The Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Jacob Quillan – But Who Is He?
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Monday that they have signed NCAA free agent center, Jacob Quillan. His two-year entry-level contract begins next season (2024-25) and he will join the Toronto Marlies for the remainder of the season on an amateur try-out contract (ATO).
The Toronto Maple Leafs newest player has spent the past three seasons with Quinnipiac University of the NCAA. Qunnipiac captured the NCAA Frozen Four championship last year with Quillan scoring the championship clinching goal, upsetting Matthew Knies’ Minnesota Gophers squad in the process.
He has racked up solid individual accolades to go with his championship win, being named tournament MVP last year and winning ECAC defensive forward of the year this season.
Although not a prolific scorer, Quillan has shown his tremendous work ethic by going from a depth player on the Bobcats in his freshman year to their first line center in his junior year and sporting an alternate captaincy “A” on his jersey. He went from producing nine points in 36 games in 2021-22 to a career high 46 through 39 games this season. Quillan was featured in my 6 College Free Agents The Toronto Maple Leafs Could Sign article from last month.
Who Is He?
Toronto Maple Leafs Sign NCAA Free Agent Jacob Quillan
As evidenced by the individual accolades and his production, Jacob Quillan is a competent 200ft player who can play both special teams units. He has pro-level skating and possesses a dual-threat scoring ability.
At 5-on-5 he will likely top out as a bottom-six forward but may be able to develop some elements that could give him the Pontus Holmberg/Bobby McMann ability to slot up and down the lineup temporarily.
It is important to remember that every year dozens of NCAA free agents are signed and never play an NHL game. So, he will be a work in progress but his game seems to be on the more projectable side if he can continue his sound defensive play and adapt his offense to the pro game. We have seen this play out before, a recent example is Bobby McMann who has worked his way up to a permanent NHL role now at 27-years-old.
The most likely path for Quillan is that he spends the rest of this season and next playing for the Marlies and could push himself into the call-up conversation after that. Ideally, he will be pushing into a depth role for the Leafs by the end of his ELC, again either as a call-up option or as a more permanent fixture. There is a clear path to the NHL for him if he can develop properly with only five forwards currently under contract beyond next season.
Either way you look at the signing, acquiring him didn’t cost a draft pick or trade asset, only an SLC slot. Signing him deepens the Leafs prospect pool and whether he turns out to be an contributing NHL player, a tweener, or just an AHL depth piece, it is a valuable signing.
The Leafs also have the opportunity to lock-up Quillan’s teammate Collin Graf who is another NCAA free agent standout and has attracted plenty of attention from NHL teams.
Toronto Maple Leafs Goaltender Ilya Samsonov Reaches Milestone
The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Florida Panthers 6-4 on Monday night in a game that featured two milestones.
The first milestone came when Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews scored his 61st and 62nd goals of the season. With a personal best of 60 goals during the 2021-22 season, Matthews has set a new career high with his two goals against the Panthers.
The Leafs have eight games remaining for Matthews to extend his goal total. He is on pace for 69 goals.
The Toronto Maple Leafs second milestone came when the final buzzer sounded securing the Leafs victory. Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov recorded his 100th career win. He has 52 career wins with the Washington Capitals and 48 with the Leafs. He became the 16th fastest goaltender to reach 100 wins by doing it in 167 games. Samsonov’s overall record is 100-38-20.
(All stats from hockey-reference.com)
Toronto Maple Leafs Goaltender Ilya Samsonov Reaches Milestone
Samsonov had a rough start to the 2023-24 season but bounced back after some time with the Toronto Marlies on a mental health conditioning stint.
A strong start could have helped him reach this milestone sooner, but being the 16th fastest to 100 wins is still impressive. Playing for good teams helps and Samsonov has been lucky in that regard. Since returning to the Leafs from his conditioning stint, Samsonov has a record of 16-4-1 in 21 games.
Samsonov is riding a three-game winning streak, so hopefully, his hot streak will continue until the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. Despite a struggling power play, the Leafs have been playing well recently.
They are close to clinching their playoff spot and have some very important games in their schedule coming up soon. None is more important than Wednesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Samsonov and the Leafs need to stay ahead of the Lightning in the playoff standings. A win over the Lightning in regulation on Wednesday would put us eight points ahead of the Lightning in the standings.
The Leafs are also starting to creep up on the Florida Panthers for 2nd in the Atlantic Division, which would secure home-ice advantage in round one. The Panthers are four points ahead of the Leafs, with the Leafs holding one game in hand.
The Toronto Maple Leafs 2023 NHL Entry Draft Class
By David Corcoran
As the Toronto Maple Leafs regular season is wrapping up, all their prospects from the 2023 NHL Entry Draft have either had their seasons ended or are in the middle of the playoffs.
With just three players picked for the Toronto Maple Leafs in last summer’s draft we are going to take a look at how their first season went after being selected.
Easton Cowan – 1st Round, 28th Overall
Former general manager Kyle Dubas traded away Rasmus Sandin at the 2022-23 trade deadline to obtain a first round pick from the Washington Capitals. That pick would be the 28th overall selection and team went to a familiar stomping grounds for prospects and that was the London Knights when they selected Easton Cowan.
Cowan was coming off his first full season in the Ontario Hockey League where he had a modest 20-goals and 53-points through 68 games and to say he exploded this past season would be an understatement.
During training camp coach Sheldon Keefe got as long of a look as possible at Cowan and was thoroughly impressed to the point that the feisty winger had a late start to his Knights season because he remained with the Maple Leafs.
Cowan would explode with nine points in his first four games back with the Knights and then found himself selected to Team Canada for the World Junior Championship tournament over Christmas where he collected a pair of points in five games.
During his OHL season, Cowan collected points in all but five games, including getting himself on the score sheet in every game since late November. The Mount Brydges native would finish with the second highest points per game in the OHL, while finishing tied for sixth in league scoring despite missing games due to Maple Leafs training camp and the World Juniors.
Could Cowan Make the 2024-25 Maple Leafs?
Cowan helped lead the Knights to the regular season OHL title which has led to a first round playoff series against the Flint Firebirds where the Maple Leafs top prospect collected a goal in a 3-0 Game 1 victory. If the playoffs go as well as the season, Cowan could be playing for a Memorial Cup this spring.
Once the fall comes, there is a legitimate chance that Cowan pushes for a spot on the Maple Leafs roster next season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs 2023 NHL Entry Draft Class
Hudson Malinoski – 5th Round, 153rd Overall
The Maple Leafs used their fifth round selection on Saskatoon born Hudson Malinoski who was coming off his first year playing Junior A hockey for the Brooks Bandits in the Alberta Junior Hockey League where he collected 69 points in 44 games.
Malinoski would go on to play in the NCAA this past season for Providence College where he helped his club to a fourth place regular season finish.
Providence was one of the lower scoring teams as they collected just 100 goals through 35 games and Malinoski finished tied for second on his team with nine goals.
Unfortunately the season was cut short when Providence were upset by UMass in the Hockey East quarterfinals. The Maple Leafs prospect now has the summer to train and prepare for his second season of college hockey.
Noah Chadwick – 6th Round, 185th Overall
A very interesting prospect is Noah Chadwick who the Maple Leafs selected in the sixth round. The 6’4″ defenseman went from collecting 20-points in his draft eligible year to nearly tripling that total this year as he finished with 56-points in 66 games.
He impressed Maple Leafs management so much that he was signed to an Entry Level Contract just before Christmas.
Currently, Chadwick’s WHL team, the Lethbridge Hurricanes are in the midst of the playoffs, however, they lost their first game to the Swift Current Broncos. It is likely his playoffs will be quick, so their is a possibility that he joins the Toronto Marlies to gain some development opportunities.
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