Which Young Leaf Will Thrive This Season?

With the likes of Kadri, Bozak, Caputi, Hanson, Schenn, Gustavsson returning, what does the future hold? Looking beyond the scope of the coming season, Brian Burke has often reminded the Leaf Nation that he intends on bringing a Cup contender to Toronto, not just to get into the playoff party and come out empty-handed.

Great teams must have their bright young talent who grow and excel during the season to help their team achieve well, and preferably overachieve.

Burkie has brought together a solid group of young players that are fighting for position to stay with the Toronto Maple Leafs for a full season. With names like Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf aside, we look at several players bound to have a good season...

C Nazem Kadri, 19, made his Leafs debut Feb. 8 vs San Jose Sharks. He logged over 17 minutes of ice-time, and registered no shots, -1 rating. He scored 93 points in 56 games with OHL London Knights in 2009-2010. Also, he scored eight points in six games with U20 World Juniors Team Canada in 2010.

C Tyler Bozak, 24, joined the Leafs from college and fared alright in the NHL as a rookie. He recorded 27 points in 37 games. Bozak finished his rookie campaign with nearly 19-20 minutes of ice-time each night. Pretty impressive to see him hold his own.

C Christian Hanson, 24, joined the Leafs at the same time as Bozak. He has struggled quite a bit adjusting to the professional game. Hanson played 31 games and scored just seven points as a 23-year-old rookie.

D Luke Schenn, 20, drafted in 2008 and played very decently as a rookie. He has learned his game from Tomas Kaberle and playing some minutes with Francois Beauchemin on some occasions last year. Luke scored 17 points and plus-two rating in 79 games last year. Look for all those numbers to improve.

G Jonas Gustavsson, 25, signed by Leafs last offseason, and played in 42 games in his NHL rookie year. Gustavsson showed signs of what he may become given some seasoning in the best league in the world. Yet, it is hard to judge when the team in front of him was porous. He should battle J-S. Gigguere for starts.

LW Luca Caputi, 21, traded from Pittsburgh to Toronto before the NHL trade deadline. Caputi has 28 games under his belt in the NHL, 19 with the Leafs. He scored six points in those 19 games. Look for the Toronto native to familiarize himself with his new teammates in his hometown. Not much of an adjustment there.

Let's hear from you. Who will have the Most Improved Season donning a Leafs jersey?

I feel Luke Schenn will be a major force...