Following the end of their weekend in Niagara Falls, ON to open training camp, the Toronto Maple Leafs cut their roster from 77 to a more workable 46 players in preparation for the opener of the eight-game exhibition schedule in Lucan, ON on Tuesday.
Of the 31 players, 2017 and 2018 draft picks Ryan McGregor, Ian Scott, Riley Stotts, Filip Kral and Zachary Bouthillier and training camp invitees Owen Lalonde, Roman Pucek and Eli Zummack were returned to their junior clubs, while 17 players (including 2018 second rounder Sean Durzi and fourth rounder Mac Hollowell) were assigned to the the Toronto Marlies training camp, which begins next week.
2015 fourth rounder Jesper Lindgren, who signed an entry-level contract with the Leafs last spring, was loaned back to HPK of the Finnish SM-Liiga, where he played last season.
The @MapleLeafs roster for Tuesday night’s @hockeyville pre-season game vs. Ottawa in Lucan has been announced.
The club has a pair of back-to-back games this week and the roster for the for the Kraft Hockeyville exhibition opener against the Senators on Tuesday includes forwards Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, Nazem Kadri, Josh Leivo, Mitch Marner and John Tavares, defensemen Travis Dermott, Ron Hainsey and Morgan Rielly, and goalies Curtis McElhinney.
The players that are not suiting up in Lucan (including Auston Matthews, Patrick Marleau and Frederik Andersen) will play in Ottawa on Wednesday.
The defensive and goaltending battles take center stage in the first exhibition game. Andreas Borgman, Justin Holl and KHL import Igor Ozhiganov get the first chance to make an impression.
Ozhiganov (who turns 26 in early October) partnered at times with Travis Dermott during scrimmages on the weekend and Leafs head coach Mike Babcock sees signs of the big Russian being a contributor on the blueline.
“There’s about five (defensemen) that are in a real battle for a job. Ozhiganov is 6’3”, he’s got a great stick and (has his) head up all the time.” Babcock said. “Anytime you come from the big rink to the little rink, it’s quick and it will take him a little while, but he looks like an intelligent player.”
Toronto will have veteran McElhinney and Calder Cup winner Garret Sparks between the pipes on Tuesday, as the leading contenders for the backup goalie job go head-to-head.
It has been thought that the club would try to cut down on Frederik Andersen’s usage after consecutive 66 game seasons, but the Leafs head coach said that may not be the case based on how the season evolves.
“I think it’s great to have that plan, but what if the schedule and points don’t add up the way you want. So it’s great to say that, but we’ll see what happens.”
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