Throughout August TLN will be working our way through the prospect pool all the way up to crowning the top prospect in the Maple Leafs organization. It’s a fun annual exercise that usually leaves us all with some new information and a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the Leafs’ system.
Of course, prospects aren’t the full extent of the pipeline, there are the non-Maple Leafs reserve list players on AHL contracts (including Alex Nylander) that are an important part of the system, but more directly and often more likely to impact the Leafs there are the AHLers on either one or two way contracts with the Leafs that will be playing on the Marlies. We’ve seen Toronto lean heavily on guys like William Lagesson and Max Lajoie last season, while also completely ignoring others like Dylan Gambrell. Today we’ll take a quick look at who the Leafs have in the AHL system that won’t necessarily enjoy the “prospect” label but could see time with the Leafs.
Marshall Rifai | D | 26
Marshall Rifai is the most well known option to Leafs fans as he managed to get a couple of games with Toronto during the height of the Leafs’ defensive injuries. The world didn’t end by putting him in the Leafs lineup. He played the traditional “simple” call-up style game of throwing hits, blocking shots, and not being a liability while playing against bottom six competition. There wasn’t any grand moment that led to anyone demanding more of Rifai in a Leafs lineup, but nothing that deters keeping him as one of those options for the Leafs can call on when they need to find a few moments of rest for the defencemen ahead of him on the depth chart.
Keeping up with the play isn’t an issue for Rifai, and despite not having imposing size, he still plays a physical game. Now with a bit of NHL experience he might get a few more looks this year despite the number of AHL veterans brought in.
Nicolas Mattinen | D | 26
The 6’6 defenceman has returned to the Leafs, the team that drafted him in the 6th round in 2016. While his size and right shot are key factors in bringing him back into the fold, Mattinen’s offensive outputs in the German and Austrian elite leagues in the past couple of seasons make him a compelling project and very much worth a low risk look for the Maple Leafs organization.
While at 26 and a couple of pro seasons played in Europe make it hard to classify Mattinen as a prospect, he might have the most prospect-like arc in 2024-25 than any other player that will be mentioned here. He’s been brought in a project and the Leafs development team will see what they can do with him. A lot would have to go right quickly for him to factor into the Leafs lineup at all this season.
Cedric Pare | C | 25
The Leafs organization can always use more centres and bringing in a 6’4 option is one that makes sense for a team that seems to be putting a high value on size. The Bruins’ 2017 6th round pick has yet to play a game in the NHL and his AHL numbers are in line with a player likely to stay in that league throughout their career, but the Marlies need help too.
There has been steady improvement in Pare’s game during his AHL/ECHL time and the goal might be to turn Pare into the next Bobby McMann, late-bloomer type for the Leafs, but what seems more likely is that Pare is an opportunity for the Leafs to put a good pro in the middle and move the players the Leafs want to develop as wingers to the wing.
Philippe Myers | D | 27
Another returnee to the Maple Leafs organization, Philippe Myers is ready for his second stint with the Marlies, with a high probability of being one of the first names on Brad Treliving’s call up list.
Myers, largely due to his 6’6 size and right shot (seeing a theme in the Leafs depth chart), will be the Leafs radar and depending on the health and performance of Conor Timmins in the Leafs training camp could make a case for starting with the Leafs.
Myers had a starting promise to his career in Philadelphia, getting plenty of time to play 4/5th D minutes and it wasn’t until he couldn’t make it work in Nashville that it became apparent that Myers might have been rushed to the NHL.
Myers’ hits and block shots and does the stuff that you’d generally want to see from a bottom pairing defender, but what makes him standout in the Leafs organization is that he can really lean into a shot. Myers can hammer the puck in the high 95+ mph range and while making a case for Myers on the second powerplay unit is absurd at this point, he could certainly benefit the Marlies in that capacity and possibly make a case for being a good option for the Leafs as a shooter that will create greasy bottom six forward goals.
There are a lot of aspects about Myers that make him a player worth keeping an eye on but comes with the caveat that he hasn’t figured out how to put it all together yet.
Dakota Mermis | D | 30
Talking about Dakota Mermis is just really going for completionism on this analysis. From the perspective as a prospect or diamond in the rough, there really aren’t any of those qualities here. Mermis is what he is, and that is Marshall Rifai at a slightly later point in his career. There aren’t a lot of standout skills to look at here, but there is also something to say for someone who spent 47 games in the NHL last season. He can be that safe depth option that teams want to rely on and while allure of the mystery box might influence Brad Treliving when he needs just one Marlies’ defenceman on the Leafs, it is likely that Mermis is a guy he sees that can play a bigger role when it really hits the fan. A safe option with a recent NHL season behind him will be more important at times than seeing what Topi Niemela can do.
The real reason for having Mermis in the Leafs organization is that an established AHL pro/former team captain can be an asset around Niemela, Webber, Kokkonen, and Villeneuve.
Matt Murray | G | 30
Just to be completely thorough on this, here’s Matt Murray.
At this point we know Matt Murray’s situation. He’s attempting to come back from what could be a career ending injury and Murray’s career was certainly on the decline before that. If he’s capable he’ll slide into a role similar to what the Leafs used Martin Jones in last year. If things don’t go well, it might only be a short window of time that we are talking about Murray.
Murray is primarily going to be backing up Dennis Hildeby in the AHL, and it will be interesting to see how Artur Akhtyamov factors into the usage on the Marlies as well. While the crease might appear crowded these things seem to balance themselves in short order and Murray is a means of not rushing Hildeby to the NHL.
Given the number of gambles on the Leafs goaltending depth chart, a healthy and competitive Murray is very much still in the team’s best interest.
Data from Hockey Reference and Elite Prospects
This article first appeared on TheLeafsnation and was syndicated with permission.
