The Toronto Maple Leafs had recently announced the upcoming roster for their Prospect Camp that took place on July 7th to July 11th and had 29 attendee’s from drafted prospect to invitee’s come together at the Mastercard Center. For those who have not seen the announcement, please see the link below that goes into a little bit more detail.
http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=725185&navid=DL
Every year there are invitee’s mixed in with the Maple Leafs prospects, some of which are a little intriguing from a potential prospect point of view. I have always surmised that if teams don’t already do it on a larger scale, they should be using these prospect camps as an extra opportunity to further examine prospects that may not have been selected at the most recent draft that still may be on their scouts radar. They usually come from a pretty diverse hockey background and this years crop is no different. Hopefully there are one or two in the lineup who are indeed potential prospects but for some this is just an opportunity to evaluate their game in comparison to their peers and garner the experience of what a professional camp may indeed one day be like. So without further ado, here are the invitee’s in order of appearance on the Leafs roster breakdown:
Robert ‘Bobo’ Carpenter
Forward
Austin Prep (USHS)/Sioux City (USHL)
5’10”, 183lbs
2014 Draft Eligible (not selected) Central Scouting Final Ranking:119
An interesting article was written about Carpenter, a Boston University commit and son of former NHLer Bobby Carpenter over at SB Nation which can be found here and really covers the vast majority of what you need to know about the player:
The Hockey News recent included in one of their articles “One NHL scout who saw Carpenter this week had this report: “Tremendous release and he competes hard. Needs to work on his skating, but I love his energy and he has a good scoring touch – he can really snap it off. Tough kid.””
Kayle Doetzel
Defense
Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
19 years old, 6’3″, 190lbs
2014 Draft Eligible (not selected) Central Scouting Final Ranking:178
Doetzel comes across as a big, mean stay at home defenseman and his high PIMs certainly add to that assumption. Represented Canada at the under 18 Ivan Hlinka tournament last year but a broken jaw last season had him sit out for a significant number of games. A first round selection in the bantum draft, Doetzel appears to be projecting as a project with upside. Was recently invited to the Nashville Predators camp.
From DraftSite.com “Developing stay-at-home defenseman with aggressive physical style and defense first mentality. Long term project who needs more time to improve skating mobility, puck skills, and decision-making. Until this happens the NHL may pass on calling his name, as there is little up-ice abilities emerging so far….Bill Placzek”
Cody Donaghey
Defense
Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
18 years old, 6’1″, 182lbs
2014 Draft Eligible (not selected) Central Scouting Final Ranking:150
Although Donaghey was not selected at the most recent draft, which was a little surprising given he had the highest point totals in the ‘Q’ for a defenseman, there was a fair amount of interest when it came to camp invites where he received almost a half dozen. Donaghey settled on the Maple Leafs, a team he grew up cheering for and there was a great article in his hometown St. Johns, NFLD paper the Telegraph found here about his journey:
http://www.thetelegram.com/Sports/Hockey/2014-07-04/article-3785869/Undrafted-but-not-unwanted/1
There seems to be a fair amount of chatter online and in social channels with respect to Donaghey and the fact that he wasn’t drafted. Many feel he should be snapped up quickly, a potential free pick or at minimum an organizational asset. Mckeen’s hockey scout Rick Springhetti had this to say about Donaghey “Solid passing ability with a fluid skating stride, Donaghey has a lot of tools to work with but will need to find a standout quality for the next level.”
Jack Flinn
Goalie
Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
18 years old, 6’7″, 205lbs
2014 Draft Eligible (not selected) Central Scouting Final Ranking: 25th amongst North American goaltenders
As the old mantra goes “you cannot teach size” and that is exactly what comes to mind when looking at Jack Flinn in net. Not everyday you stumble across a kid with that kind of height which automatically makes him somewhat unique and although his stats are not as solid as you would almost expect from a goalie with that kind of sheer size one must remember that Flinn was a backup on a really average Owen Sound team that ended the year barely above .500 and were second last in their division.
The Hockey Writers Anatoliy Metter had this to say about Flinn “Standing tall at 6′ 7.25″, it’s safe to say that Jack Flinn caught the eye of scouts during the second half of the OHL season. Even though Flinn didn’t have the best statistics (21 GP, 4.01 GAA, .894 Save Percentage) in his first OHL campaign, he still showed signs of improvement from his first stint in the CHL with Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL. Flinn might need to fill out his frame a bit more, but that will undoubtedly happen as a natural progression in the goalie’s development. While Flinn will need to round out his game a bit more, he certainly seemed to settle in quite nicely as the OHL season progressed. Since Flinn possesses the height and size that NHL teams covet for prospect goaltenders, a lot will hinge on Flinn’s upcoming season as the goalie will probably see an increased workload in his second year of OHL play.”
Jérémie Fraser
Defense
Val d’Or Foreurs (QMJHL)
19 years old, 6’2″, 208lbs
2014 Draft Eligible (not selected) Central Scouting Final Ranking:193* (midterm)
Fraser made the news earlier this year with a pretty wicked head shot to a player that landed him a suspension from the QMJHL for 5 games given that it was not his first offense. It will be split debate for sure on the intent but after watching the video you have to admit that it is one thing to hit a guy admiring his pass but quite another when your elbow comes up to make contact. That being said, you be the judge:
Regardless, what does Fraser actually bring potential suitors? I think gritty would be an understatement looking at his PIMs but there is an element of point production there as well. Fraser was a highly touted prospect when drafted into the QMJHL and appeared to have caught some attention at the recent Memorial Coup. Roughing After the Whistle’s Gertz said “Jeremie Fraser was a guy who really impressed me watching the Memorial Cup. Very physical player who seemed a lot more mobile than his scouting report.” although some do question if he has all the tools to progress past the AHL.
Matthew Mancina
Goalie
Guelph Storm (OHL)
18 years old, 6’1″, 172lbs
2014 Draft Eligible (not selected) Central Scouting Final Ranking: 12th amongst North American goaltenders
Mancina put up some pretty solid numbers playing behind Nicols for the Guelph Storm this year putting up a GAA of 2.43 and Save Percentage of 0.919 in his first year in the OHL in 28 games. Now Guelph was a pretty strong team this year making it all the way to the Memorial Cup finals but regardless those are respectable stats for a league rookie.
Zachary Pryzbek
Forward
Brown University (ECAC)
20 years old, 6’4″, 205lbs
2012 Draft Eligible (not selected) Central Scouting Final Ranking:180
You have to wonder if the Maple Leafs scouts have been keeping tabs on Pryzbek given his recent invitation. It seems a little odd given his age and stats from last year at Brown that do not necessarily speak of a high point producer so one must really surmise that he must be a pretty aggressive forechecker and/or apt defensive specialist.
Bill Placzek over at DraftSite had this to say about Pryzbek “Large grinder who is fearless and has considerable upside in his offensive game. Is used much on the wing to take advantage of his size, but is a decent face-off man.”
Dorian Saeftel
Defense
Mannheim Eagles (DEL) / Heilbronn Falcons (DEL-2)
19 years old, 6’3″, 213lbs
Undrafted
Saeftel most recently played for Germany at the 2014 World Junior Hockey Championships (WJHC) and my assumption is that he has attended the Leafs prospect camp at the invitation of the club based on their long standing agreement with the German club team to share experiences, coaching approaches etc.
“Saeftel is a 6-foot-3 teenager from Mannheim who hopes to break into the country’s top league next year and garner some North American interest.” via the Toronto Sun.
Sven Senteler
Forward
Zurich ZSC Lions (Swiss-A)/Kusnacht GCK Lions (Swiss-B)
21 years old, 6’1″, 187lbs
Undrafted
Senteler is the third player from the ZSC Lions to attend the Maple Leafs prospect camp behind Reto Schäppi (2012) and Mike Künzle (2013) given the cooperative agreement that remains in place between the two clubs. The 21 year old center is under contract with the ZSC Lions for another year and although there is not much out there is cyberspace about the young forward, here is hoping the prospect camp was an eye opener, would be curious to hear what he had to say about it.
Samuel Vigneault
Forward
Andre-Laurendeau (QCHL)
18 years old, 6’4″, 176lbs
Undrafted
Last but certainly not least, Vigneault is an 18 year old Clarkson University (NCAA) commit who threw up a pretty sizable 60 points in 37 games for the André-Laurendeau Boomerang of the QCHL (Division 1 college Quebec League). You have to give the Leaf scouts props just for knowing about Vigneault, let along inviting him to camp as he must have some decent upside given his size and scoring acumen at that level. (via La Presse) Drafted in the 12th round of the 2012 QMJHL draft to the Shawinigan Cataractes, Vigneault was hampered by a wrist injury that kept him from attending the Cataractes training camp but continued on with the Boomerang and ultimately committed to the Clarkson Unviversity Golden Knights (who’s alumni include Erik Cole and Willie Mitchell) where he will attend next year; potentially one to watch as his NCAA career progresses.
Well appreciate you making it this far down the list, guessing you are just as interested in the potential prospects as I am, definitely believe there are a couple outlined in the above that maybe worthy of continued tracking and/or consideration. I wonder if the Maple Leafs will silently start directing long term projects to the Brampton Beast so they can keep a close eye on them without necessarily having to sign the players? Oh, don’t forget to check out the link below of the top 10 undrafted players from this year as well for interests sake. As always, puck for thought.
http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/the-top-10-undrafted-players-at-nhl-development-camps/
Yushkevich 