Maple Leafs prospect Veeti Miettinen to turn pro, but not with Toronto

When Kyle Dubas was General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he developed a reputation for being a master drafter. Unfortunately, despite that reputation very few players from the Dubas Era have transitioned to successful roles with the team. It seems once again another prospect will turn pro, but not for the Leafs.

In 2020 Dubas selected Veeti Miettinen in the 6th round of the NHL draft. The young forward fit Kyle Dubas style perfectly, a small under sized forward who stood at 5'8 and only weighing 160 lbs, but had a large amount of skill.

Miettinen decided to play his post draft hockey at St. Cloud State where he scored 53 goals and 65 assists over 4 seasons. But what fans found most impressive or troubling depending on how you look at it, Miettinen didn't put up a single penalty minute during his time in College.




Yesterday Miettinen took to his Instagram to share his intentions to turn pro.



Miettinen as a College Drafter immediately becomes eligible to sign with the Leafs, but it doesn't appear that's going to come to fruition. With Brad Treliving now at the helm, the Maple Leafs now value much different things.



On August 15th Miettinen will have an option to sign wherever he wants, but it's nice to see the Leafs now understanding that size does matter and not every undersized forward will work out.