Maple Leafs risk losing talented young prospect as deadline approaches
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be losing prospect forward Veeti Miettinen as their rights to the player will expire on August 15th.
Miettinen was a 6th round pick of the Leafs in 2020. However, he remains unsigned by the organization. Should this remain the case for a couple more weeks, they will lose his rights forever and he will be dropped from the team's reserve list.
Many Leafs fans are not particularly thrilled with this as Miettinen showed some real promise for a late round pick.
That being said, this move is not a surprise to those familiar with the situation. Miettinen was part of a rare crop of players that got an extra, 5th year of NCAA eligibility due to the Covid pandemic. However, he has elected not to use that year and will instead be playing elsewhere.
At this point, Miettinen had two options, sign with the Leafs, or go back to Europe. It seems as though he chose the second path as he has already agreed to a two-year deal with KalPa of the Finnish top pro league, Liiga.
Miettinen was drafted in the 6th round, 168th overall by the Leafs in 2020. The following season he elected to come to North America, playing NCAA hockey for St. Cloud State University.
He played four seasons there, showing signs of strong development, especially in the last two seasons. This past season was his strongest, as he put up 20 goals and 36 points in 37 games. In total, he had 53 career goals and 118 points in 146 NCAA games.
Source: MapleLeafsDaily
Maple Leafs ten days away from losing the rights to a promising young prospect
Source: EliteProspects
Veeti Miettinen Career Statistics
| POLL | ||
Do you think Veeti Miettinen will ever play in the NHL with any team, including the Maple Leafs? | ||
| Yes | 107 | 42 % |
| No | 148 | 58 % |
| List of polls | ||
