Speaker 1: Welcome to Fantasy Hockey Life, presented by fan Tracks, your
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fantasy hockey league.
Speaker 2: Block off hot a step hit on, staylock.
Speaker 1: Here's your hosts, Jesse Sovier and Victor Nuno Fantasy Hockey
Live once again.
Speaker 3: We are getting so close, Victor, but today we are
gonna talk one more team. You are the Fantasy Hockey Doctor.
I'm some guy from fan Tracks. How you doing today?
Speaker 2: I am doing awesome, Jesse, some guy from pantracks. How
are you doing?
Speaker 3: That's right, I'm just some guy. I should have a
shirt that just says I'm some guy. No, Victor, I'm
doing well. It is that time of year, it is
we're close. We are so frigging close to hockey, to
real hockey, Victor. Can you feel it? Can you feel
it in your bones out there?
Speaker 2: Definitely? Yeah. Starting to see some prospect action Ohl, some
KHL actions. There's some junior leagues that are getting going
over there in Sweden Finland are starting up. So it's
all getting there. And we're only a couple of weeks
or pretty close actually to training camps. So it's happening.
It's feeling like all the things are happening, Jesse.
Speaker 3: That's right, it's all happening. It's all happening. The buzz
will start. And when the buzz starts, you'll probably see
it over in the Fantasy Hockey Life discord because it's
free and it's got hundreds of hockey fans. I'll talk
about yourselves. There's people there who are setting up leagues
right now. Now's the time of year to find that.
I saw one person in there today saying, Hey, I'd
be willing to jump into an orphan team in a
dynasty league. That's that guy is my dream. I don't
happen to need one any money leagues right now, but
it seems like I'm always looking for somebody in some
kind of league to jump in. And I think that's
not the only one. But more to the point, probably
people are setting up new leagues. You could do that. Heck,
you go in and try to start up a league,
dear listener, you go do itor. If people can get in,
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Speaker 3: Yes, sir, we'll be right back to talk to our guests.
We welcome to the show. I can't believe he's a
first time guest, but he is one of the He
is one of the elite podcasters in the space right now.
He is making all the good stuff over at Apples
and Ginos. It is Nate. How you doing today, Nate.
Speaker 4: I'm doing better now with that intro. It's been a
it's been a good week. We're finally getting into true
fantasy hockey season. We were getting ready for a new
season of NHL Hockey and it couldn't be more excited.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, absolutely, And we're gonna talk about the Maple
Leafs today. Nate. This is this your team? Is this
your favorite team?
Speaker 4: This is my favorite team. Unfortunately it has not been
an easy ride. But this is a legacy passed down
from generations before, so I didn't have that much choice
in the matter.
Speaker 3: Yeah, all right, I'll try to set it up for
you here, Nate. The Leafs won the Atlantic Division. They
were top five at shooting percentage and say percentage. Last year,
they won the first round very narrowly lost in the
second round, giving the back to Bat champs their closest
series of the playoffs. That they were slightly upset in
the second round, but basically about where their record would
have had them. Naturally, everybody in Toronto reacted very calmly.
The team had a nondescript offseason and everything is going
to pick up right where it left off in October.
Except for losing the twenty eight year old fifth leading
score in the history of an Original six franchise, who
seemed to not like getting docks threatened and so forth
at the end of his time in Toronto. The truth
is actually a side. It's always those few knuckleheads.
Speaker 2: Really.
Speaker 3: The truth is actually, aside from that, the team is
pretty similar to last year. As the loss of Mitch Marner.
We'll talk about one big ad a little bit later today,
but we're going to talk about all these recurring characters
or returning characters on the team one by one. But
what's the big picture here is the windows still open
in the post Marner era.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think the windows still open. Definitely, on paper,
it looks like a step backwards.
Speaker 2: It's heart.
Speaker 4: You can't replace a player of Mitch Marner's caliber. On paper,
there's pretty much no way to do it. People are
talking about how they went and spent that money on
three third liners, and they're not too heavy about it
in lease Land a lot of the time. But I
think they were forced into that position by previous decisions
made by management, getting Mitch Marner to this point where
he had to make this decision. Overall, like I do
think this season.
Speaker 2: Was a success.
Speaker 4: Garubay got the players to buy into the new system
that he had here. It wasn't as an exciting offensive
system as Sheldon Keith had brought in years prior, but
the players really did buy in. I think they reassembled
the defense cores and that was a big reason why
they were able to give to Florida Panthers as much
trouble as they were just big, muscly guys who could
take a bit of a beating that the Panthers liked
to bestow on opposing defenses, especially in the playoffs. And
so I think the general plan was a success. And
obviously they're left with not the desirable result in the end.
Looking ahead, I think you have to project a somewhat
of a step backwards, especially for fantasy purposes with Marner
out of town, But that will open some opportunities for
some other players as well.
Speaker 3: Let's start with Austin Matthews. It was an unfortunate year
for Matthews. The injuries nagged at him. That was the
main thing that I saw. I think I recall yet
why to Germany for treatment? At one point he missed
fifteen games all told. Yet somehow seventy eight points in
sixty seven games. Shots per sixty were still top five
in the league. He averages well over a block and
two thirds of a hit per game in our tidy system.
The dinged up Austin Matthews was still seventh in fantasy
points per game. All in all, not a great way
to start his big new contract. But Austin's the captain
of the NHL's premo franchise and he's on a Hall
of Fame trajectory. He should be able to keep up
that success this year if he's healthy. What do you
think about matthew season and is he going to bounce
back and give us that elite season we're looking for.
Speaker 2: Nate.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think the key here is he one hundred
percent healthy for the whole year. I don't know how
you feel about it, but I always feel better when
I hear in the offseason, yeah, he's gonna have surgery
and everything's gonna be fixed, and then he's going to
be one hundred percent ready to go come September. And
the plan for Matthews was just more rest. And that
just felt scary to me to hear that that there
wasn't like some issue that they felt they could fix
and get him back at one hundred percent. It's just
more rest. I'm not a doctor, I'm not claiming to be.
I'll leave that to Victor and the rest of the
doctors that we have out here, but that part is
a little bit scary, and with good reason that being said,
Like even playing through some pretty obvious pain at times,
Matthews did still have a tremendous season, absolutely on that
kind of Hall of Fame trajectory you're talking about. The
big question outside of the injury is what can he
do with Marner out of town? And I honestly don't
think it's going to affect him as much as a
lot of people do. People ask the same question about
Ovechkin when Nicholas Backstrom left, and I think Ovechkin and
Matthews is Matthews. There's a reason that these guys put
the puck in the net as much as they do.
I went a little bit deeper than that. I went
into the five y five time on ice with and
apart from Marner, trying to figure out what Matthews looked
like under the hood when he played with Marner at
five five and when he was away from him, And honestly,
the individual scoring chance is four p sixty slightly better
without Marner on the ice, which is not something you
would have assumed. His shooting percentage was slightly better without
Marner at fivey five as well, also not something you
would have assumed. His shot rate, his actual shots per
sixty did fall a little bit, so he's shooting a
little bit less, but he is being more efficient getting
more high danger shots without Marner over the last three years,
and so I really think that it's a little bit
overblown how much Marner leaving is going to affect Matthews.
I still think he's pretty elite at the end of
the day, and I do have him projected for fifty goals,
one hundred points. I think, honestly, Brubay's effect on this
team is a bigger story for matthews fantasy projection than
Marner leaving town.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll just say that as a physician, surgery doesn't
always fix everything right. So sometimes, and I hear what
you're saying. Sometimes it's great when there's a simple, easy solution,
but it isn't always the case, and sometimes things go sideways,
and sometimes you just need to rehab. So the reality
is that we don't really know what's going on. Only
his doctors know. So I agree with you though about
the optimism for Matthews. So I'm excited for that, and
I'm really excited for this next guy because we've been
talking for years about how the Maple Leafs have two
first line right wings and now they only have one.
But it's big Willie time. And he had his fourth
straight eighty plus point season, continuing to put up elite
underlying offensive metrics. He scored a career high forty five
goals despite the decline and his shot volume from three
point nine to three point one shots per game, and
he scored a career high seventeen point seven on percent
of those shots, which that's a little high. That might
come down. But with his low hit and block rates
combined with the decreasing shot volume, his bash went from
went down to three point six to one per game,
which ranked him three hundred and twenty third. He used
to be much better for bash, but as the scoring
has gone up, his bash has got down a little bit.
So obviously we talked about the departure of Marner. I
definitely feel like Nilander can take up a lot of
the slack and get a lot of that scoring. But
I think it depends if he sticks with Tavaras and
move to play with Matthews. I feel like it's gonna
hopefully he gets some time with Matthews. But what do
you think, Natan, what do you think his production is
going to be this season?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think it's definitely possible that he plays with Matthews.
They've tried this combination a few times. Obviously, Marner has
been matthews line mate for the vast majority of the
time that the two have been there together in Toronto,
but they have tried Nelander there and it's always worked.
You're talking about two elite players. You put them together,
they'll they're going to figure it out. So if he
does get that would obviously be a lot better for Kneelander,
a lot worse for Tavars. But either way, Neelander's going
to get his I haven't projected again for forty three goals,
eighty five points, thirty points on the power play. I
think that he's just really consistent in this range. I
don't think that he's going to get some big boost
in terms of the time on ice the power play.
I don't think that's necessarily in the cards here. I
don't think there's a lot more that you can really
ask of a guy at even strength. Just by the
virtue of game flow, you're going to have some short
handed opportunities that Kneelander's just going to be off the ice.
So I don't really see him getting much beyond the
nineteen and a half minutes that I'm projected for. But
you are talking about a guy who is absolutely elite
in everything. We like to look at all the underlying metrics,
the advanced stats, the all three zones, microstats, soon entries
controlled the entry percentages, entries with chances high dangeroussists, whatever
you want to look at. William neelanders absolutely up there
and I feel really confident about eighty five point projection
and always a chance for more.
Speaker 3: On to John Tavares, the senior statesman of that former
core four, has signed on for most of the remainder
of his thirties at a fraction of his former salary.
He was still highly productive in twenty four to twenty five.
I feel like John Tavares of anything that has become underrated,
and I don't understand it. He was actually second on
the team and goals above our placement last year, behind
the aforementioned Marner. The advanced stats are a little all
over the place, actually, but he and Neilander continue to
make a good team when they're together. He remains a
mainstay on the top power play. What do you think?
How is JT going to score this year? With whom?
What is your thought on this guy?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 4: I still have Tavarius for a pretty healthy projection thirty
five goals, seventy four points, twenty one of that on
the power play, one hundred and five hits as well,
which is nice for your bangers leagues. I really think
that Tavers does work well with Kneelander at even strength.
I think it's probable that they keep those two together
and let Nys and Matthews be compearing on the top line,
run these duos together, and then try to work in
the third wheel on either side of them. The thing
with Tavares is obviously he's slowing down, he's getting advanced
in age, but it really doesn't seem like the mind
has left him. He's still a really good hockey mind.
He knows where to be, he knows how to play
off ofland Neelander's the guy with the puck on his stick,
and Tavarus is at the end of passes a whole lot,
and he's really good at getting into the right spot.
Going to be a key part of that power play,
perhaps even more so with Marner out of town, they'll
be looking to feed him even more. I do think
that Tavares is in line for another season. I don't
think we've seen a sign yet for him to really
fall off.
Speaker 2: And the next guy, Matthew Nice, he had a breakout season,
jumping from thirty five to fifty eight points. Increases numbers
across the board, tim and I shots, hits, blocks, he
mostly played on the line with Matthews and Marner, earned
that top that spot on the top power play you
need after the first month of the season. Excellent bash here,
four point seventy nine bash per game, ranking him seventy ninth.
That's a big reason why he was early on noticeable
to fantasy gms. But then the scoring game too, which
is really exciting. So do you think Nice can build
on that season, Nate, and get up till seventy ish
point pace. It certainly seems like he has the opportunity,
but his shooting percentage seems like it might come down
a little bit.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's going to be the tough part here is
how much that shooting percentage can we believe nineteen point
one percent last year? That being said, like he only
factored into fifty six percent of the goal scored when
he was on the ice last year, and with another year,
can he take another step in that department? Can he
be one of the more primary play drivers. With Marner
out of town, maybe Nice has the puck on his
stick a little bit more and he and Matthews are
able to work together as that duo on the top line.
I think that's definitely possible skated eighteen and a half
minutes on average last year. I think that might even
go up. I have him projected for just under twenty.
I think that it's reasonable to suggest that he's at
least going to match what he did last year, and
just by virtual volume, with always a chance for more
on the power play, with always a chance for more,
just by virtue of if he is able to sustain
a higher shooting percentage.
Speaker 2: And we got to talk about the newcomer, Mattias Mitchelli.
I've long been a fan of Michelli, even back to
his prospect days. After an early breakout career in Arizona,
the twenty four year old winger had a pretty difficult
season in Utah. He started in the top six, but
struggled to produce before dropping down the lineup and even
getting healthy scratched. Finished with eighteen points of fifty five games,
twenty seven point pace, massive drop off from the two
prior seasons where he averaged at sixty points. The thing
we all know bau Michelli, though, is that he can
be really hard to roster at times because his bash
is just awful one point eight four per game, six
hundred and sixty six hundred and eighty first is where
he ranks in terms of the whole league. That's really
difficult if he's not getting those assists, which he wasn't
for a while last season. He's definitely a playmaker, pass first, second,
third kind of guy, and with his on I shooting
percentage drops, it really hurts him. And that's what happened
last season nine point eight to six point two, which
significantly decreases production, even though his expected goals in ipp
were actually in line with previous seasons, which gives me
tons of optimism. Made both A there's a prime spot
for him in the top six and B. I think
his underlying number suggest that he should be able to
slot right in and get back to it. Sixty is
point pace days. What do you think about that for Mitchelli?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I honestly think it's well within the range of possibilities.
Mitchelli's underlying metrics all look really good. You don't really
see a fall off there. It really just does seem
like the percentages are what fell off here. So yeah,
I think there's a real chance. I don't think the
Leafs go out and acquire Mittias Mitchelli to play him
down on the third line and try to have him
grind it out either. I think if you're going out
to intentionally acquire Mitthias Mitchelli, you have a plan in
mind for him, and he doesn't have to be the
guy on the Leafs right He can fit in as
that left winger alongside Tavrus an Elander. Maybe they try
him at right wing as the Murner replacement on the
top line with Nys and Matthews, and I think either
of those could be a potential fit. The all three
zone stuff for Michelli looks unbelievable rush offense, absolutely top
end of the league' zone entries. It's all their shot assists.
He's doing all that, So I do see a natural
fit as a distributor alongside I'd either a shooter like
Kneelander or a shooter like Matthews. I think that it
makes a lot of sense this acquisition, and he's going
to get a solid chance to prove it because the
Leafs do need to fill out this top six with
Murner out of town. It was already a sore spot
who was going to play that second line left wing
with Tarius Kneelander for much of last year, and so
I think Mitchelli is going to get every opportunity to
be a top six player for the Leafs.
Speaker 3: Now, we're going to give you a pick them of
two more of the more depth forwards on this team.
A couple of guys in hockey middle age. We got
Bobby McMahon and Max Domy. We got the twenty eight
year old McMahon, who who had thirty four points to
seventy four games last year. We've got the thirty year
old Max Domy who has he had some good moments
for those Leaves last year with thirty three points to
seventy four games. Who do you like better of this
twosome for scoring purposes? For fantasy purposes.
Speaker 4: Yeah, for fantasy, I think you go with McMahon. He
was the most common line mate for Tavaris and Lander
last year. He did score twenty goals in seventy four games.
He shoots a fair bit. He is a guy. He's
not much of a playmaker, but he will drive the net.
He will take the shots at the end of the day,
and that's gonna work for fantasy. Also throws the body
a lot more than Max Domi do only had thirty
one hits last year and McMahon had one hundred and
thirty six and not much of a contest there. I
don't think McMahon is like some breakout waiting to happen.
But if he gets that deployment again, then I think
you can expect him to try to approach twenty goals
once again. And so if they're choosing between the two,
I would definitely go McMahon.
Speaker 3: Moving on to the blue line, Nate, We're gonna start,
of course with Morgan Riley. His scoring dip down last year,
down to half a point per game for the first
time since the mid twenty tens. He's into his thirties now.
He played with a few different partners and I'm not
quite sure what happened looking back. He used to apparently
be glued to TJ. Brody in last year was the
first year without that happening, but he dropped down to
six in the team on power play, Tom on Ice.
What I read said Mitch Marner was taking the role
that Riley would sometimes occupy on of course, that rolls
back open up hits and Tom and Ice were both
down for Riley. Surely he's still the centerpiece of this
decor for this team, and thirty one is not old
for a defenseman. Can he get back to sixty? And
what's the deal with Morgan Riley?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 4: I don't think sixties in the cards for Riley anymore. Unfortunately.
I think he has just been a pretty awkward fit
with what Craig Berube wants his defenceman to do, and
as a result he saws ice time dropped down pretty
significantly last year in twenty three twenty four. He skated
twenty three minutes forty four seconds average time on ice
last year down to twenty one twenty three and lost
the power play. As you mentioned to Mitch Marner, I
do think the most likely sneero is that he does
get that power play back this year. I don't really
have another strong option to take that over, but it's
worth monitoring how this situation plays out with Berubey. I
think the Leafs are a team that could be in
the market for a power play quarterback throughout the course
of the season, So Riley could start there and not
finish there as he did this past year. That's definitely
a potential possibility. At even strength, the Leafs really relied
on Jake McCabe and Chris tannev to shut down other
team's top lines, and that just naturally led to less
ice time from Morgan Riley. So I haven't projected right
now for forty five points, and that's with a sixteen
and a half power play points the way the numbers
came out in my projections. So some power play time
again for sure. And I think when he's there, he'll
definitely be fantasy relevant. But I'm not convinced that he's
gonna be just stuck there all year. I don't think
we get the sixty point upside anymore. I could see
fifty five points in an upside case, but that's probably
the ceiling.
Speaker 3: And in terms of fantasy, the other defenseman that comes
into view for us frequently was Ali backman Larson. His
years of wandering seem to have finally ended in Toronto.
He is very consistent year to year. Really, he gets
a smattering of bash, thirty points, good number of minutes.
That's the Oel blueprint since those early days that everybody
remembers in Arizona when maybe he was doing a little
bit more offensively. But what do you think of Eckman
Larson's fit in Toronto, And do you is he going
to be the second best D on the team and
what are you expecting from him.
Speaker 4: For fantasy purposes? Yeah, probably most likely to score the
second most points amongst defensemen behind Riley, for sure, he
does okay, and the other stuff like I haven't projected
for one hundred and fourteen shots, one hundred and five hits,
eighty two blocks, so you're getting the per game number
that is like kind of at a baseline level, right
like you're thinking about it. At least with Oel, he's
been really consistent. I think the team really likes him.
But he also is most likely to play on the
third pair to start the season. They do spread out
the minutes pretty evenly at even strength, and he will
probably be on the second power play unit. So I
do think that he has some utility, but probably more
on the back end of his career, in the back
end of his fantasy relevance at this point.
Speaker 2: All right, let's shift over to the goalies now. The
Maple Leafs had the twenty third ranked expected goals against
for sixty but conceided the eighth ranked actual goals, which
means that they were well above expected and that was
true for both of their goalies. Stolars had thirty one
goals save above expected and Joseph Wall had seventeen. And
this was a great season for Stolars. A lot of
people were wondering, how's he going to handle having more work,
playing more games. He did play more games, but just
a little bit more than usual, and that was mostly
because of injury. Though he was excellent until he missed
a couple months with the knee injury. Finished second in
the lead in terms of goals Stale expected high thirty
four games, but the injury in the playoffs was very
controversial against Sam Bennett and that really disrupted his game.
So the question is can you stay healthy for forty
plus games and we'll see what he we can do.
Let's also touch on Wall, who had a good season
leading a team of twenty seven wins and has a
really reasonable contract, also had really positive numbers. He's in
the first year of a three year deal paying him
three point seven million. I think overall we can agree
that this is the right amount of money to pay goalies,
and it's really nice to see them perform of expected.
Those should be good options for your zero G strategy, Nate.
I would assume.
Speaker 4: Yeah, they'll definitely both be in there for sure. Yeah.
I think Stolars did establish himself a little bit as
one a. You saw him get most of the run
in the playoffs before getting injured. But I think the
Leafs do view this as a tandem. I think they
view that as the optimal way to use your goaltenders
show at the course of the season, get two guys
healthy to the playoffs, and then let the hot guy
take over. I think that's the way that we should
anticipate it going this way this season. I should say
I think Stolars will get the opening night's start. I
think he's more likely to get forty five to fifty
starts than wall Is. But I think by and large
they're probably gonna do a one game on one game
off scenario to open the year and then see how
it plays out from there. Goalies, they can change a
lot year to year. Things can happen. It wouldn't be
surprising to see one start to outshine the other and
to get a bit more run in the net. I
don't think anybody would be too surprised by that. But
definitely Stolars has the edge heading into the season.
Speaker 3: All right, this has been a tour around the Toronto
Maple Leaves. I imagine everybody within the sound of my
voice knows how to listen to your Golden Tones on
a regular basis, Nate. But if not, remind them how
to find your stuff.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Apple's and Gino's Fantasy Hockey Podcastever you get your
podcasts run on YouTube. If you want to look at
my face, maybe you're probably coming to look at Blake's
face and not mine, but either way, you can come
see us on YouTube. We just released our Fantasy Hockey
Guide this week, first week of September here as we're recording,
so that's definitely out there if you're playing redraft this year.
We got a ton of great information in there. I
had gotten thirty two hundred word article on how to
outdraft your smartest opponent in your league, so you can
check that out as well.
Speaker 3: Wow, five out of five would recommend Nate's content. I
won't speak to the faces. I have no opinion on
the faces, but Nate's content is top of the line.
Thank you so much for coming on, Nate. This has
been a great talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Speaker 4: My pleasure. Thanks guys.
Speaker 3: K Wilson that's good fire fat.
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, long Ques.
Speaker 3: Right now, it's your weekly goalie Talk with Kat Silverman,
Kat's Instincts.
Speaker 2: And once again for Kat's Instincts. With Kat Silverman and
Ben bullmag we're talking Toronto made Beliefs goalies and they
have two, I would say, really solid goalies. We're gonna
start with Archer Aktiamof, the twenty two year old sixty
two hundred and seventy pounds drafted one hundred and sixth
overall back in twenty twenty. This was his first season
in North America playing for the Marleys, and his numbers
were pretty good looking at the hockey prospecting for him,
it's been a pretty steady upward trend, culminating at about
seventy percent chance of being an NHLer, which is pretty
I mean, the list of comc are all pretty much
nhlor slash Hall of Bamers. He looks quite a bit
like Togarask in this model, not necessarily stylistically, but Kay,
what are your instincts tell us about aktiam Off.
Speaker 5: I am so excited that this is the actiamisans here.
I'm ready to see him get his shot. I remember
during his draft year, he was technically one of the
highest performing of the twenty twenty draft eligibles. That was
obviously a really weird year for draft eligibles because there
were guys who played absolutely no games, and he was
doing a really good job in the MHL at that point.
He did a pretty solid job after that of maintaining
elite numbers minus his one KHL game in twenty twenty one,
twenty twenty two wasn't his best performance. I think that
can be overlooked at this point, just looking at his
numbers across the board. I would love to see what
he can do in an NHL game, just because I
think that Toronto's goaltending over the last year or two
here has been good, but they've been missing that not
the player that fans can get rabid over, because as
always I cautioned Toronto fans to be nice to their
goaltenders and to calm down.
Speaker 6: But I do think that.
Speaker 5: He could be their next really fun hype guy, especially
because they have finally moved on from the Matt Murray experiment,
so this year they have a really nice, really nice
opportunity to flesh out their depth chart moving forward.
Speaker 6: I would argue that they were in.
Speaker 5: I don't want to say that they were in true
flux after James Rymer and Jonathan Bernier, but they were.
We didn't see consistent confident goaltending depth chart status for
anyone after that point. I think we are there with
Joseph Wall.
Speaker 6: He is their brick wall.
Speaker 5: Anthony Stolars has been really fun to watch take the
reins as a really steady, reassuring presence as a backup.
But he is not a long term solution for them
because I believe, if I remember correctly, he is now
on the wrong side of thirty by a couple years
because he is thirty one, so he will be thirty
two this year. That is not something that looking at
the next three to five years, they want to keep
him forever. I think it's time to let actm off
play a couple games at the NHL level.
Speaker 6: I'm ready for it, Toronto's ready for it.
Speaker 5: I need the fans to let him have a couple
bad games, let him shake it off, and I think
he'll be great. And I would love to see a
wool Actamo of tandem, and I think that is what
I asked for last year, and they have come closer
to giving it to me than they have any tandem
I have requested over the last five or six years.
So I think they've finally learned their lesson.
Speaker 6: Which is nice.
Speaker 2: Indeed, I'm excited to see him in the NHL. And
we'll talk about the next guy too, who I think
also has some pretty good upside at Dennis Hill to
be twenty three years old, six foot seven, two hundred
and twenty three pounds, drafted back in twenty twenty two,
one hundred and twenty second overall. This was his second
HL season. He played fewer games in last season, but
part of that was because of the splitting of the
net with Doctamoff than the aforementioned Matt Murray, who is
no longer with the aple Leafs. He's now with the
Crack in the Hill Debest as he's oftener referred to,
did play the most games of that trio and had
better numbers than Actiamoff. Anyways, Matt Murray did have the
best numbers of the three, possibly slightly unsurprising looking at
the hockey prospecting for Hill to be, he's trended up
to forty eight percent chance of being in NHL. Er
so he's got some pretty good comps. One of them,
funny is Anthony Stolars. So there you go. Could be
a starter like his teammate. Yeah, what are you easting
to tell us about hi'll Be?
Speaker 5: I think he's a really fun studying contrast with actem listed.
Akdamov is listed at six' one one sixty eight plays
a very, small, aggressive dominant. Game Dennis hildeby is six foot,
seven two hundred and twenty three. POUNDS i think the
two of them need to take all of their roster
photos standing side by. Side they shouldn't be allowed to
take them. Alone i'm interested to see where he'll To
be fits into their, lineup just BECAUSE i based on
WHAT i like From Joseph wole's game and knowing How
toronto has tended to operate in.
Speaker 6: The past with their.
Speaker 5: Defense they tend to like having two goaltenders who play
fairly complimentary styles to one. ANOTHER i would like to
See aktamov And wol as their main tandem moving. Forward
hill To be plays a little bit of a slower
game than the two of, them BUT i think he'll
To be And stolars are comparable. Players it is fun
that occasionally we have entire days where we talk about
prospect and we look at the comparables and every comparable
as a player who is five foot ten next one
who is six foot, seven and they play totally different.
Styles AND i feel like most of the ones that
we have been looking at, recently it's like they've cloned each.
Other and because hill To be And stolars are both
big boys who play WHAT i would call quote unquote
big boy, hockey hill To be is not super. Aggressive
he doesn't like to get too fast when he's skating.
Around he just the whole disposition plays a little bit
of a more conservative.
Speaker 6: GAME i think he looks.
Speaker 5: GOOD i notice that he is unsigned as of right
now By. Toronto obviously that is something that is in their.
Control BUT i hope that is something That toronto does
something about fairly, quickly because they're a team that really
likes to wait until the eleventh hour to sign their
goaltenders who are pending RFAs and really get into the
nitty gritty.
Speaker 6: Of negotiations with.
Speaker 5: THEM i think if they want hill To be to
stick around long term as potentially the third member of
a rotating. CAST i know that wool has had some
injury issues in the, past SO i would love to
see them have that THIRD nhl capable goaltender three or
four years down the. Line so Both hill to be
an acdam. OF i think they should just pay him
what he. Wants BUT i don't. KNOW i think it
is a breath of fresh air that we are able
to look at What hill to be an actam of
can do within their depth chart without having to wonder
what The Matt murray situation. IS i thought that dragged
on probably two years too, long and it did create
a weird net split situation at THE hl level For
actamo Un hill To be last.
Speaker 6: YEAR i don't.
Speaker 5: KNOW i think it'll be refreshing this year to see
what they're able to do. TOGETHER i would like to
see when they need to call someone up them to
alternate back and, forth give both guys a chance to
play SOME nhl.
Speaker 6: Games and then move forward from.
Speaker 5: There but IT'S i don't Want toronto fans to get
mad at me If i'm, Wrong but it seems like
it is a good time to be a fan Of
Toronto Maple leafs skull, tending AND i Hope i'm.
Speaker 2: Right that is not a statement that should make anyone.
Speaker 6: MAD i HOPE i am right about.
Speaker 5: IT i think it would only make them mad If i'm,
wrong WHICH i HOPE i am, not.
Speaker 2: And kreig If i'm wrong reading between the, lines AND
i believe you said this in the, past that you
like up a little bit more Than he'll to be.
Speaker 6: Just a little.
Speaker 2: Bit, yeah, yeah that's WHAT i, thought perfect.
Speaker 6: Though THAT i was going to. Say it is nice
though that they have both in their. System that, is.
Speaker 5: Even THOUGH i like one a little more than the,
other there is not a huge gap in WHAT i
would evaluate both of them as.
Speaker 2: It seems like a great place for them to be.
In thanks so, Much, kavi give me us your instincts
on The Toronto Make Believe, Goals.
Speaker 3: Victor. Nuno we are on the verge of the season
and many of us are doing drafts and for that
there is a special offer we have for some of our.
Listeners what is?
Speaker 2: It that's? Right Jesse Dabber hockey gave us a couple
of guides earlier in the, summer and they have generously
decided to give us several more free copies of their
Amazing Fantasy hockey. Guide it is The. Bible it's. Amazing
has so many, projections breakdowns by, team schedule, analysis amazing
content in. THERE i use it as my bible to
reference everything what's going. On it's constantly updated based on
different news that's. Happening how can you get? Yours all
you have to do is leave us a five star
review that's new as of when you heard this message
On Apple podcasts or the podcast app of your. Choice
send me a screenshot to Me victor via EMAIL, dm On, Discoord,
twitter or however you want to get it to. Me
make sure you can actually see your name and the
review in the screenshots SO i can verify who it
is and that was, you and then we'll select the
winners from everyone who. Enters thanks so much and happy.
Speaker 3: Drafting we'll be back right after. This Dig it's the
dynasty Dig arountoly. Believes, Addition, victor this is the number
thirty system in. Hockey they burn him In, churnham they
bring him up and they're no. Brainer he was the
hot talk of a couple of years ago because first of,
all he hated him and then we loved. Him who
is it.
Speaker 2: That would Be Eastern. Colwen, yeah definitely a little surprising
when he went twenty eighth overall in the twenty twenty three,
draft and then after HIS d plus one, season everyone
came around and, said, yeah actually it's pretty. Good five
to eleven and eighty five. Pounds this, season his point
production took a step back from ninety six points and
fifty four games to sixty nine points in forty six,
games but he did add another thirty nine points and
seventeen playoff games en route to The Memorial cup with
The London. Knights he'll be transitioning to professional ranks this
year and most likely he will be playing for The Toronto,
marleys but he will try to make The leafs roster
out of, camp AND i think that there's a reasonable
chance that he at least gets the nine game. Trial
probably not more than, that but you never. Know his
tracking data For Mitch brown looks pretty awesome based on
last season ninety seven rank. Overall his offense and transition
both at ninety five to ninety six percent just look.
Elite his defense ranks only sixty six, percentile so not
quite so. Good definitely some work. There and that's the
concern THAT i would have for, him is that he's
an offensive player whose offense is good but is it
going to fully translate and if it, doesn't what's HIS b?
Game because his defensive game right now isn't all that.
Great but he is looking pretty good so. Far looking
at his fenny Highest Fantasy Hockey Life player, card there's
a lot of green on this. Card most of the
things look, excellent including his, bash which is mostly driven
by his, shots but he actually hits a decent amount
fiftieth percentile for an eighty two percent, bash and overall
a lot of his play driving numbers are really. Good
one thing that isn't is his puck battles one and
this is definitely a concern being that he's a little
bit of a smaller player at five eleven point eighty.
Five is he going to be able to compete hard
enough and win loose? PUCKS i don't. Know based on
HIS ohl, time there's some concerns, there but his transition
game looks really. Good let's hear a little bit more
About Easton cowan though from OUR fhl, Scout jesse.
Speaker 3: And Easton's cowen is the subject Of chris Our scout's.
Discussion cowen is a strong straight ahead skater despite bent
over skating, stride but lacks elite top end, gear his
edgeworking agilityes top, notch allowing him to defintely maneuver through.
Traffic his high motor is always on display and he
consistently plays with, pace passing and. Handling cowen's a tremendous
playmaker and puck, distributor flashing, skills plays with his slick
stick and touches to create opportunities for. Teammates as a,
result he was often seen manning the point On London
knight's power. PLAY a confident puck handler is unafraid to
dangle in and out of, traffic but he will have
to learn better puck management skills at the next, level
as he will often try to do too much instead
of opting for the simple. Play callen boasts a strong
risk shot with quick, release but will need to improve
on shot, selection minimizing shots from low danger areas his HOCKEY,
iq he consistently displays elite on ice awareness in all zones,
patients holding onto the puck to create lanes for his.
Teammates his low panic threshold is always on. Display chris
is For checking's excellent leveraging this above average motor and
ice awareness to pressure the. Opposition While collen's not a true,
banger he both initiates and plays well off of contact
defense trusted defender who uses his smarts and stick to
break up. Plays also emerged as a dangerous penalty killer
and is routinely counted on to help close out games
when holding the. Lead so the best asset versatility skill
set HOCKEY iq it blends into a well routed game
where he's been counted on in all. Situations but the
biggest concern is the undersize nature Of Eastern, cowen especially
since he's not an a lead. Skater true to his cowboy,
Nickname cowen can be reckless and will need to relieve
himself of his junior habits to gain the trust of
coaches at subsequent. Levels the top tier outcome here probably
second line offensive, output but energy versatility too in or
foot game to go with. That that's because he's a
toolsy player with GREAT iq drive to succeed benefit from
an extended stay in THE ahl to build strength and
adapt to the pro. Game the median outcome here a
high end third liner forty point upside special team merchant
who will inject energy into the Lineup cowen's not blessed
with size or blazing. Speed failure to mature his game
and eliminate bad habits will minimize his opportunities and eventual.
Upside stylistic Comparable Brad, marshahn Fearless swiss army knife type
player that can move up and down the lineup and
be counted on in all. Situations cowen thrives on the big,
moments never backs, down leaves it all on the. Ice
he may never be an elite offensive, weapon but his
versatility will be. Impactful in THE nhl, Ranking Mason black
Puts Eastern cowen up Against Jett luchenko of The Philadelphia,
flyers And Eastern cowen wins that one big sixty to
forty percent. Victor what do you?
Speaker 2: Think, yeah this is. TOUGH i think that both of
these guys play for teams of fan bases that are
rabbid and. Passionate so typically my answer might involve take
the maple leaf and then sell them to your maple
leaf fan in your, league which could also work for
Your flyer fan. Here BECAUSE i do think these guys are,
SIMILAR i think That cowen probably has a little bit
more offense And luchenko has a little bit better all
around slash defense. Game luchenko has a little bit better
staying power in THE, nhl But cowen is probably going
to be here you're more excited about in fantasy if
he can actually translate to the professional, ranks Which i'm
not sure. About SO i probably would Take cowen UNLESS
i was in a league that just valued security and
having guys play even if they're not that, productive THEN
i might Take. Luchenko looking at the hockey prospective between these,
Two luchenko has a thirty percent chance of being a
star And cowen just eleven percent this, season so much.
Better based on HIS ohl, numbers AND i mentioned a
little bit about His Fantasy Hockey life player, card there's
similar positivity, here a little less bash in terms of
the shots are actually really low For, luchenko but the
hits are, better so that's. Interesting it averages out to
be a little worse Than, cowen but a lot of
his transition numbers and play driving are pretty. Good his
puck battles won eighty eightieth PERCENT, tile so that's a bit.
Better looking at some other comps For, cowen not a
whole lot of exciting names. Here Patrick bergland is one
who was similar average. Producer that's probably what we're going
to expect From. Cowen the J fresh model just has
n't at three percent chance of being a, star thirty
four percent chance of being AN nhl aer.
Speaker 3: And victor who is your need to know?
Speaker 2: Prospect the need to know Is Noah chadwick twenty, twenty
three hundred and eighty fifth, overall sixty, four two hundred
and seven pound defenseman put up his second consecutive season
over fifty, points which was really. Great that was with
The Lethbridge hurricanes OF whl and finished with fifty three
points in sixty six games fourteen points in sixteen playoff.
Games all that was pretty great bow on HIS whl.
Career he'll be playing professionally next. Season looking at HIS
fhl or, sorry his tracking data From Mitch brown ninety
first percent for, offense ninety eighth for, transition eighty fifth per.
Defense the thing that really isn't great has expected goals
and shots are really, low but the rest of his
numbers are all pretty. Stellar looking at His Fantasy Hockey
life player, card his bash is pretty decent sixty seven
percentile not. Great his blocks are actually pretty low for a.
Defenseman his hits are, average his shots are a little
bit above. Average let's hear a little bit more about
noahchadback from our fragil, Scout JESSE.
Speaker 3: Afhl Scout chris says this About Noah. Chadwick he's an adequate,
skater good lateral mobility for his. Size, however he's going
to need to continue first to increase first step quickness
as he moves up the professional. Ranks an underrated distributor
mutinely makes smart plays with the, puck whether he's evading
a four, checker moving the puck up eyes from manning
the point on the top power, Play chadwick demonstrates confidence
and quickly identifying outlets and executing on those. Plays, Shooting
chadwick's a willing shooter with a hard slap shot and,
heavy accurate. Rister he displays good awareness and shot, selection
including routinely throwing pucks at the net in traffic to
generate chances THE. Iq chadwick uses his above average hockey
sense to poise to evade four checkers and move the
puck out of the defensive zone to start the. Rush
he regularly makes sound decisions playing with confidence at both
ends of the ice and is counted on in all
situations for. Checking he demonstrates good reads in the offensive
zone and will pinch from the blue line when the
opportunity presents. Itself defense a solid defender with good positioning
in the defensive, zone he uses his length effectively to
break up plays through well timed poke. Checks chadwick is
not overtly, physical, however he regularly uses his size to
box out opponents in front of the net and will
throw the body along the boards to separate the opposition
from the. Puck so the best, Asset chadwick doesn't try
to play outside of his. Abilities he leverages his skill
set effectively without trying to do too, much displaying a
maturity within his. Game he has a good, base but
will continue to improve all facets of his. Game in,
particular he's going to need to improve initiating physicality and
utilizing his large frame more effectively at the next, level
something he will be expected to do as a player
of his size in a bottom pairing. Role the top
tier outcome here middle pairing all situation defender size and
physicality chips in twenty to thirty. Points that's because he
has a solid all around skill, set size and excellent decision,
making but the median outcome seventh Defenceman ahl call up
as a sixth round. Pick the competition stiff. Man the
odds are stacked against him despite his solid progression to.
Date but if you want to stylist the comparable for
what he could, Be jake, McCabe solid all around defender with,
size reach and puck moving. Acumen the archetype of a
defender of the leafs Now. Covet chadwick will compete for
a spot on The marleys this fall and the least
may have a bottom pairing option in two to three
years if he continues on his development. Trajectory final. Thoughts
chadwick was the captain of The Letharge hurricanes this past
season and third on The. Hurricanes was scoring fifty three,
points put up close to a point per game in
the playoffs seven goals in fourteen points in sixteen games
which closed out HIS whl, career And Mason black THE
nhl ranking puts up the Poll Noah chadwick Versus jonah
Of vyas signing vas signen Oh. Cheapers nobody's allowed to
Pick finns from now one Victor chadwick wins, thankfully SO
i don't have to say the other guy's name a second.
Time sixty eight to thirty two. Percent what do.
Speaker 2: You think Univison? IN i think is how you say.
IT i am going to take Vison, in so it's
good THAT i figured out how to say. It BUT
i do think that both these, guys, yeah their depth
guys probably not super exciting in terms of fantasy. Option
this is if you're in a really deep, league like
a thirty two team, league you might be deciding between these.
Guys otherwise it's probably not even a. Consideration but looking
at the transition data and the play, driving vison was
much better Than, Chadwick SO i think just FOR nhl
probability and his ability to translate that to THE, Nhl
i'm probably going to go Vison. IN i should. Mention
Vison in was drafted twenty twenty, four six round hundred
and seventy fifth. Overall he's a six to zero right
handed d and he was at The university Of Western.
Michigan this year after some W ushl, TIME Weshn, michigan
in case you hadn't, heard won THE Ncaa championship and
he was a huge reason for. That he was everything for.
Them he scored twenty six points in forty two. Games
but just, big steadying, presence shut down d all situations
kind of. Guy that's what you're getting in Vison. In
AND i do think that the priffs are probably a
little bit better For, chadwick BUT i think Vison in
is going to be a better all around. Defenseman so
depends on what you want their security versus maybe some
BAD i Think jake McKay probably a good. Comparable you
can think about. That is that someone who you really
want your, league or is he someone who you, stream
or is he someone who's really valuable versus someone who
may not have as many periffs but plays more minutes
and has a little bit better chance to have an
impact on your fantasy. Team so that's why we take
looking at the hockey prospect between the, two that's actually almost.
Identical three percent chance of being a, star thirty two
percent chance of being AN. NHLer they look pretty. Similar
some other comps For chadwick in the hockey prospecting, model
someone Like Jason demers might be a reasonable. Comp he
was never all that exciting in, fantasy but definitely played
some minutes and had some streaming impact here there in deeper.
Leagues he played in THE, Nhl so you can say
that looking at The jfresh card For Noah, chadwick one
percent chance of being a, star forty one percent chance
of being A NHLer Jesse.
Speaker 3: And who's the need to know, Prospect? Victor it needs
to keep your eye on. Prospect beg your pardon to
keep your eye on, Prospect. Victor sure.
Speaker 2: To keep your eye on Is William villeneuve twenty one
hundred and twenty second overall pick sixty, two one hundred
and eighty seven. Pounds he's a right HANDED d and
he was. Playing he's played the last several seasons in
THE ahl With. Toronto marley's had back to back twenty
five points in fifty four games and this season forty
points in fifty five. Games and looking at His Fantasy
Hockey life player, guard there's some incomplete data, here but
he didn't really hit block that. Much his shots are
decent and he did have a lot of assists compared
to the rest of the. League some of his play
driving numbers are pretty, good like His, fenwick and then
we're missing data on some of the. Rest he's definitely
a little bit. Older he's twenty three Now thursdays in THE,
ahl close to being the getting to THE, nhl but
also might just be one of those tweener. Guys so
let's hear FROM ourfhl scout what he thinks and.
Speaker 3: OR fhl Scout chris says this skating has improved since
he was, drafted but he were means a slightly below
average skater with a choppy. Stride Villano wave is a
below average handler and, distributor opting for short passes or
rifling the puck up the boards in lieu of heading
up the. Rush struggles to make plays under. Pressure Villano
wave raised his shot volume significantly this past. Season, however
both his wrist shot and slapper are both average at.
Best he's a meat and potatoes guy who lacks the
imagination and vision of AN nhl defenders sometimes often defers
the teammates and relies on the short pass game to
advance the puck up the. Ice VILLAN. A wave is
diligent in the defensive, zone boxing out opposing forwards in
front of the. Net he leverages his stick checks, effectively
but overalls an average. Defender with room to. Improve Villano
wave works hard on the defensive, zone engages, physically won't
back down in puck, battles lacks the raw tools AND
iq to probably be an EVERYDAY nhl player at this
stage of his, development more of a seventh DEFENDER ahl,
tweeer could be an injury. Replacement that's the top tier
outcome That chris is, seen maybe more likely AN ahl,
journeyman and that's because his tools In HOCKEY iq will
limit his ability to make the jump to THE nhl
unless there's a significant change in the developmental. Curve and
despite the lack of depth and the leaf, SYSTEM i
don't See villain A. Wave that, Is chris doesn't See
Villain away being anything more than a depth option for.
Them Mason, black THE nhl Rank, king puts it to the,
Test Villain away Versus Otto salin of THE La kings
And villain A. Wave when's this one going? Away seventy
two to twenty eight, Percent, victor this is the. Test
Is villain A wave the man in this?
Speaker 2: COMPARISON i probably would Take villeneuve. HERE i think that
he probably has a little bit more to. Offer he
is a little bit MORE nhl ready As oto selling
just had a FEW hl. Games on the other, Hand
selen has a little bit more or, runway as he's
a little bit. Younger, actually now THAT i think about,
It i'm gonna Take selene because he's earlier in the.
Funnel Ville neuve is farther down the funnel and he's
had three DECENT hl, seasons But i'm not SURE i
see him jumping up to be anything more than a depth.
Defenseman so there's more uncertainty With, selene BUT i think
THAT i would rather have that as potential breakout or
hidden offense that we didn't know he. Had he also
just came over From liga and so that is interesting
to see how he can. Do he had a pretty
decent last season In liga this past, year twenty points
in fifty six, games so maybe he can translate some
of that to THE. Ahl their hockey prospecting between the
two looks almost. Identical they graduated the model at three
percent chance of being a, star both this the move
a couple of years ago And selene this. Year some
of his Numbers sellen for THE fhl player card also
don't look great in terms of his transition and play,
driving but some of those were missing from Ville, neuves
so we don't really know how to compare the. Two
if you're looking for some other comparisons for Ville, Neuve
Thomas hickey is maybe someone that fits the, bill not
someone that's super exciting and fantasy and looking at the j,
freshcard Ville neuve three percent chance of being a, star
thirty six percent chance of being AN nhl. Er that's
pretty similar to The Hockey prospect team, number which is.
Interesting that's all we have for The Toronto Maple leafs.
Dig if you're patreon you can listen to my top
Ten prospects recap her team On. Patreon and if you're
just doing scotting with a shoot me A dm On,
Twitter discord or email Us.
Speaker 3: Bill new be right back to cool enough the. Show
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