Team: Josh Leivo
image courtesy of the Toronto Star

Fantasy Summary

Scoring and power-forward upside in search of a good fit


Observations

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December 2018 – With the return of William Nylander, the Leafs were forced to move out a body and a contract. The casualty ended up being Josh Leivo. The 25-year-old power forward has played well for the Leafs this season, seeing around 10 minutes a night from the bottom six, while getting sniffs as the net-front presence on the second power play. The Leafs’ brass made a promise to Leivo in the offseason when they extended him that if his spot on the roster came into jeopardy, that they would move him to a situation that would facilitate a larger role. They made good on that. In Vancouver, he should be given an opportunity to play more minutes and up the depth chart. Bo Horvat has had a revolving door of wingers this season, so I expect Leivo to get a look next to him sooner or later. Those two could have some promise as they both play a heavy, but skilled game. the former third-round pick should slide into the now departed, Brendan Leipsic’s spot on Canucks’ second power-play unit.  Cam Robinson
 
November 2018 – Declaring that Leivo made the Leafs out of camp would not have been news, given his press box status for the last couple of years. But now up to 13 games played (close to the 16 total he saw in 2017-18), it looks like he may be a real part of the Leafs lineup. He uses his big body to drive play to the net and make himself noticeable among a group of smaller forwards and is putting up enough hits to be relevant in deep multi-cat leagues. Hayden Soboleski
 
 
 
January, 2018, Leivo is a regular in the Leafs press box getting into the occasional game. Leivo is an NHL player but the Leafs are just to stacked with top nine players that Lievo often gets 4th line and power play time when he is in the lineup. With his limited ice time Leivo has just one goal and two assists in ten games.  Leivo is not waiver exempt so the Leafs will not be sending him to the Marlies as he would not likely clear waivers. He has good offensive skills and will be in solid contention for a full time spot next year or this year if the Leafs run into injury problems. Brian Harling
 

October 2017 – Questions raised this training camp about where exactly Leivo stood for a job in Leaf camp with no roles opened up in the off season, the team health and young dynamo Kasperi Kapanen seeking NHL employment on a wing. Coach, Mike Babcock issued a statement late in camp, “I think he is a full-time NHLer” and “He needs to take someone else’s job, it’s just simple” showing he and the organization feel he is a very meaningful depth piece they need to keep and will wait to utilize. Last campaign, after being injured in cam and not able to win a job, he sat healthy most of the year, finally appearing in 13 games later and compiling 10 points. That my friends would be excellent production from 95% of players in fantasy hockey circles, we’d only wish we could pro rate those stats (63 points) over 82 games. Now let’s temper expectations, he is not a 60-point player, but he could be a consistent 30-50 point producer in a top-9 role while adding jam with peripheral stats for us, but he needs to appear to gain traction as a useful commodity. Currently his role in the fantasy world is similar to the NHL, depth waiting to contribute. But do not overlook his value for lesser quality players that are getting dressed. Jason Banks

 

January 2017 – It’s not a good season to be a Maple Leaf roster extra, as Leivo has only dressed in a pair of games while being a healthy scratch 16 times. Leivo has talent and management knows they have an asset which is why they have no interest in waiving him. Had he not been injured early in camp, he could have easily found himself slotted in where Zach Hyman ended up and being a fruitful, cheap winger for fantasy players. Something will have to give soon, as playing as little as he has in what should be an exciting rookie campaign is absolutely criminal for all the hard work Josh has put in the past three years. He is best utilized alongside an exciting, talented forward as the size and sand paper. Jason Banks

 

November 2015 – Leivo is currently enjoying his most productive season in pro hockey, that mirrors his nearly point per game OHL career. He is continuing to work on his complete game, while playing with high quality linemates awaiting his next recall. Leivo is pretty much NHL capable and has upside, just needs the opening on the roster to get ice. Josh already has three points in 16 NHL contests, and is just looking lock down a role as he is becoming too seasoned to not see the next level. Depending on how high up the lineup he plays, his production could be above average and is used to playing with creative, playmakers while being the size on a line. Coach Babcock’s theory of a ‘hardhat’ player on every unit could prove to finally be Leivo’s ticket in the second half of the season. Jason Banks

 

October 2014 – After another strong training camp and pre-season, Leivo actually made the opening roster as an extra. Unfortunately for the large winger, the Leafs claimed Richard Panik off waivers from Tampa Bay, the latter provides more talent and experience than Leivo has and plays a very similar game. Leivo will continue to perfect his power forward game as he awaits injuries for recall opportunities. He is an interesting player to own for very deep leagues as there is potential for him to become a productive top 9 forward within a couple years, but his ceiling is largely limited by role and surroundings. Jason Banks

 

November 2013 – Leivo had a huge camp for the Maple Leafs and was the first guy called up when they needed a forward. Despite being placed on a line with a couple of blue-collar, lunchbox types more often than not, he still showed creativity and good work ethic. He’ll be in the NHL sooner rather than later, and I would expect an improvement offensively similar to Matt Stajan’s slow, steady improvement. Dobber

 

September 2013 – Leivo once again joined the Marlies late last season for a handful of games recording a pair of assists and showing excellent drive and a solid mental game and earned a trio of playoff games.  He has a solid frame for the pro game at 20 years old that will only get stronger and more conditioned over the next couple seasons. It is expected that he will break camp with the AHL Marlies, as his former junior coach and GM is now the head coach of the ‘baby Leafs’. His growth will be very interesting to monitor as he could move up the depth chart rather quickly and become a lucrative winger to hold in roto-based fantasy leagues. Jason Banks

 

March 2013 – The Toronto Maple Leafs signed 2011 3rd round selection, Josh Leivo, to a 3-year entry level contract on March 4th. Leivo was considered a risky selection at the time of the draft but the big power forward has shown great promise this season playing for Sudbury and now Kitchener in the Ontario Hockey League. He is a skilled forward with great puck protection skills and smart puck handling skills. Leivo’s production has slowed recently (one point in the last six games) but he is playing an important two-way role and showing good intangibles on a contending Kitchener Rangers team. Brendan Ross

 

January 2013 – The Sudbury Wolves traded their scoring leader, Josh Leivo, to the Kitchener Rangers just prior to the OHL Trade Deadline. Leivo (35GP-20G-26A-46P) had a strong debut with one goal and two points in his Rangers debut, playing alongside Oilers’ prospect Tobias Rieder and Penguins’ prospect Matia Marcantuoni. Leivo provides the Rangers with the size and scoring touch that the team lacked in the first half and makes this team a legit contender. Leivo has been one of the Maple Leafs’ best developing players over the past calendar year and plays a very attractive puck possession game. Brendan Ross

 

October 2012 – Josh Leivo was named to the 2012 Subway Super Series Team OHL Roster slated to compete in a six-game series versus the Russian National Junior Team in November. Brendan Ross

 

October 2012 – Josh Leivo was named the Ontario Hockey League’s Player of the Week after potting six goals and recording a plus-5 rating in three week three road games. Brendan Ross

 

September 2012 – Josh Leivo is a big powerful winger that excels in the puck possession game especially along the boards. A bit of a late bloomer, Josh Leivo did not find his groove until the playoffs of 2011 when he exploded for 13 points in eight post-season games for Sudbury. Following his draft season, Leivo made the Toronto Maple Leafs look good drafting him in the third round (most felt it was a surprise) when he tore up the gamesheet notching 31 goals and 72 points in his sophomore season. Leivo has a scoring touch and shows good finishing touches around the net. Brendan Ross

Attributes
Fantasy Upside 7.0
NHL Certainty 10.0
Country CAN
Position RW
Roster Type NHL
Shoot/Glove Right
Date of Birth May 26, 1993
Height 6‘2”
Weight 192 lbs
Drafted 2011 Round 3; Overall: 86

Stats

 Season Team League GP G A TP PIM      Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 
 2008-2009 Barrie Colts U16 AAAETAHL U1671 31 3566 65|        
  Barrie Colts U16 AAAOHL Cup4 1 12 0|        
 2009-2010 Barrie Colts U18 AAAETAHL U1852 21 4162 59|        
 2010-2011 Sudbury WolvesOHL64 13 1730 37|Playoffs8 6 713
 2011-2012 Sudbury WolvesOHL66 32 4173 61|Playoffs4 2 13
  Toronto MarliesAHL1 0 00 0|        
 2012-2013 Sudbury WolvesJCWC6 6 511 2|        
  Sudbury WolvesOHL34 19 2544 34|        
  OHL All-StarsJr Super Series2 0 00 0|        
  Kitchener RangersOHL29 10 1929 18|Playoffs10 3 912
  Toronto MarliesAHL4 0 22 2|Playoffs3 0 11
 2013-2014 Toronto Maple LeafsNHL7 1 12 0|        
  Toronto MarliesAHL59 23 1942 27|Playoffs12 3 58
 2014-2015 Toronto Maple LeafsNHL9 1 01 4|        
  Toronto MarliesAHL51 11 2132 44|Playoffs5 1 56
 2015-2016 Toronto Maple LeafsNHL12 5 05 6|        
  Toronto MarliesAHL51 17 3148 14|Playoffs15 4 812 12 
 2016-2017 Toronto Maple LeafsNHL13 2 810 4|        
  Toronto MarliesAHL5 0 00 6|        
 2017-2018 Toronto Maple LeafsNHL16 1 34 6|        
 2018-2019 Toronto Maple LeafsNHL27 4 26 7|        
  Vancouver CanucksNHL49 10 818 25|        
 2019-2020 Vancouver CanucksNHL36 7 1219 4|        
 2020-2021 Calgary FlamesNHL38 6 39 10|        
 2021-2022 Carolina HurricanesNHL7 1 23 2|        
  Chicago WolvesAHL54 22 2446 38|Playoffs18 15 1429 20 
 2022-2023 St. Louis BluesNHL51 4 1216 25|        
  Springfield ThunderbirdsAHL2 3 14 0|        
 2023-2024 Salavat Yulaev UfaKHL40 15 2338 14|Playoffs6 4 59
 2024-2025 Salavat Yulaev UfaKHL22 12 1123 10|        

Highlights