Two seasons ago, the Leafs saw a surprising influx of rookies and other younger players led by the Big Three. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner had their debuts, and others that had little tastes in the NHL before like William Nylander, Connor Brown, Connor Carrick and Zach Hyman stuck through the whole year.
Then, last season, we saw the permanent arrival of Kasperi Kapanen and the debuts of Travis Dermott and Andreas Johnsson. We also saw a taste of the likes of Andreas Borgman, Calle Rosen, and even Justin Holl — guys who aren’t exactly teenage rookies, but younger than the likes of Roman Polak.