Recently signed prospects Luke Haymes and John Prokop are ecstatic to have signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Both players were added from the NCAA college free agent pool that had recently opened up with some schools finishing their hockey campaigns. Haymes should help shore up the Leafs’ depth down the middle and help fill the void left behind by the recently departed Fraser Minten. Prokop helps improve the defensive depth and provides shutdown elements that could help accelerate his path to the NHL.
The two new additions have already started skating with the Toronto Marlies, where they will be locked into amateur tryouts for the remainder of this season and are expected to get into AHL games as soon as this weekend.
“I mean, it is the best organization in hockey,” Prokop said to reporters after his first practice on Tuesday. “It is kind of hard to say no to them, especially hearing all of the good things about it too. It’s like, ‘Why wouldn’t you go here you know?’ So it’s nice.”
The 23-year-old defenceman said that five of his former teammates at Union College were from the Toronto area and gave him some insight into what the city is like and what he can expect living there. It got Prokop excited to not only make the city his new home but also the commitment to the Leafs organization for the next few years.
As for Haymes, his first practice with the Marlies was on Wednesday and expressed his excitement to be joining the franchise and beginning his journey up the NHL. He already has an idea of what to expect given he spent time with the Leafs during development camp back in the summer of 2023.
“Talking to the staff, they are huge on development, which is something I knew I needed as a younger guy coming out of college,” he said. “I wanted a place that would really develop me, and somewhere with opportunity as well. Those are two parts of the plan for coming here. Super excited to be a Marlie and a Leaf.”
Hailing from Ottawa, Haymes revealed that he grew up cheering for both the Senators and Leafs, noting that his buddies back home who cheer for the former were supportive of him joining the latter. He idolized Pavel Datsyuk’s game growing up while he has been taking note of being a 200-foot player akin to Mark Scheifele and John Tavares.
Prokop and Haymes played against each other in the ECAC Hockey conference, one of six for Division 1 hockey in the United States. They may have been college rivals but they are excited to be teaming up together with the Leafs organization and going through the process of transitioning to the pro ranks.
“I thought he was one of the best players in our conference,” Prokop said on Haymes’ game. “He wins draws. He is physical. He can score and defend. It is really hard to play against. I played against him in the playoffs, and it is nice to play on the same team with him now. I think Toronto will appreciate that.”
Both Haymes and Prokrop expressed their desire to improve their defensive game and have quicker reaction times as they have quickly noticed the pace is a lot quicker in the AHL compared to what they are used to. The fact they have already identified areas they want to work on will surely put a smile on the faces of head coach John Gruden and the Marlies coaching staff.
“He is a strong skater. He seems like a pretty cerebral and pretty smart player,” Gruden said of Haymes. “He kind of reminds me of [Jacob] Quillan a little bit when he came in: same size, and they skate well. It is his first showing, and he is here for a reason. He’ll continue to improve. It’ll be exciting to see where he goes from here.”
“He carries himself on the ice very well. He skates well, big guy. It just seems like he has some intelligence to him,” Gruden added on Prokop. “It is just one showing, but he looked like he belonged. I thought he did an exceptional job. We will get him this weekend, but he seems like he has some really good qualities to be a Leaf and to help us for the time being.”
The Marlies have a busy weekend ahead with three games on three consecutive nights, beginning on Friday against the Laval Rockets.
