The Toronto Maple Leafs prospect has the potential to help the club on defense should they need him after stellar season in juniors.
When the first of two scrimmages among Toronto Maple Leafs prospects wrapped up, a big takeaway was how well prospect William Villeneuve defended Matthew Knies.
“You always want to compare yourself to the best players out there and play against them,” Villeneuve said. “We had a couple of good battles and it was really fun.”
Perhaps it wasn’t a fair contest when Villeneuve had just helped his Saint John Sea Dogs win a Memorial Cup mere weeks ago, while Knies hadn’t played in a competitive game since early April when his University of Minnesota Golden Gophers were eliminated in the semifinals of the NCAA Frozen Four.
But what stood out about Villeneuve was how far his game had come in the last year. In both scrimmages, Toronto’s fourth-round pick (122nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft showed patience in his breakout ability. He was composed with the puck and clean on his zone exits.
When mistakes happened, Villeneuve appeared undeterred and recovered quickly.
“We worked a lot with him on his posture and really his mental side of the game, in terms of not getting down on himself and staying consistent,” Maple Leafs assistant GM Hayley Wickenheiser said of the 20-year-old.
Villeneuve will join the Toronto Marlies next season where he is expected to see a big role. The AHL club missed out on some key developmental games by missing out on the Calder Cup playoffs with a 37-30-4-1 record and Villeneuve’s perspective and talent should help the franchise right the ship.
At 6’2, 180lbs, the Maple Leafs want to see Villeneuve add some size as he gets ready to take on professional hockey players. But the key to his development will be how he responds in defensive situations to skilled players in the AHL.
“I think the next transition for him when he comes up with the Marlies next season is defending and really being able to solidify that part of his game,” Wickenheiser said.
An added bonus for Villeneuve this past week was seeing Marlies defenseman Noel Hoeffenmayer join for the first scrimmage. In a development camp that was focused on stealing skills and methods from other players, Villeneuve got a sense of the poise needed to succeed.
“He’s so calm with the puck and in the right positions and spots all the time,” Villeneuve said of Hoffenmayer.
Although it’s not likely that Villeneuve would see any action with the Maple Leafs this season, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility.
Toronto was fortunate to not have too many injuries on defense over the course of the last couple of years and although the Leafs will tout their exceptional strength and conditioning staff, depth on the back end could be tested to a point that Villeneuve may be called upon at some point to help out with the big club. Not unlike how Kristian Rubins got his first opportunity this past season before he became a free agent.
But much of that is going to depend on how well Villeneuve handles his first season of professional hockey. He is just 20-years old and the Leafs have players like Victor Mete, Jordie Benn, Carl Dahlstrom, Mac Hollowell as options first, not to mention European prospects Mikko Kokkonen and Topi Niemela.
But unlike the last two prespects mentioned, Villeneuve doesn’t need to get acclimated to North American ice dimensions and that might give him a bit of a leg up.
Villeneuve is staying in Toronto during the offseason to get better acclimated with his new surroundings while making the most of the facilities that the club has to offer.
During Leafs development camp, special assistant to the GM Jason Spezza talked to group of prospects about the common thread he sees from players who successfully make the jump to the NHL.
He talked about the extra time and dedication each player made on and off the ice as the common theme, something that has stuck with Villeneuve.
“It’s just so important to get faster and stronger,” he said.
A right-shot defenseman that can grow with the club, Villeneuve is a prospect to keep an eye on in 2022-23.