The Toronto Maple Leafs have a shallow prospect pool with a few promising youngsters and many who teeter between earning roles and being ousted. A sizeable group of older prospects require the upcoming season to succeed to keep NHL hopes alive. Roni Hirvonen returned to Finland to play for Karpat in Liiga after leaving the AHL's Toronto Marlies; at 23, he needs high-level production to merit a return. Nicholas Moldenhauer, a University of Michigan forward and former third-round USHL pick, has seen declining production over two seasons and needs a strong year. Moldenhauer scored three goals and 10 points in 29 games last season and could benefit from better supporting talent to revive his trajectory.
The Toronto Maple Leafs don't have a prospect pool that many other teams envy, but there are some young players that could be something. Prospects who could end up being solid, reliable NHL players one day. But then there's the other group of youngsters -- players who are one step away from either keeping their role in the organization or being ousted and never playing in the NHL.
Maybe more than anyone, Roni Hirvonen can either turn his career around or find himself playing professional hockey in Europe for the rest of his life. Of course, the second option isn't bad at all but it certainly prevents him from reaching the best league in the world. Especially since Hirvonen opted to not stay with the AHL's Toronto Marlies and instead he returned home to Finland to go play for Karpat in Liiga.
The Wolverines went out and got a whole pile of solid, young talent to try to recover from a down season last year and Moldenhauer could benefit from some help around him. Once thought of as a very underrated prospect and potential steal as a third-round pick from the USHL's Chicago Steel, Moldenhauer has now had two seasons in Michigan go by with his production actually decreasing. Just last season, he managed to score three goals and a lowly 10 points in 29 games.
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