Former Maple Leafs prospect takes a step forward in his hockey journey

Many players try their best to make it to the NHL even if the path to get there is one of the toughest in all of professional sports. Not only do you need to impress from a young age, but work through juniors, get drafted, work through the minors, get called up and maybe have a shot to make an impact.

One player all too familiar with that grind is Mike Koster, an NCAA product who was drafted 146th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2019. Seven years he spent under the Leafs organization and never made it close to even the AHL let alone the NHL.

But with his rights revoked, he signed a deal with the Minnesota Wild's AHL affiliate Iowa, and has been there since, spending this season in the ECHL with the Iowa Heartlanders.

He's shown off some serious offensive punch this season, with 10 points in 18 games (2 goals, 8 assists) and it's led to him being one step closer to his dream.

The Wild (AHL) recalled Koster from the Heartlanders and he made his AHL debut against the Manitoba Moose. It didn't take him long to get acclimated, as he recorded his first AHL point as well.

It's something that the Minnesota native isn't taking for granted, and in his pre-game interview showed that he was grateful just to be given the chance to help wherever he can:

With the Maple Leafs needing offensive help on the blueline, and dealing with their own injuries both at the NHL and AHL level, it's unfortunate the team decided to let Koster go.

The defenseman spent five seasons at the University of Minnesota in his NCAA career. He recorded 89 points in 180 games (18 goals, 71 assists) and a plus-48 rating with the Golden Gophers.

The Maple Leafs drafted him over a couple of NHL staples now in Juuso Parssinen and Dustin Wolf, however he decided to spend five years in college, and the team seemed to have just forgotten he was in the system it seems.

Congratulations to Mike Koster for getting one step closer to his dream. He's worked hard to prove he deserves a shot, and his first impression should give him even more of an opportunity to succeed.