Advertisement

Saturday, December 19, 2015.

It’s a date that will be forever etched in the memory of Byron Froese.

With less than three minutes to play in a game against the L.A Kings, Brad Boyes is driving hard to the net from the left wing. The game is dead as a contest, with the Leafs up 4-0, but Byron Froese doesn’t take a shift off. He earns just desserts for following up the play, banging home the rebound for his first NHL goal.

Rewind a year and Froese was tearing up the ECHL for the Cincinnati Cyclones, looking for a second chance in the higher echelons of hockey.

Froese was selected in the fourth round of the 2009 draft, 119th overall by Chicago, but would never come close to featuring for the Blackhawks during his time with the organization.

Joining their AHL affiliate in 2011, Froese played 57 times for the Rockford IceHogs (4G/10A), but that’s about as good as it would get for the then-rookie.

Froese’s second season was the year of the NHL lockout, which meant a lack of opportunities for players such as himself, with Chicago sending down as many players to Rockford as they could. The luck only got worse for Froese as he broke his wrist in a season where he made just nine AHL starts.

Looked upon as a defensive forward, Froese was limited to bottom six minutes in what turned out to be his last season with the Chicago organization, managing just five assists in 28 appearances for Rockford in 2013-14.

It may have been a blessing in disguise: In the ECHL, Froese was receiving better opportunities to showcase his talent. Having put up 33 points in 38 games for Toledo the year before, Froese bagged 21 points in 28 games for Cincinnati, who at the time were coached by future Marlies assistant coach Ben Simon. Finishing the season with the Cyclones, Froese was an offensive juggernaut (23GP-8G-17A-25PTS) during a playoff run that saw his team fall just short in the Kelly Cup final.

Unsurprisingly, Cincinnati signed him for the 2014-15 season, where Froese picked up where he left off with 24 points in 17 games. The San Antonio Rampage took notice and brought him in on loan for three games. It was the same old story for Froese, though, as he went pointless in that short stint and it was back to the ECHL once again.

Perhaps the second date to be etched in Byron Froese’s memory is Tuesday, December 9, 2014.

That was the day he signed a PTO with a Toronto Marlies team that was in dire need of an offensive boost. Perhaps it was just destiny playing out, as his former head coach Ben Simon was now with the Marlies, and Kyle Dubas, his former agent, was now the GM.

Making his Marlies debut alongside Josh Leivo and Spencer Abbott, Froese recorded a goal and an assist as Toronto defeated Utica, the eventual Calder Cup finalists, 4-3 in overtime.

He’d done enough by January 7, 2015 to earn himself an AHL contract, and proceeded to put up six points in the next seven games. Although his production remained a little streaky, predominately scoring in batches, Toronto management had seen enough to tie him up with an AHL contract for the 2015-16 season.

With his immediate future secured for the first time since signing an ELC contract in Chicago, Froese celebrated his new deal with a pair of crucial goals in a home game against Oklahoma City Barons. With Toronto trailing 2-1 heading into the third period, he tallied at the five-minute mark to tie things up, and struck the game winner with under four to play.

Down the final stretch of the season, Froese found himself on a line with Nylander and Frattin — a far cry from his linemates during his Rockford days — and he responded with 18 points through the final 14 games of the regular season. He was a huge part of Toronto’s late playoff push but still seemed to fly under the radar when the plaudits were being handed out.

Entering the playoffs on the back of a five-game point streak, the Marlies were counting on him to produce and once again he responded in game one against Grand Rapids. Fighting like a man possessed in front of the net, he beat his opponent to the loose puck and struck the go-ahead goal with four seconds remaining in the second period — a momentum changer, as it worked out.

In game two, Froese yet again excelled with a three-point night. His two power play assists accounted for the opening and game winning goals.

A total of 42 points in 46 games put Froese third in Marlies scorers through the regular season, with 74% of his production coming at even strength. Earning the confidence of the coaches, he was also used on both special teams, leading the team with two shorthanded goals while finishing fourth on the team in powerplay points.

I was fortunate to speak with Byron towards the back end of last season, and the one word he used frequently was “opportunity” when talking about his success in Cincinnati and then Toronto.

The door to the NHL was partially opened on July 3, when the Toronto Maple Leafs signed him to a two-year, two-way deal.

Not making the Leafs roster out of camp, Froese would yet again have to work for his opportunity to take the next step up the ladder. Four games into the 2015-16 AHL season, Froese had scored three goals, including a crucial tying marker with under two minutes to play that enabled the Marlies to prevail over the Albany Devils in overtime.

Sometimes you deserve a little luck, and Tyler Bozak’s injury provided an opening on the Leafs roster for the Manitoba native. Recalled by the Leafs on October 23, Froese hasn’t looked back since, endearing himself to head coach Mike Babcock. He’s playing two and a half minutes on the PK — third among Leaf forwards, and a role that only stands to expand with Nick Spaling out of the lineup for an extended period — and he’s second among Leaf centers with a 52.4% mark on the faceoff dot.

His goal last night was his fourth point in 25 games this season, and while it remains to be seen if he’ll be productive enough to carve out a long-term career for himself in the NHL, Froese — 24 years old for another three months — has made a habit of seizing on his opportunities.

He’s certainly proving a year can be a long time in hockey.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR