Rookie camp invitees Michael Joly (F – Rimouski), Lucas Peressini (G – Kingston), Nikolas Brouillard (D – Quebec) and Aiden Jamieson (D – London) will be joining the big club camp later this week. All would be potential candidates for AHL deals, or – less likely – entry-level contracts.
Brendan Ross, of McKeen’s Hockey and TheScout.ca, covered the rookie tournament for MLHS and showered some praise on Joly and Brouillard:
Simply put, Michael Joly just finds a way to make an impact every shift. He’s not big or overly strong, but he’s ultra-competitive with fairly crafty hands. He works equally as hard on both sides of the puck and plays with a never-die attitude. His versatility would certainly be an asset to Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe.
Last and certainly not least, QMJHL All-Star defender Nikolas Brouillard was easiily the most dominant player for the Leafs youngsters. Despite scoring a league-leading 17 goals and 57 points as a QMJHL defenseman, Brouillard remained undrafted and accepted the Leafs invitation to the showcase tournament and Toronto might be glad they did. After tallying two goals and an assist in their loss to Montreal, Brouillard proved that he could be a valuable free agent signing. He’s a slick puck-rushing defender capable of controlling the pace from the blue line. On the rush, Brouillard is a heads up defender who gains the offensive line with ease. Playing alongside second rounder Travis Dermott, Brouillard established himself as a threat on the powerplay with his seeing eye shot. The 20-year-old also dropped the gloves in the opening minute of the second period with burly defender Brett Lernout, but that was one aspect of his game that isn’t worth talking about as the Habs defender definitely got the upper hand.
Brouillard went down injured in last night’s game versus the Penguins rookies, but his invite to camp suggests the injury isn’t going to keep him from continuing his audition.
Outside of seventh round pick in 2015 Nikita Korostelev (returning to the Sting) and 2014 fourth rounder JJ Piccinich (now with the Knights, didn’t participate in the tournament), those returning to their junior teams today were also invitees, but there appears to be a mistake in the press release on the Leafs website (posted below): 21-year-old defenceman Brendan Miller, a former North Bay Battalion, isn’t eligible to return to his junior team and was signed to an AHL deal this offseason. He’ll either be with the Marlies or the Solar Bears.
Among those invitees returning to junior, defenceman Cameron Lizotte turned some heads with courageous physical play for a kid who barely made the cut off for 2015 draft eligibility. He only turned 18 three weeks ago, and will be a name to keep an eye on depending on how his 2015-16 season goes in Peterborough. He was ranked 99th among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting 2015 rankings, up from his midterm ranking of 171st.
Players joining the team as main camp opens on Sept. 17 in Toronto include forwards Martins Dzierkals, T.J. Foster, Frederik Gauthier, Michael Joly, Kasperi Kapanen, Mitchell Marner, William Nylander, Jack Rodewald, Nikolai Skladnichenko, Nikita Soshnikov, Dmytro Timashov, Brady Vail and Carter Verhaeghe; defencemen Nikolas Brouillard, Travis Dermott, Stephen Desrocher, Cody Donaghey, Matt Finn, Aiden Jaimeson, Andrew Nielsen and Rinat Valiev, and goaltender Lucas Peressini.
Players who have been released to return to their junior teams include forwards Bradley Latour, Scott Eansor, Nikita Korostelev and JJ Piccinich, defencemen Cameron Lizotte and Brenden Miller, and goaltender Justin Nichols.
Among those coming to main camp on AHL deals are Brady Vail, Nikolai Skladnichenko, T.J. Foster, and Jack Rodewald.
Monday Links:
- Brendan Ross: Rookie Tournament Game #3 Recap: Maple Leafs 6 vs. Penguins 2 (MLHS)
Garret Sparks wasn’t named one of the games three stars (those went to…Mitch Marner [3rd], Brady Vail [2nd] and Michael Joly [1st]) but he was deserving of one.
I - Kevin McGran: Frederik Gauthier carving out role with Maple Leafs (Toronto Star)
“He’s good on faceoffs, he’s a big body in front of the net screening the goalie,” said Hunter. “We want to see him in better shape, get a little quicker, continue winning faceoffs. Do all the little things that all the coaches love from him.”
I - Scott Lewis: Maple Leafs’ Bernier unveils new goalie mask (Sportsnet)
The mask, courtesy of David Gunnarsson, is rather simple in its design, but Bernier’s signature lion image remains on the top.
I - Stephen Whyno: Leafs prospect Kasperi Kapanen ready to endure comparisons to father and Phil Kessel (National Post)
“His speed’s deadly,” Marner said. “He’s a very offensive player (and) he’s great with the puck.”
I - Lance Hornby: Good showing for rookie Leafs (Toronto Sun)
“Mitch was getting more stuff done as the game went on, but this was a learning curve for him. It’s different than junior, you’ve got men out there, guys who finish checks on every shift. He has to learn to give and go and not do it all by himself.”
