Top Maple Leafs Prospect Has Similar Abilities To Tomas Kaberle

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Tyler Ball
August 31, 2023 (9:16 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled to draft and develop defensemen in recent years. This particularly applies to defensemen drafted outside of the first round. One of the biggest success stories in this regard has been Tomas Kaberle. Now many are making comparisons between Kaberle and a current Leafs prospect.

Kaberle As A Maple Leaf

Tomas Kaberle was an 8th-round selection by the Leafs in 1996. He would go on to play 12 seasons in Toronto and 14 years in total in the NHL. He was considered a good puck-moving defenseman who relied on his skating to produce.

At his peak with the Leafs Kaberle put up 67 points in 82 games while being an assistant captain. He provided stability to the Leafs on defense for a decade after being passed over by every organization multiple times. Now there's another prospect with a similar story and game looking to follow in Kaberle's footsteps.

Can Niemela Be A Gamechanger For The Leafs

Topi Niemela was selected in the 3rd round of the 2020 NHL draft. At the time he was already playing in the Finnish Men's League but was overlooked due to his size and play style. Many are comparing his journey to that of Tomas Kaberle.

Now 3 years later Niemela is coming off of a successful year in LIIGA and an even better playoff run once joining the Toronto Marlies at the end of the 2022-23 season. In 7 playoff games, Niemela amassed 5 points and was one of the best players on the team during the series offensively.

Much like Kaberle, Niemela is considered undersized and not good enough defensively to survive at the NHL level. Now he is one of the Leafs' top prospects and heading into his first full season in the AHL.

He does indeed need to improve his strength and physicality to be successful at the NHL level but the tools are certainly there for Niemela to be a fantastic puck mover for the Leafs in the near future.