Toronto Maple Leafs set to officially lose promising prospect Veeti Miettinen

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Julien Trekker
August 11, 2024 (2:52 PM)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to officially lose Veeti Miettinen, a promising prospect who'll pursue his hockey career in Europe.

As we get closer to the training camp, updates on prospects are coming out, and it looks like Miettinen's days in the Maple Leafs organization are over.

NHL general managers have until August 15 to sign NCAA prospects to contracts, and while it appeared he was going to lose Veeti Miettinen's signing rights, it has been put forward that the forward already signed a deal with KalPa in the Liiga.

Drafted 168th overall in 2020, the 22-year-old forward from Finland spent the past four years with St. Cloud State University in the NCAA. During the 2023-24 season, he scored 35 points, including 20 goals, in 37 games.

However, Treliving's issue with that prospect was likely due to his size. Despite his talent, he's only 5'9". It's a known fact that Treliving has a knack for bigger players, which could've been what pushed the player to leave the team.

After all, he was drafted by Kyle Dubas, who didn't hesitate to draft smaller players who are able to use their speed and intelligence to their advantage.

While the Leafs could decide to keep their eyes on him as he pursues his hockey career in Finland, such moves are often permanent for players who have been trying to climb their organization's ladders and struggled to make their way to the NHL.

Source for Veeti Miettinen's statistics: Hockey DB