Toronto's Prospect Showcase is going to be very telling and quickly determine whether the Maple Leafs' pipeline has anything beyond simply Gavin McKenna.
Next weekend is going to be the first time we as fans get to really see the Maple Leafs prospects in action as the team will have two games the weekend of Sept. 12-13 in order to see which young talents are close to making the jump to the NHL.
While Gavin McKenna's status for the Showcase is still up in the air and hasn't been confirmed, there are several other prospects who are expected to line up for the Maple Leafs this upcoming weekend in order to showcase their talent.
Toronto needs someone outside the McKenna tier to look like a real NHL piece
The Maple Leafs though are going to need as much help from their prospects as possible to determine whether or not there is more to their pipeline than simply McKenna. That means players like Tinus Luc Koblar and Harry Nansi - two players who have made a huge leap in growth over the past year - need to show they are going to be NHL-ready soon.
Both Koblar and Nansi don't need to be elite or top-line stars, but if they were to come in and add some youth and a different perspective to a lineup full of older veterans - it could work.
Koblar already proved that he can compete against NHL-level talent and thrive, meanwhile Nansi has quickly become one of the team's most exciting prospects and just given a prominent first-line role with Owen Sound.
Not to mention the team needs to know how Ben Danford and Noah Chadwick are going to perform, as those two could be viewed as the team's top defensive prospects, and much like their forward group, their blueline is much older and could use a youthful spark.
There's also a slew of NCAA signings over the past year like Vinny Borgesi, Hayes Hundley, and Brandon Buhr who are also all vying for an NHL role, so they need to prove they are ready to take the next step professionally.
The real test is whether Toronto's second wave can create roles the NHL roster will actually need
But it isn't just about making sure that these prospects are ready to take the jump, but that they have proper roles when they get here. Koblar is a defensively sound centre who can play the 2C all the way to 4C, while adding offensive help and a huge presence on the ice at 6-foot-4. He can be an intimidation factor for Toronto while also being able to help them out at more than just 5v5.
Nansi is a scrappy winger who has great vision and a relentless motor, and given that he's improved markedly on his skating ability, could become a middle-six threat for Toronto who adds a level of playmaking and puck possession the team needs.
Danford needs to prove that he can be the eventual replacement for Chris Tanev as the team's shutdown defender of the future, and Chadwick has to show that he can be that dual-threat he was drafted for. It's about finding spots for these players to not only thrive, but find defined roles early in their career.
The Maple Leafs really don't need to worry about McKenna and how he will respond to the NHL but they do need to make sure that they have built their prospect system in such a way that they have young NHL-ready players who can make a difference and it's a matter of both quality and quantity - not one or the other.
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