What a moment for the one of Toronto’s newest prospects, with a wrap around burying the overtime game winning goal in the gold medal game. That right there is what hockey is all about, Kapanen who was brought over in the Kessel trade just scored one of, if not his most memorable goal of his life. Think about that for a second, how many goals in a lifetime you get to score for your country, let alone the game winner in a gold medal game in overtime. That right there is something you dream of as a kid; I’m sure the Fins enjoyed winning on home soil and polished a few cold beverages after the big win, congrats to Finland!

Kapanen has five goals and five assists for the Marlies in 17 games with a +6 rating. This should be a nice confidence boost for the youngster and hopefully will carry over to the Marlies upon his return where fellow teammate William Nylander will likely be recovering from a suspected concussion. With Nylander returning to the Leafs/Marlies organization he will be checked out by team doctors and eased back into the lineup when he is one hundred percent ready and not a minute earlier. Obviously the Swedish doctors handled Nylander and his injury properly not rushing him back into the tournament when he wasn’t ready.

It’s unfortunate that Nylander was hurt so early in the tournament as many of us fans wanted to see what he was going to do on the ice.

Marner had a decent tournament for team Canada but was unable to lead his team passed the quarter finals where he scored two goals but it just wasn’t enough as they were unable to keep the puck out of the net versus the high octane Fins who just kept coming.

How about Dmytro Timashov?

This is where Mark Hunter is going to shine for the Leafs and their drafting, which is what the organization has been lacking for years. A player like Timashov is a quality sleeper pick and Hunter can blow some steam on his fist and rub it on his chest as he looks to have landed a beauty for Toronto in the fifth round (125th overall). Timoshov has 53 points in 29 games for the Quebec Ramparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. These stats would be excellent for any player drafted in the first round, let alone the fifth.

He's a superb passer," said Hunter. "He made some elite passes in that tournament where you go, 'Wow that is pretty special.' And I think he did that consistently where sometimes (with) young players, consistency is a problem. Consistently, he was one of the better players for Sweden in this tournament."

These are bold and encouraging words for the Leafs prospect, with Hunter and the Leafs looking to lineup another fistful of high end picks in the 2016 draft things are looking up in Leafs Nation.

Time, patience and direction are what’s needed for our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs to get back on track. As a fan I can’t remember the last time Toronto had so many high end forwards in the pipeline, not to mention having what looks to be a couple more quality picks coming.

Looking at the current roster of the Leafs and what Babcock has done with them, I can only imagine what he will do when the prospects ripen and burst into the National Hockey League with the best coach for the job.

Since October the Leafs have been a team with heart, backing eachother up in the scrums and putting forth a valient effort in each and every game. None of that garbage from last season when we mailed it in after a bad start or weak goal; which we know there was a lot of.

If you had any doubt before, perhaps now you can see Babcock was worth all the hype that he brought to the Toronto fan base upon his arrival. Big Babs is a beauty out there, and seems to be having a good time behind the bench as I’ve seen him with a few grins and chuckles as he covers his mouth with his binder which seems to have all the tricks in it.

There are some rumors swirling about Drouin and Stamkos and a number of other players; it’s that time of the year.

What I’d like the Leafs to do is take a serious look at Kerby Rychel.

Columbus and Toronto made a swap as we all can remember, the untradeable Clarkson was dished out for Nathan Horton. It just so happens that Columbus is very deep on the wing and Rychel is having trouble cracking the lineup even though he should be in the mix. The Leafs should at least see what Columbus wants for the young Rychel and perhaps they can work out a deal that works for both; just like the Clarkson/Horton trade. Personally I like the type of player that Rychel is, he’s a strong in your face player who can grind out the opponent and win battles along the boards and chip in some points.

Rychel is just 21 years of age and comes in just over six feet but has a heavy frame and weighs in at 215 pounds. With the abundance of smaller highly skilled players in the system, it makes a lot of sense for Toronto to persue a player with Kerby's size and strength. We all know Babcock loves his grinders who can chip in points, he could be a Komarov type addition to another line for the Leafs moving forward.

Last year Rychel had 33 points in 51 games with 43 penalty minutes. This year he has 20 points in 21 games and 45 penaluty minutes; he’s a feisty player and a former first round pick (19th, 2013). What would it take to pry Rychel away from the Blue Jackets?

On another note, on a totally unrelated topic…where on earth is Stephane Robidas? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly missing the veterans play on the ice, but I find it odd that he’s just sort of vanished into thin air. Perhaps he’s just unable to get back into the mix after those broken legs, I do wonder.

Don’t look now, but if the Leafs continue the pace they are on since that hideous October…A lottery pick may be out the window and a surprise playoff appearance could just happen, it is what it is.

Thanks for reading, enjoy tonight’s game!

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