The Maple Leafs had an impressive five prospects in the recently-concluded 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship in Helsinki, Finland. And, even more impressive, one of them – Marlies winger Kasperi Kapanen – scored the gold-medal-winning goal for his native Finland in front of delirious countrymen. In many ways – aside from the injury to Swedish center William Nylander that sidelined him for much of the action – the tournament couldn’t have gone better for Toronto’s group of youngsters.
The biggest, best impression from that group of Buds prospects arguably came from Swedish forward Dmytro Timashov, who opened eyes across the hockey world with his two-goal, seven-point performance for the fourth-place Swedes.