton to fill that hole while helping to address the lack of centre depth on the roster.

In the end, the Leafs’ prospect pipeline took a significant hit, but they managed to hold on to their two most recent first-round picks in Easton Cowan and Ben Danford, and they even recouped some later picks to help fortify their organizational depth in the upcoming draft. As long as the Leafs are among the league’s contenders, they don’t figure to boast top-tier prospect pool, but the deals involving Minten and Grebenkin further underline the importance of maintaining a strong pipeline of young talent into the organization.

Yes, you need to be able to supplement your roster with cheap, young talent, but you also need to have some bullets in the chamber that you can spend in the trade market when the time comes, and that’s just what the Leafs did with Minten and Grebenkin. It’s always tough to give up young talent, but Minten and Grebenkin are just providing value to the Leafs in a different way than might have been expected, and now it’s on the Brad Treliving and his scouting staff to keep that pipeline flowing.

Notes from the rest of the prospect pool:

• Easton Cowan started off hot in the month of March, and he kept that going in a big way this past week. Fresh off a hat trick that included an overtime winner against the Oshawa Generals, Cowan potted two more against the Brantford Bulldogs on Wednesday, added a goal and an assist against Kingston on Friday, and then notched four assists in a blowout win over Sarnia that also saw him drop the gloves. That makes six goals and seven assists for Cowan in just five games to begin the month, bringing him up to 27 goals and 32 assists in 42 games so far this season.
• Ben Danford and the Oshawa Generals took on the Brampton Steelheads on Wednesday, and for the second time in just a few weeks, things got chippy between Danford and the Steelheads. After laying a big hit on Porter Martone that led to a spirited scrap with Stevie Leskovar in a recent meeting, Martone and Danford got re-acquainted on Wednesday. The whole thing started with Martone laying a nasty slash on Danford’s defensive partner, Luca Marelli, after the whistle, sparking nearly a full-on line brawl. Unsurprisingly, it was Danford who got to Martone in the fracas, with both players earning themselves a two-game suspension for being engaged in the second fight during the same stoppage. Danford sat out Friday’s matchup against Sudbury as well as Saturday’s game against the Soo Greyhounds, and he is slated to return to the lineup when the Generals take on Ottawa on Friday.
• It’s been an up-and-down season for Dennis Hildeby, but he’s coming off of one of his strongest outings of the campaign against Bridgeport on Saturday. He stopped 35 of the 37 shots he faced in a 3-2 overtime victory, and continues to strengthen his grip on the Marlies’ crease. For the season, Hildeby owns a 2.68 GAA to go along with a .906 save percentage in 20 AHL appearances.
• Conversely, things have not gone the way of Artur Akhtyamov in the last couple of weeks. He has started just twice since February 22nd, and he was pulled in Friday’s game against the Providence Bruins after giving up four goals on 25 shots. His numbers for the season are comparable to Hildeby’s, but he’s going to have to find his game again to wrestle away more playing time down the stretch.
• Jacob Quillan isn’t the same level of prospect that Fraser Minten is, but his ascension this season could help soften the blow of losing Minten in the Brandon Carlo trade. The overall upside is likely even more limited, but Quillan shares a lot of traits with Minten that project well to the bottom half of an NHL lineup, and he has continued to gain the trust of the Marlies’ coaching staff. With that trust has come greater opportunity, and Quillan is starting to make more frequent appearances on the scoresheet. Quillan extended his goal-scoring streak to three games on Saturday with the overtime winner against the Bridgeport Islanders, bringing him to 12 goals and 14 assists through 50 games in his first full season of pro hockey. Quillan isn’t going to be a star, but Minten’s departure makes him the top centre prospect in the Leafs’ organization as it stands, and he could play a legitimate role in the NHL as early as next season.
• Like Quillan, William Villeneuve has been climbing the ranks this season, and he had another strong performance with two assists in Saturday’s overtime win over Bridgeport. It was Villeneuve’s fourth multi-assist effort of the season, and he is now one point shy of tying his career high of 25 points in 15 fewer games to this point. The 2020 fourth-rounder appears to have surpassed Topi Niemelä on the depth chart, though they have played together at various points with Villeneuve playing the left side, and he is tracking toward earning a second contract with the Leafs in the offseason.
• Sam McCue busted out of a four-game goalless drought in style against Sarnia on Saturday, notching his second hat trick of the season in a 6-2 win. It has been a fantastic year for the seventh-round pick out of the OHL, and he is now up to 34 goals and 21 assists in 56 games split between Owen Sound and Flint. Teams typically wait a while with later picks, but don’t be surprised to see McCue ink his entry-level contract with the Leafs in the next couple of months.
• His numbers in the J20 Nationell during his draft year were modest, but Victor Johansson has been torching the league this season. Over the last six games, the Leafs’ 2024 fourth-rounder has posted three goals and five assists, bringing his season totals to seven goals and 30 assists in 45 games – good enough for a share of second in scoring among all J20 Nationell blue liners. Johansson’s aggressive and sometimes undisciplined nature has also been on full display as he sits second among J20 defencemen with 113 PIMs as well. His strong play at the junior level has put him on the radar for Leksands’ pro club in the SHL, but he has played just 2:16 in his lone appearance and hasn’t seen a shift in the other four games he was dressed for. That process is typical of European pro clubs, so Johansson should earn a real look heading into next season, especially if he continues to add some muscle.
• It has been a tough sophomore season for Nick Moldenhauer at Michigan, but he showed signs of life this past weekend in a two-game set against Penn State. After going 20 games without finding the back of the net, Moldenhauer buried his second of the season on a strong individual effort that saw him beat the goaltender cleanly off the rush. He followed that up with his third of the season in Saturday’s rematch, and his coach must have liked what he saw, playing Moldenhauer a season-high 18:45. The Leafs’ 2022 third-rounder is no stranger to adversity, and it will be interesting to see if he can build upon a strong performance against Penn State to salvage something from his sophomore year and re-establish himself as a legitimate NHL prospect.