Forward Depth

[Kin]

So, right now, it seems like a lot of the talk about the Leafs and where they need to improve themselves going forward is up front and, ignoring the issue of a top line center for a second, it seems like people are mainly happy with the top 4 wingers that are still around but the issue is really going to be guys for the third line to replace Frattin and Mac as well as some guys for the 4th line who aren't Orr/McLaren types.

Well, here's the thing about all of that. Right now, here's a list of guys either on the Marlies or the Leafs who are forwards, who were drafted in the top 3 rounds and are between the ages of 20-23:

Greg McKegg
Bradley Ross
Jamie Devane
Tyler Biggs
Joe Colborne
Josh Leivo
Carter Ashton
Kenny Ryan

That doesn't include guys like D'Amigo who were lower round picks but who have shown promise either.

Now, are all of them going to be NHL ready? No. But some of them are going to have to be. There should be spots for those guys on the big club. They won't be teenagers, most of them have spent legitimate time in the AHL already and they possess a wide variety of skills. We should be expecting our team to feature at least a few of those guys in the next two years. If none of them are players the Leafs are in a very different kind of trouble.

 

[Zee]

So, right now, it seems like a lot of the talk about the Leafs and where they need to improve themselves going forward is up front and, ignoring the issue of a top line center for a second, it seems like people are mainly happy with the top 4 wingers that are still around but the issue is really going to be guys for the third line to replace Frattin and Mac as well as some guys for the 4th line who aren't Orr/McLaren types.

Well, here's the thing about all of that. Right now, here's a list of guys either on the Marlies or the Leafs who are forwards, who were drafted in the top 3 rounds and are between the ages of 20-23:

Greg McKegg
Bradley Ross
Jamie Devane
Tyler Biggs
Joe Colborne
Josh Leivo
Carter Ashton
Kenny Ryan

That doesn't include guys like D'Amigo who were lower round picks but who have shown promise either.

Now, are all of them going to be NHL ready? No. But some of them are going to have to be. There should be spots for those guys on the big club. They won't be teenagers, most of them have spent legitimate time in the AHL already and they possess a wide variety of skills. We should be expecting our team to feature at least a few of those guys in the next two years. If none of them are players the Leafs are in a very different kind of trouble.

Good point. You would hope 1-2 guys could make the jump. The Sens had a boatload of rookies playing last year and got the most out of them. Would be nice to see the Leafs find a roster player from within their own system.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Deebo]

I'm interested to see how Josh Leivo does in the AHL.

 

[Frank E]

Those guys all suck.  We're screwed.

 

[drummond]

So, right now, it seems like a lot of the talk about the Leafs and where they need to improve themselves going forward is up front and, ignoring the issue of a top line center for a second, it seems like people are mainly happy with the top 4 wingers that are still around but the issue is really going to be guys for the third line to replace Frattin and Mac as well as some guys for the 4th line who aren't Orr/McLaren types.

Well, here's the thing about all of that. Right now, here's a list of guys either on the Marlies or the Leafs who are forwards, who were drafted in the top 3 rounds and are between the ages of 20-23:

Greg McKegg
Bradley Ross
Jamie Devane
Tyler Biggs
Joe Colborne
Josh Leivo
Carter Ashton
Kenny Ryan

That doesn't include guys like D'Amigo who were lower round picks but who have shown promise either.

Now, are all of them going to be NHL ready? No. But some of them are going to have to be. There should be spots for those guys on the big club. They won't be teenagers, most of them have spent legitimate time in the AHL already and they possess a wide variety of skills. We should be expecting our team to feature at least a few of those guys in the next two years. If none of them are players the Leafs are in a very different kind of trouble.

Honestly, given the fact that fitting into Carlyle?s system seems to be the key factor in each and every player chances to stay with the Leafs or to be acquired by the Leafs, I would say the player you mentioned very last has best odds to make the team - Jerry d?Amigo.
I suppose, Joe Colborne will be given extended look as well, the thing with Colborne is that he will be misused in bottom 6, he is not the guy to play on 4th line with Orr 6 mins per game...
I believe Ashton needs one more season in the AHL

 

[Britishbulldog]

Frattin was cheap, signed, pretty good, and played a style that sometimes attracts interest around the league. An asset moved for an asset -- I like that. Just wish it had been to address a more pressing need.

This point about Frattin is valid.  To protect the depth of the Leafs forwards there need to be 2 or 3 ELC or 2nd contract players.  The Leafs/fans seem to continuously look for proven players to fill the roster.  That is nice if there is no cap.

That being said since Clutterbuck still hasn't signed with NYI yet I wonder if he might be available for 3rd line?  Out of the list of AHL prospects I would hope that Ashton or Colborne would finally be ready.  Any others would be a surprise.  As noted D'Amigo (not on the list) might be the most compatible with this current roster.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

Those guys all suck.  We're screwed.

HaHa! Where's that thumbs up emoticon!

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Out of that list, I see Colborne making the team in a third line role and Biggs maybe making the 4th line RW spot. The 4th line LW spot goes to D'Amigo. The others look to have more time in the AHL IMO. Leivo, Ross and McKegg, need more time for sure, the rest are probably fodder for the Marlies, save for Ashton and maybe Ryan, but I doubt Ryan has NHL talent.

So..

JvR - Bozak - Kessel
Lupul - Kadri - Clarkson
Colborne - Bolland - Kulemin
D'Amigo - McClement - Biggs
McLaren - Orr

I think I could handle that, as long as D'Amigo and Biggs can adapt to the NHL game.

 

[Andy007]

Out of that list, I see Colborne making the team in a third line role and Biggs maybe making the 4th line RW spot. The 4th line LW spot goes to D'Amigo. The other look to have more time in the AHL. Leivo, Ross and McKegg, need more time for sure, the rest are probably fodder for the Marlies, save for Carter and maybe Ryan, but I doubt Ryan has NHL talent.

So..

JvR - Bozak - Kessel
Lupul - Kadri - Clarkson
Colborne - Bolland - Kulemin
D'Amigo - McClement - Biggs
McLaren - Orr

I think I could handle that, as long as D'Amigo and Biggs can adapt to the NHL game.

Have you forgotten Carlyle's penchant for dressing 2 useless enforcers?

I could see D'Amigo having a role. Would like to see Colborne get a chance with some decent teammates as well.

 

[TML fan]

You know that, barring injury, at least one of Orr and McLaren is going to play every night.

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

You know that, barring injury, at least one of Orr and McLaren is going to play every night.

Yeah, I see Biggs as a long shot, as he fits into the Ross, Leivo and McKegg "need more AHL experience" category, so we'll see. Just my opinion on how it shapes up.

EDIT: He's got man size, so I thought he had the best chance to make the jump.

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Have you forgotten Carlyle's penchant for dressing 2 useless enforcers?

I just put the players there, Carlyle will take care of who dresses. Orr will likely be playing in that spot that I have Biggs in, as I said above, he's a long shot anyway.

The Leafs will probably go with 8 defensemen anyhow, so 14 forwards may not matter. Or they could go with a roster of 22 due to cap reasons, which was stated in another thread.

 

[cw]

Out of that list, I see Colborne making the team in a third line role and Biggs maybe making the 4th line RW spot. The 4th line LW spot goes to D'Amigo. The other look to have more time in the AHL. Leivo, Ross and McKegg, need more time for sure, the rest are probably fodder for the Marlies, save for Carter and maybe Ryan, but I doubt Ryan has NHL talent.

So..

JvR - Bozak - Kessel
Lupul - Kadri - Clarkson
Colborne - Bolland - Kulemin
D'Amigo - McClement - Biggs
McLaren - Orr

I think I could handle that, as long as D'Amigo and Biggs can adapt to the NHL game.

Have you forgotten Carlyle's penchant for dressing 2 useless enforcers?

I could see D'Amigo having a role. Would like to see Colborne get a chance with some decent teammates as well.

There might be a side benefit to having Clarkson in that maybe Carlyle will only feel the need to dress one of his enforcers as Clarkson can do some of the middle weight fights (hopefully not too many as a top 6).

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

There might be a side benefit to having Clarkson in that maybe Carlyle will only feel the need to dress one of his enforcers as Clarkson can do some of the middle weight fights (hopefully not too many as a top 6).

Almost makes you wonder why they signed both heavy weights...  :-\

 

[dappleganger]

Two first names: Brad Ross.

I have high hopes for this kid. I don't think he's NHL ready. I wish he was.

Tyler Biggs has NHL size (and then some). I think He could handle himself on the 3rd line.

Spencer Abbott prolly has the skill for 3rd line duties but doesn't have the size to play a checking role.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

There might be a side benefit to having Clarkson in that maybe Carlyle will only feel the need to dress one of his enforcers as Clarkson can do some of the middle weight fights (hopefully not too many as a top 6).

Almost makes you wonder why they signed both heavy weights...  :-\

It's not a huge amount of money, but signing those two, and the 0.5M from the Bernier trade bug me.  It all adds up.  Maybe won't mean anything if the cap shoots up, but for this upcoming season at least.

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

It's not a huge amount of money, but signing those two, and the 0.5M from the Bernier trade bug me.  It all adds up.  Maybe won't mean anything if the cap shoots up, but for this upcoming season at least.

That too, but my point was more around signing two heavy weights, when we already added Clarkson to take care of the middle weights. I mean, having two guys that essentially do the same job, taking up another spot on the roster, which could have been plugged by a younger player that forechecks and PK's a little better would have been a better choice IMO.

 

[Kin]

Two first names: Brad Ross.

I have high hopes for this kid. I don't think he's NHL ready. I wish he was.

Just to clarify the point wasn't really about who was ready right away but who conceivably could be over the next year or two that made signing bottom six guys to multi-year deals a bad idea.

 

[Corn Flake]

There might be a side benefit to having Clarkson in that maybe Carlyle will only feel the need to dress one of his enforcers as Clarkson can do some of the middle weight fights (hopefully not too many as a top 6).

Almost makes you wonder why they signed both heavy weights...  :-\

Just musting but .. if Orr gets hurt and with no McLaren, Clarkson becomes the defacto enforcer. Not what you want.

That, and Carlyle likes to have as much toughness as possible. Guys who can score and can fight are pretty darned valuable to the team (Wendel Clark).

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

There might be a side benefit to having Clarkson in that maybe Carlyle will only feel the need to dress one of his enforcers as Clarkson can do some of the middle weight fights (hopefully not too many as a top 6).

Almost makes you wonder why they signed both heavy weights...  :-\

Just musting but .. if Orr gets hurt and with no McLaren, Clarkson becomes the defacto enforcer. Not what you want.

That, and Carlyle likes to have as much toughness as possible. Guys who can score and can fight are pretty darned valuable to the team (Wendel Clark).

I kind of see that point, but not too many teams carry two heavy weights. Isn't that more of a luxury? It's also not like you can't pick up a guy off the waiver wire that does that job.