Maple Leafs Top 20 Prospects

[Kaizen]

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/1 ... pring2008/

1. (1) Justin Pogge, G, 21
2. (3) Nikolai Kulemin, RW, 21
3. (2) Jiri Tlusty, LW, 20
4. (5) Anton Stralman, D, 22
5. (7) Dimitri Vorobiev, D, 22
6. (4) Robbie Earl, LW, 22
7. (9) Tyler Ruegsegger, C, 20
8. (8.) Dale Mitchell, RW, 19
9. (10) James Reimer, G, 20
10. (11) Matt Frattin, RW, 20
11. (20) Chris DiDomenico, C, 19
12. (12) Ben Winnett, LW, 19
13. (16) Chad Rau, C, 21
14. (17) John Mitchell, C, 23
15. (6) Jeremy Williams, RW, 24
16. (13) Phil Oreskovic, D, 21
17. (19) Juraj Mikus, D, 19
18. (NR) Korbinian Holzer, D, 20
19. (NR) Viktor Stalberg, LW, 22
20. (NR) Alex Foster, LW, 24

[Griff83]

Kulemin is this teams best prospect.

[bryant08]

Kulemin is this teams best prospect.

No, it's still Pogge. Pogge has top 10 goalie potential. Kulemin is our best prospect outside of Pogge BY FAR, the guy has loads of talent and IMO is an Erik Cole clone. But he's more of a very good 2nd liner, capable 1st liner type players. But the pressure is definitely starting to mount for the Leafs on Pogge. I think they have to start the progression to the NHL next year and give him about 10 starts, while letting him back up Toskala the rest of the time. I always assumed that was the plan, but let's see what happens.

[bryant08]

And oh yeah, DiDomenico should be higher than Frattin and possibly Reimer. I've heard he's really small, but is a very good playmaker and puts up a helluva lot of points.

[Crowned]

Reimer is going to surprise you. He's really emerged as a very good goaltender.

[RaptaFan4Life]

what do you guys think of that dale mitchell kid?

[bryant08]

what do you guys think of that dale mitchell kid?

He's got a low centre of gravity and is quite bullish. He had a very good performance in the playoffs with 10 goals in 15 games and sounds like a pretty good prospect. IMO a top 9 forward in this league, but I can't really come up with much of a comparison from only watching him a few times here and there. Most of the time I was watching Oshawa it wasn't him I was focusing on

[Griff83]

Kulemin is this teams best prospect.

No, it's still Pogge. Pogge has top 10 goalie potential. Kulemin is our best prospect outside of Pogge BY FAR, the guy has loads of talent and IMO is an Erik Cole clone. But he's more of a very good 2nd liner, capable 1st liner type players. But the pressure is definitely starting to mount for the Leafs on Pogge. I think they have to start the progression to the NHL next year and give him about 10 starts, while letting him back up Toskala the rest of the time. I always assumed that was the plan, but let's see what happens.

Im not convinced Pogge has the upside that some speak of. He was better in the AHL this season compared to last but I still dont see a goalie with the consistant mental focus to be a top 10 goalie in the league. On the other hand Kulemin is majorly underrated by almost every scouting site I see and he definitely has first line upside. Any player that has the offensive tools he has and a guy who won russian league MVP should have first line potential especially at his age.

[Marmoset]

I also think it's time to see what Pogge can do. He should have played more for the Marlies, but that can't be changed. He should be given every opportunity to be the backup to Vesa Toskala this coming season. If he's absolutely terrible in camp, then they send him down, but otherwise lets see what he can do. The Leafs need to find out whether he's the goalie of the future or not, and that won't happen as long as he's with the Marlies. Besides, if things are done properly it's not like the Leafs are going to be competing for anything this season other than John Taveres.

As for Kulemin, I'm excited to see if he lives up to the hype. I've read about him but haven't actually seen any games or even videos, so I can only go on what other people have said. I think the Leafs are due to have a prospect break out and really contribute, so hopefully he's the one!

[Griff83]

I also think it's time to see what Pogge can do. He should have played more for the Marlies, but that can't be changed. He should be given every opportunity to be the backup to Vesa Toskala this coming season. If he's absolutely terrible in camp, then they send him down, but otherwise lets see what he can do. The Leafs need to find out whether he's the goalie of the future or not, and that won't happen as long as he's with the Marlies. Besides, if things are done properly it's not like the Leafs are going to be competing for anything this season other than John Taveres.

As for Kulemin, I'm excited to see if he lives up to the hype. I've read about him but haven't actually seen any games or even videos, so I can only go on what other people have said. I think the Leafs are due to have a prospect break out and really contribute, so hopefully he's the one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eIRcFeD2F4

[Marmoset]

^^^ Thanks! I was especially impressed with a few of the goals near the beginning where he was able to maintain possession of the puck and then score under heavy pressure from the defencemen. If he can do that in the NHL with bigger players and the smaller ice surface, he's going to be a very good player.

[Griff83]

^^^ Thanks! I was especially impressed with a few of the goals near the beginning where he was able to maintain possession of the puck and then score under heavy pressure from the defencemen. If he can do that in the NHL with bigger players and the smaller ice surface, he's going to be a very good player.

watch these 2 beauties he had at the world juniors

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dlOz7KxS8c

[Griff83]

Kulemin is this teams best prospect.

No, it's still Pogge. Pogge has top 10 goalie potential. Kulemin is our best prospect outside of Pogge BY FAR, the guy has loads of talent and IMO is an Erik Cole clone. But he's more of a very good 2nd liner, capable 1st liner type players. But the pressure is definitely starting to mount for the Leafs on Pogge. I think they have to start the progression to the NHL next year and give him about 10 starts, while letting him back up Toskala the rest of the time. I always assumed that was the plan, but let's see what happens.

Fellow Leaf fans dont seem to agree. Heres a poll that was just taken on HFboards as to who the top 5 prospects are.

1. Luke Schenn (80.36% of 112 votes)
2. Nikolai Kulemin (45.90% of 122 votes)
3. Anton Stralman (65.57% of 122 votes)
4. Jiri Tlusty (63.83% of 94 votes)
5. Justin Pogge (90.91% of 44 votes)

[bryant08]

Kulemin is this teams best prospect.

No, it's still Pogge. Pogge has top 10 goalie potential. Kulemin is our best prospect outside of Pogge BY FAR, the guy has loads of talent and IMO is an Erik Cole clone. But he's more of a very good 2nd liner, capable 1st liner type players. But the pressure is definitely starting to mount for the Leafs on Pogge. I think they have to start the progression to the NHL next year and give him about 10 starts, while letting him back up Toskala the rest of the time. I always assumed that was the plan, but let's see what happens.

Fellow Leaf fans dont seem to agree. Heres a poll that was just taken on HFboards as to who the top 5 prospects are.

1. Luke Schenn (80.36% of 112 votes)
2. Nikolai Kulemin (45.90% of 122 votes)
3. Anton Stralman (65.57% of 122 votes)
4. Jiri Tlusty (63.83% of 94 votes)
5. Justin Pogge (90.91% of 44 votes)

Schenn's definitely number one, but as far as I can see, Pogge is still this team's goalie of the future. After thinking about it, what are you ranking these on, potential/importance/future roles on the club? Pogge is easily at the top in terms of importance to our future and we've got a bunch banking on him.

Kulemin has impressed in the Russian league and the Erik Cole comparison is pretty spot on IMO, but I doubt he's first line material. He in my mind is going to be a 25-30 goal scorer consistently throughout his career.

I don't know what you're trying to argue here, who's been better so far in their careers? Hell yeah, Kulemin has achieved more, but if you think he has more value to us as a prospect than Pogge, you're off your rocker

If you're talking about who is going to be better in the future, it's pretty hard to compare a goalie and a winger. I never really thought about what you were asking, but maybe you can clear things up for me.

[Griff83]

Pogge might be the goalie of the future and you might want to argue the most important because he plays such a important position and one we are not deep at in terms of prospects but he is not the teams BEST PROSPECT. That is what this thread is discussing, who is the leafs best 20 prospects and Justin Pogge is not the best and his stock is actually taking a dive and many are questioning if hes really as good as some people originally thought.

Kulemin certainly has the potential to play on the first line. He'll, if he ends up being a 25-30 goal scorer in the Erik Cole mold, I dont see why he couldnt play on the first line. Not every winger on your #1 line has to be a 40 goal scorer and its actually rare. 25-30 goals with physical play is more then acceptable as a solid first line player. This thread is about who are the Leafs best prospects and when I posted this a few months back I said Kulemin was and it seems that the new Hockey Futures team prospect rankings agree with me. Here it is-

1. Luke Schenn
2. Nikolai Kulemin
3.Jiri Tlusty
4.Justin Pogge
5.Anton Stralman

[NeverGoingToWin]

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/10523/maple_leafs_top20_prospects_fall2008/

Top 20

1. (NR) Luke Schenn, D, 18
2. (2) Nikolai Kulemin, RW, 22
3. (3) Jiri Tlusty, LW, 20
4. (1) Justin Pogge, G, 22
5. (4) Anton Stralman, D, 22
6. (5) Dmitri Vorobiev, D, 22
7. (NR) Mikhail Grabovski, C, 24
8. (NR) Mikhail Stefanovich, C, 18
9. (NR) Jimmy Hayes, RW, 18
10. (6) Robbie Earl, LW, 23
11. (7) Tyler Ruegsegger, C, 20
12. (11) Chris Didomenico, C, 19
13. (13) Chad Rau, C, 21
14. (8) Dale Mitchell, RW, 19
15. (9) James Reimer, G, 20
16. (12) Ben Winnett, LW, 19
17. (10) Matt Frattin, LW, 20
18. (NR) Joel Champagne, C, 18
19. (19) Viktor Stalberg, LW, 22
20. (NR) Jerome Flaake LW, 18