Welcome back to the Master Card Centre of Excellence!
I was pleased to be back watching anything affiliated with the Maple Leafs. I was crushed after Game 7, but it all felt okay being back at the rink on this extremely hot summer day in Toronto.
First person I ran into was Henny. Such a nice guy, he immediately came over and asked how things are going before breaking into a nice Leafs discussion. Apparently Leafs TV has compiled some great Prospect information and video that will be out soon, so keep your eyes open for it. I need to do my research on media personalities, there is a really nice guy who always helps me out with information but I don’t know his name. Thanks for the wi-fi password 😉
Onto the “game.” Blue vs White moving left to right on the radio dial (always wanted to say that and I was inspired by Joe Bowen being at scrimmage today). Fairly methodical two periods of play with the guys obviously not wanting to be the one who “screwed up” and cost his team the game.
First goal (and only goal) was scored by Fabrice Herzog. He played on a line with Joshua Leivo, who was clearly the best Forward on the ice today. Team Blue took the final lead of the game at 1-0.
The second period had a bit more intensity as the hits were noticeably harder and with more power to them. Each time David Broll steps on the ice, people are aware and he makes noise. Broll caught Granberg attempting to clear the puck and knocked him on his posterior during the second period of play. Having said that, not only can he hit but he made a solid saucer pass to an area of the ice where his line mate skated directly to it for an excellent scoring opportunity. Rielly and Grannberg made an excellent pairing on the blue Line for their team and I could see them one day in the future wearing the Blue and White side by side.
Sorry there isn’t really much more detail to include in this synopsis other than the standouts for todays scrimmage. They were (in order) Leivo, Granberg, Rielly, Broll. Honorable mentions go to Stuart Percy, Victor Loov, Dominic Toninato and finally Frederick Gauthier.
I was slightly disappointed in my personal favourite Tyler Biggs. He didn’t do anything wrong, but I just expected him to make more of an impact (no pun intended). Eric Knodel looked alright but seemed a bit slow to make his turns and Leivo exploited him by going wide on a few occasions.
Last thought for today’s prospect scrimmage…..these kids are BIG. I cannot believe the size of some of these beasts the Leafs have drafted.
That’s it for today…..see you all back at the rink at 10am tomorrow morning.
