the NCAA
Johnny Misley is the Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations for Hockey Canada, and plays a key role in enhancing hockey in Canada across various levels: from the grassroots programmes all the way up to the National teams. It was very kind of Johnny to take a few minutes to discuss the programme’s aspirations in the upcoming World Junior Championship in Regina as well as the Men’s Olympic hockey tournament in Vancouver. [more…]
Friday night saw a host of impressive performances from a few Maple Leaf prospects; among them is QMJHL power forward Joel Champagne of the PEI Rockets who turned in a ridiculous 7 point performance. Nazem Kadri also chipped a pretty shorthanded goal and 2 assists for London. Meanwhile, Phillipe Paradis was held scoreless in his debut performance as a Leaf prospect. [more…]
Update: Damien Cox is reporting that Burke is currently working on at least two possible trades.
- The Toronto Sun's got a very interesting quote [more…]
Big thank you to Mark Seidel, Chief Scout of North American Central Scouting and contributor to The Hockey News, for taking the time to chat about the upcoming 2010 NHL Entry Draft. His agency's latest rankings can be seen here on THN. This time around, Leaf fans won't be having the opportunity of watching one of the draft's elite youngsters, such as projected top pick Tyler Seguin or Taylor Hall, fall into their lap. But nonetheless, the draft is always a hot topic in the hockey world.
The Maple Leafs continued their shaping of the NHL roster with another four cuts on Sunday. Top prospect Nazem Kadri will be going back to the OHL's London Knights, Jonas Frogren and Christian Hanson will report to the Toronto Marlies, and Andy Rogers has been released. By my count, that leaves 30 players left (including Kessel who will be placed on the long-term injured reserve), meaning there will be another 6 cuts in the near future. [more…]
I won't go into a lot of detail about the game itself, as Alec covered that quite well.
The news, for the most part, was good.  Many of the Leafs' prospects were impressive in their bids to earn a spot on the big club and/or the Marlies.  The following is a quick summation of some of the things that stood out to me from my vantage point at the game.
Maple Leaf prospect Matt Frattin is drawing plenty of headlines this summer... but unfortunately, it's for the wrong reasons. For the second time this summer, the University of North Dakota forward was arrested by local police, and this latest incident resulted in Frattin's dismissal from the school's men's hockey program. [more…]
Since taking over the reigns of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brian Burke identified several glaring weaknesses in his team. In several press conferences, he clearly and succinctly described these weaknesses and his intention and plans to amend his product. Being one of the more active General Managers, commencing with the NCAA free agent period right through til today, Mr Burke has lived up to the expectations most Leaf fans would have. Commencing with the signings of Tyler Bozak and Christian Hanson, followed up with deadline trades to acquire draft picks, drafting London Knights sensation Nazim Kadri, signing key UFA's specifically addressing his teams needs and the signing of top European goalie Jonas Gustuvvson led to renewed optimism amongst Leaf supporters - not of an imminent Stanley Cup victory, but, rather of a renewed direction and focus, once again bringing hope of a contending Leafs team being iced in the not too distant future.
Thanks a lot to Mr. Morrison for taking the time out of a busy schedule to answer a few questions.
[more…]
Rewind a year to Ottawa, when interim GM Cliff Fletcher was preparing to make his last great splash. Trading up to secure hard hitting blueliner Luke Schenn, a player unto which the Leafs hoped to bank their revival, set in motion a summer of upheaval paving the way for Brian Burke to step in mid-season. For many the draft of 2008 marked an era of realization, that change was required and perhaps finally the Leafs were going to commit to a full scale rebuild based on the youth model in Pittsburgh.
According to TSN, the Maple Leafs continued their signing spree on Tuesday morning, inking University of Vermont foward Viktor Stalberg to a two-year entry level contract. The 23-year old powerforward could potentially join the Toronto Marlies as early as tomorrow night as they embark on their playoff quest. [more…]
