Toronto Marlies assistant coach Rob Davison was released from a Texas hospital on Saturday after suffering a prolonged grand mal seizure in the club’s locker room prior to a scheduled game between the Marlies and Texas Stars on Friday.
The Marlies witnessed the event and were traumatized to the point that they opted to forfeit the game.
“Following what happened tonight with Rob in front of our players and staff, I consulted with Laurence Gilman, Greg Moore and the leadership group of the Marlies,” Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said in a press release. “I was informed by the leadership group that the entire team was in a state of shock and not comfortable proceeding with tonight’s game. We fully support our players and staff in this matter.”
The 39-year-old Davison is returning to Toronto today along with a member of the Marlies medical team and will be away from the team indefinitely on medical leave, while the club will play the Texas Stars on Saturday in suburban Austin.
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Left Wing
Andreas Johnsson
The 24-year-old winger has been out of the lineup since suffering a broken foot in early December. Johnsson has been a good skilled complement, mostly playing on the left side with Auston Matthews and William Nylander, but had only 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists) in 30 games before being injured. Johnsson plays with bit a feistiness along with speed and skill (something that the Leafs could use more of), but it is unknown where he will fit in the lineup once he returns.
Grade - B
Ilya Mikheyev
Not a lot was known about the Leafs most recent KHL import, other than he scored 23 goals with Avangard Omsk last season, but the big winger was a pleasant surprise and a solid contributor before suffering what could be a season-ending wrist laceration in New Jersey on December 27. Mikheyev has 23 points (8 goals, 15 assists) in 39 games, effectively played both left and right wing and on the penalty kill. After going 21 games without a goal, he scored four goals in the last six games before his injury.
Grade - B+
Trevor Moore
Moore’s versatility makes him a valuable commodity who can move up and down the lineup. The speedy winger has five points (3 goals, 2 assists) in 22 games and has played on the second, third and fourth lines, on the left and right side, as a penalty killer and on the power play, but he has only played one game since mid-November due to concussion issues.
Grade - B-
Dmytro Timashov
Timashov was a surprising inclusion to the Leafs to start the season and has been used primarily on the fourth line. While the 23-year-old has the tools to be an NHLer, his inability to clear waivers to go to the AHL may be a big factor in his still being on the roster. That being said, the winger has nine points (4 goals, 5 assists) in 31 games, while averaging less than nine minutes per game.
Grade - B-
Zach Hyman
Hyman returned to the Leafs lineup in early November after missing training camp and the first 19 games and did not show any signs of being tentative or rusty. The 27-year-old has been effective as a puck retriever on lines centered by Matthews and John Tavares and has 10 goals in 26 games. Hyman is valuable as a penalty killer and is one of Toronto’s best two-way forwards.
Grade - A-
Pierre Engvall
The big Swede was called up in mid-November as an injury replacement for Moore and has performed so well that it would be shocking if he does not remain on the Leafs roster the rest of the season. Engvall has great speed and covers a lot of ice with his long strides and great reach, which has made him a contributor on the penalty kill. He has 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) in 23 games playing mostly on the left side, and has graduated from the fourth-line to a third-line role with Jason Spezza and Kasperi Kapanen.
Here are my personal favorites from Rush and the late great Neil Peart:
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