2020 NHL Season: Grading the Toronto Maple Leafs’ right wingers at season pause
By Simon Vacca
Ilya Mikheyev
Games Played: 39
Goals: 8
Assists: 15
Points: 23
Ilya Mikheyev quickly became a fan favorite in Toronto — this in spite of playing just under 40 games at the NHL level.
Formerly a professional in the KHL, the 25-year-old forward was often shifted throughout the Maple Leafs’ lineup — playing, at times, on the wing of John Tavares and connecting, at others, with the likes of Alexander Kerfoot and Auston Matthews.
What was particularly impressive about Mikheyev’s debut season was his relative ability to score on a consistent basis. He amassed eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points in 39 matchups before being suffering a laceration on his wrist in a Dec. 27 game against the New Jersey Devils.
The right winger wowed the Maple Leafs faithful with his dazzling speed, crafty hands, above average vision, timely scoring touch and consistent two-way play. The seeming ease with which he transitioned to NHL hockey was nothing short of a joy to watch and his capacity for championing surprisingly high-end cycles was an underrated point of consistency. As such, I get the sense that many of the club’s fans yearn for No. 65 to sign an extension at some point in the not so distant future.
While there were some periods in which Mikheyev’s scoring tailed off — as well as a tendency for the forward to float around the ice — I see no reason to sell the Russian’s first NHL campaign short. His signing with the Maple Leafs remains one of Dubas’ best accomplishments to date — the ramifications of which should benefit the organization in the long run.
Grade: A