William Villeneuve Is Just Waiting for His Chance in Toronto

William Villeneuve is one of those Maple Leafs prospects who can disappear from the conversation without actually going anywhere. He is still in the organization. He is still developing. And he is still likely to get his opportunity. The problem is that Toronto's blue line has become crowded, and Villeneuve's path to the NHL has gotten considerably narrower.

That's not necessarily a reflection of Villeneuve doing something wrong. It's just what happens when a team adds players.

In a short stint, Villeneuve showed he could probably handle NHL minutes.

Villeneuve played three NHL games last season, and from the outside, he didn't look overwhelmed. He didn't make the kind of glaring mistake that gets a young defenceman sent immediately back to the minors. He looked like a player who could probably handle NHL minutes if the Maple Leafs needed him.

The problem is that needing him is becoming the important part. Toronto has Morgan Rielly, Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev and Darren Raddysh ahead of him. Then there is Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Troy Stecher and Emil Andrae. Depending on how the coaching staff sorts everything out, Villeneuve could be eighth or ninth on the depth chart. And that's where things get interesting.

Things have changed in a year for Villeneuve.

A year ago, Villeneuve might have looked like one of the organization's more obvious next options. Now the Maple Leafs have added Andrae and brought Stecher back, and there is even more competition for those minutes. If Toronto isn't planning to carry eight defencemen, Villeneuve may begin the season with the Marlies again.

That doesn't mean his story is over. Actually, this is where being a professional hockey player gets a little strange. A player can be very close to the NHL and still be very far away from getting into the lineup. Villeneuve probably doesn't need to convince the Maple Leafs that he can play hockey. He needs to convince them that, when something goes wrong, he is the person they trust to step into the lineup.

And something will go wrong. Defencemen get hurt. Veterans need nights off. Schedules get heavy. Someone has a bad stretch. Suddenly the eighth defenceman becomes the seventh, and the seventh becomes the sixth.

Villeneuve will probably get another chance this season.

The difficult part is that the window may not stay open forever. The Maple Leafs have younger defencemen coming, including Ben Danford, and every new prospect creates another player Villeneuve has to stay ahead of.

So I wouldn't write Villeneuve off at all. But I also wouldn't pretend he's sitting on the doorstep of the NHL. Right now, he looks more like insurance than a plan. His job is to keep playing well, stay healthy and be ready when the inevitable injury arrives.

Then he gets his chance to change the depth chart.