Toronto Marlies
Midway through the month of July, I had the privilege of chatting with Dave Poulin, Vice President of Hockey Operations with the Toronto Maple Leafs, for an article appearing in Maple Leafs Annual.
Having a professional background in publishing, I was not the least surprised that limitations on available space, plus design and layout constraints, resulted in the necessity to crop certain parts of the interview.
With the Annual due to hit stores next week, I thought I'd share a few of the "lost excerpts" from the cutting room floor in which Poulin offers his thoughts on the progress of the Toronto Marlies, as well as the emergence of the NCAA as a growing prospect pipeline.
Think of it as the equivalent of a "DVD extra" to your copy of MLA.
It was no less than two months ago that I was pondering this same question, that of captaincy, and examining the same factors. Thinking of all the tangibles – speed, talent and scoring – along with attributes that are harder to judge – the ability to command the respect of the team, lead with strength of character and handle the Toronto media through success and failure. The lone difference is that last time, it was the Leafs.
Whitby born, Ryan Hamilton has signed a 1-year, 2-way deal worth $500k (at NHL level) with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hamilton, who came to the Leafs organization in a trade with the NHL Wild (AHL Aeros) during the 08/09 season, was scheduled to test the free agent market if unable to resign with Toronto.
Though he finished the season leading the team in goals and among the top-five in assists, Hamilton's contribution to the Toronto AHL club is far deeper than what can be recorded on score card. [more…]
JESSE BLACKER (#21) - D
Date of Birth: April 19, 1991
Hometown: Toronto, ON
Height: 6'2" | Weight: 190lbs | Shoots: Right
Drafted: Toronto's 3rd Choice, 58th Overall, in 2009
Price Tag: AHL $67,500Â | NHL $640,000
Signed Through: 2013
Career Notes:
- Won the Memorial Cup with the Windsor Spitfires in 2009
- Lead all Owen Sound defensemen during 09/10 in goals (6), assists (24) and points (30)
- Made his AHL debut on March 20th 2010 vs. Hamilton
- Registered one assist and a plus-two rating in first AHL appearance
In the second installment of the Prospect Season In Review, we will take a look at a couple of Maple Leafs prospects who have proven a positive product of the John Ferguson Jr / Cliff Fletcher draft era.
Profiles in this segment include German DEL winger Jerome Flaake and defender Korbinian Holzer, as well as a prospect closer to home: Windsor Spitfires winger Dale Mitchell.
After stockpiling up on picks during the past couple drafts as well as cornering the European and college free agent markets, the Maple Leafs' farm system is beginning to reap the rewards of unprecedented depth and talent. In the first installment of our MLHS "Prospect Season in Review" series, I'll be taking a look at three of the team's top prospects: Kenny Ryan, James Reimer, and Joel Champagne. [more…]
The Leafs continued their offseason stockpiling of goaltenders today, announcing that they have signed College free agent Ben Scrivens to a one year contract.
Scrivens compiled an impressive 21-9-4 record with Cornell last year, with a .934 save percentage. Â He was also a top ten Hobey Baker finalist.
According to TSN, It is expected that Scrivens will challenge for playing time on the Toronto Marlies.
More after the jump.
[more…]
Is it just me, or has the hockey season passed us by far quicker than usual? It seems like I just finished making arrangements for the home opener against Hamilton (which, might I add was a win) and here I am already looking back at the season that was.
It was an absolute blur of call-ups and injuries. The bright young stars that comprised the frat-pack line (Tyler Bozak, Christian Hanson and Viktor Stalberg) all found their way up to the Leafs. Carl Gunnarsson, the player I was most keen on going into the season, left the Marlies early on for the big club and never looked back. [more…]
I really had so many options with this title. With all the Anaheim prospects on Toronto, I thought of calling it “Duck, Duck, Duck, Moose!†With many players returning from injury, I pondered using “I’ve got 99 Problems, but a Stitch Ain’t One.†But really, being five points out with five games remaining, the Marlies truly are on a wild Moose chase.
As it stands now, the Marlies will have to win all of their final five games to have a hope of extending the season past April 12th. The two most important of these will need to come this weekend as Toronto faces Manitoba, the current occupant of the 4th and final spot. [more…]
#NHLAnagrams have been a big thing on twitter over the past week, and what a riot we've had. Some of the creations have been strictly comical (Daniel Alfredsson = An Idle Ass Fondler), some have been ridiculous (Brian Burke = Urban Biker) and others have fit so perfectly, you would think that it was by some magical force that their name and anagram had come to be (Zdeno Chara = A Hazard Cone, Vesa Toskala = aka Lost).
With the Toronto Marlies seven points back with 12 games to go, I'm torn as to my thoughts of the post-season and based on the Marlies' anagram, Realism Torn Too. [more…]
Naz Tracker. Kadri Nation. Kaptain Kadri...
... Kadri, Kadri, Kadri!
Who would have guessed that with all the attention surrounding the Leafs 2009 1st round pick, it would actually be the Toronto kid selected in the 2nd round that would be first to string some games together on a pro club. Though not officially announced, Jesse Blacker has left the OHL and joined the Toronto Marlies for the remainder of the season.
Alec's Note: Please welcome Marlies writer Clayton Hansler, the newest member of the MLHS blogging team. Clayton has contributed freelance work to Leafs TV and is in regular contact with the Marlies club and personnel. We're excited to have him. Welcome, Clatyon!
The Ducks play spoiler to the blue and white... kind of. As the Marlies head down the stretch and zero in on the number four spot in the North West, Anaheim pulls a key contributor up to the big club. As if it's not already hard enough watching talent on the baby buds knowing they'll never develop into a Leaf.
