Saturday, March 9, 2024

Personal update

 I took a stroke this year and had heart surgery so if I don't post  here in 5 yrs expect the leafs to win the cup as I will be arranging that from up above:)


Go leafs Go!!!


Still alive and back at work. Jan 23 2026


Leafs fans

 We leaf fans suffer much following  a good but very flawed team.  Players are bigger now then ever so in the draft if new GM Brad traveling chooses a 6'3 player  instead of the smallish players Dubas liked to draft for our leafs  then we will have turned a corner for leafs nations.  Marner Nylander Mathews  are slight players not meant for the rough stuff. They need bigger players to push back against the teams like the bruins.  

The Bruins are the team we have to build our team to beat. 

Draft large players in the first rmd who can play . Drafting large player in rnd 4 + means nothing as odds are against those players making the nhl. If you draft small players in the first rnd  you are building a small team because 90% of those players make the nhl.

The only player I really liked this year is Simon Benoit. I hope the leafs extend him 4 yrx 1.1 a yr. Great defense and steady Play. Not much offense  but I like his dependability 


Friday, May 1, 2020

I am back  online with  a computer  for the first time in  8 years  except a brief post in 2017 on  my   android phone. I'll have to think about  what I want to  do here  on my leafs fans page as it has  been many years since I blogged  about our leafs.

More to come....

Paul

Monday, June 19, 2017

Leafs Top Prospect before the 2017 Draft

1.Kasperi Kapanen
2.Travis Dermott -
3.Josh Leivo -
4.Jeremy Bracco 
5.Brandon Leipsic -
6.Kerby Rychel 
7.Frederik Gauthier 
8. Adam Brooks 
9. Nikita Soshnikov -- 
10. Andreas Johnson -- 
11. Dmytro Timashov -- 
12. John Piccinich 
13. Andrew Nielsen -- 
14. Yegor Korshkov -- 
15. Antoine Bibeau
16. Rinat Valiev -- 
17. Carl Grundstrom -- 
19. Tobias Lindberg --
20. Joseph Woll -- 
21. JD Greenway -- 
22. Martins Dzierkals -- 
23. Jesper Lindgren --
24. Garret Sparkes
25.Keaton Middleton   




______________
On The Bubble:

Nicolas Mattinen
Vladimir Bobylev
Trevor Moore
Pierre Engvall
Dakota Joshua 
Nikolai Chebykin
Nikita Korostelev
Jack Walker
Justin Holl
Nolan Vesey
Tony Cameranesi 
Kasimir Kaskisuo
Dominic Toninato

Saturday, August 4, 2012

leafs top prospects 2012


Top Prospects 2012




1 Morgan Rielly
2 Korbinian Holzer
3 Jesse Blacker
4 Stuart Percy
5 Matt Frattin
6 Joe Colborne
7 Greg McKegg
8 Tyler Biggs
9 Brad Ross
10 Matt Finn
11 Jerry D'Amigo
12 Ben Scrivens
13 Victor Loov
14 Ben Scrivens
15 Leo Komarov
16 Josh Leivo
17 Carter Ashton
18 Jussi Rynnas
19 David Broll
20 Garret Sparks
21 Nicolas Deschamps
22 Sam Carrick
23 Petter Granberg
24 Spencer Abbot
25 Mark Owuya
26 Jamie Devane
27 Kenny Ryan
28 Dominic Toninato
29 Andrew MacWilliam
30 Tom Nilsson 


Graduate Nazem Kadri





Last Year
1.Nazem Kadri, C.
2 Jesse Blacker, D
3.Jerry D'Amigo, LW
4 Keith Aulie, D
5 Mikhail Stefanovich, RW
6. Brad Ross LW
7. Sondre Olden RW
8.Greg McKegg C
9.James Reimer, G
10 dmitri vorobiev D
11 tyler ruegsegger F
12.Kenny Ryan, RW
13. Dale Mitchell F
14.Juraj Mikus, D
15.Korbinian Holzer, D
16.Matt Frattin, RW
17.Jerome Flaake, LW
18.Phil Oreskovic, D
19 Brady Irwin F
20 Jussi Rynnäs G

leafs depth chart 2012


leafs depth chart

Left Wing
JOFFREY LUPUL
James van Riemsdyk
Nikolai Kulemin
Clarke MacArthur
Jay Rosehill
Brad Ross
Josh Leivo
Marcel Mueller
Nicolas Deschamps
Jerry D'Amigo
Jamie Devane
David Broll

Center
Tyler Bozak
Mikhail Grabovski
Tim Connolly
David Steckel
Matthew Lombardi
Nazem Kadri
Joe Colborn
Greg McKegg
Dominic Toninato
Spencer Abbot
Tony Cameranesi
Andrew Crescenzi
Sam Carrick
Ryan Rupert

Right Wing
Phil Kessel
Joey Crabb
Matt Frattin
Colby Armstrong
Matt Frattin
Carter Ashton
Tyler Biggs
Kenny Ryan
Connor Brown
Tyler Brenner
Greg Scott
Richard Greenop

Defense
Carl Gunnarsson
Dion Phaneuf
Jake Gardiner
John-Michael Liles
Morgan Rielly
Cody Franson
Mike Komisarek
Jesse Blacker
Stuart Percy
Matthew Finn
Petter Granberg
Max Everson
Korbinian Holzer
Viktor Loov
Andrew MacWilliam
Tom Nilsson
Dennis Robertson
Simon Gysbers
Eric Knodel



Goaltender
James Reimer
Jussi Rynnas
Garret Sparks
Mark Owuya
Ben Scrivens
Grant Rollheiser

where do you place this yrs draft choices into the franchise depth chart?

Leafs Draft Choices 2012


1st rnd 5 TOR Morgan Rielly D CAN 6' 0" 200 WHL Moose Jaw
2nd rnd 35 TOR Matthew Finn D CAN 6' 0" 199 OHL Guelph
5th rnd 126 TOR Dominic Toninato C USA 6' 0" 165 HIGH-MN Duluth East
6th rnd 156 TOR Connor Brown RW CAN 5' 10" 160 OHL Erie
6th rnd 157 TOR Ryan Rupert C CAN 5' 8" 186 OHL London
7th rnd 209 TOR Viktor Loov D SWE 6' 1" 187 SWEDEN-2 Sodertalje

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Keep:
Always keep 1st rnd draft choices till your on the cusp of a Stanely cup.
Never trade a 1st rnder when on the cusp of the playoffs.
Never blindly trade your first pick while in training camp.

Ahl for development
colbourne,
plus any chl, ncaa or euro prospects who are ready to graduate to the ahl.
lombardi - to see if he can get his game back
ashton, frattin, Gustavasson, scrivens

Trade
lupul, connolly, bozak, kadri- for the right price
Phaneuf


Salary dump
komisarek, dupuis, steckel,


Top 6
Kessel,Grabovski, macarthur,
kulemin - had a off season.
Needs 2 top 6 players if we trade lupol.

Bottom 6
crabb,brown , armstrong, hamilton, abbott

Top 6 D-man
liles , gardiner, schenn, gunnarson, franson
Needs a #1 Dman

Goalies
Reimer
Needs vet backup.

Top Prospects
Blacker-D, McKegg-C, Biggs-RW , Percy-D, ROSS-LW, Holzer-D, D'Amigo-LW,Leivo-LW

Be patient never veer off course. Don't try to leap frog team development stages like we did when we made the kessel trade.

The leafs will make millions no matter who owns them or manages them.

The master plan of running the leafs is off the track.

Because of on ice futility a generation of leaf fans have been lost over the past 7 yrs. If the short sighted powers that be keep on just trying to make the playoffs using band aid solutions so they can make 10-50 million extra dollars. The owners of the leafs have failed since former leaf owner steve stavros passed on. Hopefully Rogers and Bell can right the ship. The teacher fund ownership group failed miserably. Their trends and ways should be dropped before their isn't any leaf fans left to cheer once the good ship leaf is righted!

The team needs to draft and develop thier players. If that means another season or two of losing who cares if your drafting top 2 to 5 in a deep draft.

The leafs need a top draft stud forward who would lead the leafs on and off ice. Maybe we get him in this yrs draft or in next yrs draft.

Maybe in this yrs draft we can land center Grigorenko, Galchenyuk or lw Forsberg

If the nhl has a seaso nnext yr expect the leafs to have a great shot at 2013 1st overall Nathan Mackinnon who is pegged as the next one.

If the team drafts develops its core player we will be rewarded but if we jump the tanking stage again we will be punished with a lacking on ice product. If things won't change till the off ice revenue flow slows then we will bleed fans to other teams.

The higher ups don't seem to get sick of loosing on the ice but when the loose money off the ice expect changes.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Roster:

84 Mikhail Grabovski 16 Clarke MacArthur 41 Nikolai Kulemin
43 Nazem Kadri 12 Tim Connolly 81 Phil Kessel
19 Joffrey Lupul 42 Tyler Bozak 39 Matt Frattin
9 Colby Armstrong 47 Darryl Boyce 6 Joey Crabb
18 Mike Brown 28 Colton Orr 4 Matthew Lombardi
38 Jay Rosehill 11 Fredrik Sjostrom 44 Philippe Dupuis


Defencemen

3 Dion Phaneuf "C" --- 2 Luke Schenn
24 John-Michael Liles --59 Keith Aulie
36 Carl Gunnarsson -- 8 Mike Komisarek "A"
29 Matt Lashoff -- 22 Cody Franson



Goalies

50 Jonas Gustavsson
34 James Reimer

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

In memorial

While the death of former Leafs’ coach Pat Burns garnered widespread attention, the Maple Leafs organization lost eight former players in the last calendar year.

Their service ranged from Aut Erickson’s sole Leaf game in the 1967 playoffs to Gaye Stewart’s total of 165 regular season appearances for the blue and white.

In all, these eight men contributed 710 regular season games and 146 goals.

They would win 13 Stanley Cups with the Leafs.

When hockey was over, they picked up briefcases or shovels. There was no retirement financed by a life in hockey. These men were neighbours, parents and soon enough grandparents.

At the rink and away, their stories were woven into a greater fabric.

Gaye Stewart: In his 87th year, Stewart garnered three Stanley Cups for the Maple Leafs from 1942-1948. Stewart would play with Chicago, Detroit, New York and Montreal and finish with 185 NHL goals. He won the Calder Trophy while a Maple Leaf in 1943.

Murray Armstrong: In his 94th year, the Saskatchewan native played with the Leafs, New York Americans, and Detroit Red Wings. He also coached the Regina Pats for five seasons and managed four winning seasons in as many tries at the University of Denver.

Ed Litzenberger: In his 78th year, Litzenberger enjoyed a 15 year career that included an unmatched six consecutive titles with a succession of teams. While he played in only 19 regular season games and just one playoff games for the Leafs, Litzenberger was nonetheless a Stanley Cup winner with the club, his last NHL employer, in 1964.

Don Simmons: The first goalie to follow Jacques Plante’s lead and begin wearing the face mask, Simmons won three Stanley Cups backing up Johnny Bower. He died in his 79th year.

Pete Langelle: the Winnipeg native died in his 93 year. He played 137 games with the Leafs and scored the winning goal to earn the Leafs, and himself, the 1942 championship.

Bob Hassard. A native of Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Hassard died in his 81st year. The former Marlies’ captain played 137 games for the Leafs over three seasons and in 1951 won a Stanley Cup with the team.

Aut Erickson. A Lethbridge native who died in his 72nd year, Erickson managed a Stanley Cup despite playing just one game for the Leafs in the 1967 playoffs. Erickson did better elsewhere. He played 226 NHL games with Boston and Chicago and spent two winning years coaching the WHL’s Phoenix Roadrunners.

Vic Lynn. The only player to suit up for every Original Six team, Lynn won three Cups. He died in his 85th year. Lynn scored 32 goals in 213 games.

from maple leafs.com

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Monday, October 25, 2010

2010 Leafs

Clarke MacArthur Tyler Bozak Phil Kessel
Dion Phaneuf Kris Versteeg Colby Armstrong
Mike Brown Fredrik Sjostrom Mikhail Grabovski
John Mitchell Tim Brent Mike Zigomanis
Colton Orr

Carl Gunnarsson Francois Beauchemin
Tomas Kaberle Brett Lebda
Mike Komisarek Luke Schenn

Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Jonas Gustavsson

Pics to follow ...

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Top Leafs Prospects

Top Prospects
1.Nazem Kadri, C.
2 Jesse Blacker, D
3.Jerry D'Amigo, LW
4 Keith Aulie, D
5 Mikhail Stefanovich, RW
6. Brad Ross LW
7. Sondre Olden RW
8.Greg McKegg C
9.James Reimer, G
10 dmitri vorobiev D
11 tyler ruegsegger F
12.Kenny Ryan, RW
13. Dale Mitchell F
14.Juraj Mikus, D
15.Korbinian Holzer, D
16.Matt Frattin, RW
17.Jerome Flaake, LW
18.Phil Oreskovic, D
19 Brady Irwin F
20 Jussi Rynnäs G




On the leafs

1.Tyler Bozak, C
2.Carl Gunnarsson, D
3.Jonas Gustavsson, G
4 Christian Hanson, RW

Leafs 2010 Draft

43 2 Brad Ross L Portland Winterhawks [WHL]
62 3 Greg McKegg C Erie Otters [OHL]
79 3 Sondre Olden Modo Jr. [Sweden]
116 4 Petter Granberg Skelleftea Jr. [Sweden]
144 5 Sam Carrick C Brampton Battalion [OHL]
146 5 Daniel Brodin Djurgardens IF Stockholm [SEL]
182 7 Josh Nicholls C Saskatoon Blades [WHL]

Leafs News Headlines

Leaf News:
•Leafs sign Brett Lebda yo a 2.9 mil contract over 2 yrs
•Leafs listen to offers for D Kaberle
•Leafs re-sign John Mitchell 1-year deal worth $725,000
•Leafs re-sign Nikolai Kulemin 2-year, $4.7 mill
•Leafs sign Colby Armstrong to 3-year contract
•Van Ryn won't play next season
•Leafs acquire Versteeg and Bill Sweatt from Blackhawks for Viktor Stalberg, Christopher DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis.
•Leafs draft LW Brad Ross at No. 43
•Leafs acquire LW/RW Mike Brown from Ducks
•Leafs NAME PHANEUF 18th captain of the Maple Leafs
•Leafs sign D Korbinian Holzer to a 2-year entry level
•Leafs sign college free agent Ben Scrivens 1 year, entry-level contract.
•Gustavsson Signs 2 Yr Ext 1.35M/yr
•Leafs Sign F Phillipe Paradis
•Leafs Sign F Brayden Irwin
• TRADE: 7th Rd Draft Pick to Pens for D Chris Peluso
•TRADE: G Joey MacDonald to Ducks for a 7th Rnd Draft Pick (2011)
•TRADE: F Lee Stempniak to Coyotes for D Matt Jones & 4th Round Draft Pick & 6th Rnd Draft Picks
•TRADE: D Martin Skoula to Devils for a 5th Round Pick
•TRADE: F Alexei Ponikarovski traded to Penguins for F Luca Caputi & D Martin Skoula
•F Jamie Lundmark Claimed off Waivers from Flames
•Leafs send Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala packing to Anahiem for J.S. Giguere
•Leafs Trade Ian White, Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman and Jamal Mayers for Dion Phaneuf , Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie
• Leafs and the Flames complete a blockbuster trade involving 7 players
• Gustavsson returns after his second heart procedure
• Leafs trade F Tlusty to Hurricanes for prospect Paradis
• Leaf fans slaute Shanahan who retires after 21 seasons
• Rookie D-man Carl Gunnarson makes his NHL Debut
• Forbes has Maple Leafs most valuable team
• Leafs defenseman Komisarek on IR
• Phil Kessel Makes his Leafs Debut
• Future Hall of Famer Mats Sundin retires!!
• Gunnarsson& Kulemin wil llikely be demoted to the AHL
• Joey MacDonald has cleared waivers
• Jiri Tlusty and Tyler Bozak have been to the Marlies
• Stalberg Bozak and Gustavsson make the Leafs
•:Jason Allison's bid to make the team ends
• Leafs assign Hanson, Frogren to Marlies
•Leafs send Kadri to junior;
• Leafs send Alex Berry, Darryl Boyce, Josh Engel, Andrew Engelage, Tom Galvin, Stefano Giliati, Richard Greenop, Juraj Mikus, Dale Mitchell, Phil Oreskovic, Todd Perry, James Reimer, Kyle Rogers, Joe Ryan, Greg Scott, Robert Slaney, and Mikhail Stefanovich to the Marlies
• The Leafs assign: Jesse Blacker (Windsor – OHL), Joel Champagne (P.E.I. – QMJHL), and Brandon Manning (Chilliwack – WHL). to their junior clubs
• Bill Thomas and Juha Uotila have been released from their Professional Try-Out contracts
• Kessel and the Leafs agree to a 5-yr, $27 mill contract.
• Leafs acquire Phil Kessel from Bos in exchange for a 1st and a 2nd rnd pick in 2010, and a 1st rnd pick in 2011.
• MSLE might behind the blockade of Jim Baisillies bid to purchase and move the Coyotes to Hamilton
• X-Leaf Captain Rick Vaive charged with impaired driving
•Jonas Gustavsson G underwent minor heart surgery
•Leafs trade a 2nd Rnd Pick (2011-CAL) & 3rd Rnd Pick (2011-TOR) to Chic for a 2nd Rnd Pick (2010-TOR)
•- F Jason Allison granted tryout w/ Leafs
• Leaf Legend Teeder Kennedy dies at age 83
• Dallas Eakins named Head Coach for the Marlies
• G Joey MacDonald signed to a 1-yr deal
• Justin Pogge traded to Anaheim - Conditional Pick in 11'
• D Anton Stralman,7th Rndr in 12' & LW Colin Stuart traded Calgary C Wayne Primeau & 2nd Rnd r 11'
• Dave Poulin named as VP of Hockey Operations
• G Justin Pogge re-signed to a 1-yr, $600k deal.
• F Andre Deveaux re-signed to 1-yr deal.
• F Rickard Wallin signs 1-yr deal.
• G Jonas "Gustavsson signs 1-yr, $900k
• D Francois Beauchemin signed 3-yr, $11.4M deal.
• F Nazem Kadri signed to a 3-yr, Entry Level Contract.
• F Mikhail Grabovski re-signed to a 3-yr, $8.7M deal.
• Leafs acquire from Atlanta D Garnet Exelby & LW Colin Stuartfor Kubina & F Tim Stapleton
• D Mike Komisarek signed 5-year, $22.5M deal.
• F Colton Orr signed 4-yr, $4M deal.
• F Mikhail Stefanovich signed entry level contract.
• F Robert Slaney signed 3-yr Entry Level Contract.
• F Viktor Stalberg signed 2-yr Entry Level Contract.
• Leafs draft Nazem Kadri 7th Overall
• Leafs Hire Goalie Coach Francois Allaire
• F Mikhail Stefanovich signed to an entry level contract.
• D Carl Gunnarsson signed to an entry level contract.
• D Juraj Mikus signed to an entry level contract.
• Marlies Head Coach Greg Gilbert's contract was not renewed by the Maple Leafs
•Joe Nieuwendyk joins Dallas Stars as GM
• Leaf Alumni Peter Zezel passed away.
• Leaf Alumni Kent Douglas dead at age 73
• Burke negotiating with euro goalie Färjestad Gustavsson
• Leafs will Draft 7th Overall
• F Robert Slaney signed to a 3-year Entry Level Contract
• F Viktor Stalberg signed to a 2-year Entry Level Contract
http://tmlfanszone.blogspot.com/ opens
• TMLFansZone closing out Feb 9th

Injuries/Suspensions:


Notes:

==================================
Position ===Player # ===Player Name ==

41 Nikolai Kulemin - 42 Tyler Bozak - 81 Phil Kessel
20 Colby Armstrong - 84 Mikhail Grabovski -32 Kris Versteeg
11 Fredrik Sjostrom - 39 John Mitchell -43 Nazem Kadri
33 Luca Caputi - 20 Christian Hanson -28 Colton Orr
44 Brayden Irwin-

15 Tomas Kaberle -2 Luke Schenn
3 Dion Phaneuf -22 Francois Beauchemin
8 Mike Komisarek -4 Jeff Finger
36 Carl Gunnarsson 22 Brett Lebda

Extras:

35 Jean-Sebastien Giguere
50 Jonas Gustavsson
29 Joey MacDonald

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Leafs Roster -Depth Chart

Leafs Roster-Depth Chart

Left Wing

#41 Nikolai Kulemin #23 Alexei Ponikarovsky
#11 Fredrik Sjostrom #38 Jay Rosehill

Viktor Stalberg Ben Winnett Jerome Flaake

Right Wing

#81 Phil Kessel #28 Colton Orr #12 Lee Stempniak


Jerry D’Amigo, Jimmy Hayes
Dale Mitchell Matt Frattin Kenny Ryan,

Center

#84 Mikhail Grabovski #20 Christian Hanson
#42 Tyler Bozak #18 Wayne Primeau
#39 John Mitchell #51 Rickard Wallin

IR
#84 Mikhail Grabovski


Philippe Paradis, Nazem Kadri, Mikhail Stefanovich
Joel Champagne, Christopher DiDomenico
Tyler Ruegsegger, Jamie Devane

Defence

#15 Tomas Kaberle-#22 Francois Beauchemin
#3 Dion Phaneuf-#2 Luke Schenn -
#36 Carl Gunnarsson #7 Garnet Exelby
#4 Jeff Finger -

IR:
#8 Mike Komisarek
#26 Mike Van Ryn

Keith Aulie, Jonas Frogren, Phil Oreskovic
Erik Reitz Jaime Sifers - Jamie Heward
Juraj Mikus - Andrew MacWilliam
-Jesse Blacker, Eric Knodel, -Barron Smith, Dmitry Vorobiev

Goaltending

#35 Jean-Sebastien Giguere
#50 Jonas Gustavsson
#29 Joey MacDonald

Grant Rollheiser G James Reimer G

Friday, June 26, 2009

Leafs NHL Draft 2009

Leafs pick 7th overall

Nazem Kadri - C-6'0 190 - London CAN

Analysis: "He's got a chance to be a very good offensive player. This is a terrific kid who has tremendous offensive ability. He just needs a little consistency." - Bob McKenzie


1. Age He's an October 90 birthdate, almost a year older than some of the other draft candidates
2. Size He is listed at 6' or 5'11.5 and between 165 and 175 pounds. He looks slender and will have to put on a lot of weight even to reach average size.
3. Reports say his effort is inconsistent.

Kadri was the best player at the WJC invite camp last summer, If he reaches his full potential he could be a 35 goals 90 pts player. H is not a franchise type i.e. guys like Kane, Cowan, Schenn to lesser extent if he becomes like Mike Richards.

Kadri has the potential to be most comparable to Duchene

KADRI = 78 pts.. Duchene 79 pt

The reason he has good stats in One word X 2 JOHN TAVARES...thats how kadri got 79 points. That's like saying Rob brown was a great 50 goal scorer...ya with lemieux as his center

KADRI STATS 25 goals 40 assists 65 points in 2007-2008... with the London Knights Kadri's stats 25 goals 53 assists ( with your precious tavares) for 78 pt

Players selected ahead of Kadri

1 John Tavares - C - 2 Victor Hedman - D 3 Matt Duchene - C 4 Evander Kane - C 5 Brayden Schenn - C 6 Oliver Ekman-Larsson - D


Players selected after Kadri

8 Scott Glennie - RW - Brandon
9 Ottawa Jared Cowen - D - Spokane
10 Edmonton Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson - LW - Timra
11 Nashville Ryan Ellis - D - Windsor
12 NY Islanders Calvin De Haan - D - Oshawa
13 Buffalo Zack Kassian - RW - Peterborough
14 Florida Dmitri Kulikov - D - Drummondville
15 Anaheim Peter Holland - C - Guelph
16 Minnesota Nick Leddy - D - Eden Prairie
17 St. Louis David Rundblad - D - Skelleftea
18 Montreal Louis Leblanc - C - Omaha

Round 2
50 - Kenny Ryan, RW , 6'0 205 USA U-18 (USDP) right wing, boston college, 6.0, 204 lb http://thehockeywriters.com/55-kenny...raft-rankings/

Quote:
One-Timer: His childhood hockey idol was Darren McCarty because “he played with so much energy and grit”, which tells you something about Ryan’s work ethic. NHL Central Scouting’s Gary Eggleston stated “Ryan is a solid skater who is strong on his skates, has good balance and his hard to knock off his feet. Has good overall speed and works hard in all zones. He is strong in the corners, is aware of defensive responsibilities and backchecks well. Ryan plays a rugged two-way game.” Ryan has good anticipation of how the play will develop. He is definitely more of a shooter than playmaker.

NHL Player(s) Comparison: Jere Lehtinen

58 - Jesse Blacker, D, 6'1 190 Can Windsor (OHL) D -Dob Apr 19 1991,Toronto, ONT, ht 6.00 -- Wt 190 -- Shoots R- Solid positionally, hometown kid, willing to drop the gloves, and is a hard worker who has overcome much adversity to get where he is today.

Round 3
68- Jamie Devane, LW ,6'5 210 Can Plymouth (OHL)-comparable to Milan Lucic, similar to Kyle Clifford who went 35th overall to LA

Round 5
128 D Eric Knodel 6'6 215 USA Great low risk high reward pick. My favourite of the draft so far.

"He's an untapped resource," said Rustin coach Nick Russo. "He's a special player with a great character and impeccable work ethic. I think if he would have played in juniors for one or two years instead of playing in high school, he may have been a second or third rounder. His upside is enormous."

"He's a safe pick," said McGuire. "He doesn't have a huge mean streak, but he doesn't shy away from being physical. He also pinches well from the back end. If he keeps on developing at juniors and eventually the NCAA, he could be a real diamond in the rough."

Round 6
158 RW Jerry D'Amigo 5' 11" 196 USA-Offensive minded, highly competitive, speedy forward with good leadership qualities. He seems to put together consistent efforts game in and game out He makes good smart quick plays, takes contact well and drives the net without hesitation. ranked 67th by the CSB North American skaters. ranked 40th by ISS good pick


Round 7
188 D Barron Smith 6'5" 205 USA - His father is former Edmonton Oilers great Steve Smith.
ultra-aggressive defenseman who looks to time his hits and will drop the gloves without any hesitation. not fluent with the puck, he handles it poorly and shows very little eagerness to retrieve or make a play with it, he does a good job defensively of using his size and staying in front of his man as not to expose his poor backwards skating, good mobility and considering his height, he moves rather well, suffocating defensive defenseman

If you look at our talent pool, we have a lot of what would be considered skill guys. Bozak, Stralberg, Tlusty, Step, now Kadri. That's your prospect pool, so it's not hard to see why Burke is going for grit- we don't have any in the system!!

I think there is a method to the madness. Once we see the monster sign, free agency, actually trading Kaberle for more young talent, this will make more sense

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Leaf Rookies


Mikhail Grabovski Nikolai Kulemin

John Mitchell Luke Schenn

Jonas Frogren Jaime Sifers

Christian Hanson Justin Pogge

Tim Stapleton Phil Oreskovic

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Leafs 2008-09-Forwards

Toronto Maple Leafs 2008-09

Forwards

55 J Blake 84 M Grabovski 9 N Hagman

41 N KULEMIN 21 Jamal Mayers 10 Brad May

39 J Mitchell 23 A. Ponikarovsky 14 M. Stajan

12 Lee Stempniak 11 J TLUSTY

Defense Goaltending and Management
4 Jeff Finger 24 Jonas Frogren 15 T. Kaberle
77 P Kubina 2 Luke Schenn 36 A Stralman
26 M Van Ryn 7 Ian White
31 CUJO 35 V Toskala
Bryan Burke Cliff Fletcher Ron Wilson

On the Bubble
22 B Devereaux 29 Martin Gerber 51 Jeff Hamilton
54 K Newbury 25 Ben Ondrus 30 Justin Pogge
59 Jaime Sifers 42 Tim Stapleton 48 J Williams

Recent Castoffs
80 N. Antropov 19 D Moore 9 M Bell
44 Ryan Hollweg 44 S Kronwall 56 Andre Deveaux
45 C Colaiacovo 10 A. Steen 24 B. McCabe
16 D. Tucker 42 K. Wellwood 12 M Sundin

Leafs 2008-09-Defense Goaltending and Management

Toronto Maple Leafs 2008-09
Defense Goaltending and Management

4 Jeff Finger 24 Jonas Frogren 15 T. Kaberle

77 P Kubina 2 Luke Schenn 36 A Stralman

26 M Van Ryn 7 Ian White

31 CUJO 35 V Toskala


Bryan Burke Cliff Fletcher Ron Wilson

On the Bubble
22 B Devereaux 29 Martin Gerber 51 Jeff Hamilton
54 K Newbury 25 Ben Ondrus 30 Justin Pogge
59 Jaime Sifers 42 Tim Stapleton 48 J Williams

Recent Castoffs

80 N. Antropov 19 D Moore 9 M Bell
44 Ryan Hollweg 44 S Kronwall 56 Andre Deveaux
45 C Colaiacovo 10 A. Steen 24 B. McCabe
16 D. Tucker 42 K. Wellwood 12 M Sundin


Forwards
55 J Blake 84 M Grabovski 9 N Hagman
41 N KULEMIN 21 Jamal Mayers 10 Brad May
53 J Mitchell 23 A. Ponikarovsky 14 M. Stajan
12 Lee Stempniak 11 J TLUSTY