Signings (Prospect)
Exciting game sevens be damned, Brian Burke has shown an active hand in the undrafted free agent market once again, inking Swedish tender Mark Owuya to a two-year contract. The 21 year-old has been moving steadily through the Djurgarden system, beginning with their U18 team in 2005-2006. Owuya quickly moved onto the U20 incarnation of the Djurgarden franchise and even made his first appearance in the Swedish Elite League early in 2008. Yet the 6' 2'', 198 lbs netminder bounced around various teams on a loan basis before entering this campaign's preseason competing with Stefan Ridderwall for the number one slot.
According to the Swedish news outlet Aftonbladet, the Maple Leafs are looking to add once again to their very deep pool of goaltending prospects. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the San Jose Sharks are reportedly the two front runners for the services of Mark Owuya, a young standout netminder out of the Swedish Eliteserien. Playing as a 21 year old rookie, Owuya stole the starting job for the Djugarden hockey club and went on to post a 2.18 GAA and .927 SV%, good for third and first overall respectively among qualifying goaltenders this past season. For comparison's sake, Jonas Gustavsson recorded a 1.97 GAA and .932 SV% during his last year in the Eliteserien, albeit at 24 years of age. [more…]
