The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Toronto, as Maple Leafs youngsters were acknowledged as top performers of the week in the NHL, AHL and OHL.
2016 top overall pick Auston Matthews, on the strength of his four-goal debut against Ottawa last Wednesday was awarded the second star of the week by the NHL on Monday. The 19-year-old finished behind Team North America linemate Connor McDavid, who leads the league with six points and ahead of Florida goalie Roberto Luongo, who won both starts and posted a 0.98 GAA and .957 save percentage.
It has been a whirlwind of attention for the 19-year-old Scottsdale, AZ native, whose #34 jersey has sold the most in the league since the start of the season. His impressive debut garnered so much attention that NBCSN picked up Saturday’s Bruins-Leafs broadcast in the US and has drawn the admiration of many former and current NHL players, including Wayne Gretzky.
“I can’t even describe what (Matthews) must be feeling. It’s pretty sensational what he accomplished in his first game in the National Hockey League, I think I didn’t score my first goal until game 4 or game 5, it’s a hard thing to do.” Gretzky said in an interview with Josh Rimer.
Gretzky believes that Matthews playing a year of professional hockey prior to joining the Leafs was extremely beneficial to the young center’s development, just as playing in the WHA as a 17-year-old was helpful to his.
“I was fortunate enough at that time that I got that one year – a bridge year – where I got to play with men in the WHA. The WHA wasn’t quite as good as the National Hockey League, but I had an opportunity to play with men, to learn the trade – both off the ice and on the ice.” Gretzky said. “He did something that really helped his career by playing with men in Switzerland for one year, then he got an opportunity to play in the World Cup, where he played very well, so my hat goes off to him.”
The Toronto Marlies had a very successful weekend with a pair of 5-2 wins over the Utica Comets, which featured a four-point performance from Brendan Leipsic on Saturday and a three-point outing for Kasperi Kapanen on Sunday.
Kapanen is tied for the club and league scoring lead with five points (1 goal, 4 assists) and was named AHL Player of the Week on Monday. The 20-year-old Finn played well during Leafs training camp earlier in the month and his success with the Marlies could result in another opportunity in the NHL later this season.
Leafs prospect Jeremy Bracco has been a house on fire since being returned to the Kitchener Rangers earlier this month and the 2015 second rounder was named the OHL Player of the Week on Monday.
Here's Jeremy Bracco's 5-point night over Guelph on October 10th, a big reason why he was named OHL Player of the Week: pic.twitter.com/mSZwFdxnUG
Bracco is tied for third in OHL scoring with 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists) in just six games and scored five points (3 goals and 2 assists) against the Guelph Storm on last Monday, but got a bit too enthusiastic in his goal scoring celebrations during the game and became the target of some retribution from the Storm in their rematch on Sunday.
The diminutive Long Island native was slammed into the boards Guelph forward Nate Schnarr which drew a major for boarding and a game misconduct.
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The Leafs practiced at the Mastercard Center in Etobicoke, ON on Monday, with newcomer Seth Griffith and unsigned winger Brandon Prust participating.
Prust was released from his professional tryout contract last week, but continues to skate with the club, which raises some questions whether the club has the intention of signing the 32-year-old veteran.
Toronto is currently at 49 pro contracts with the claim of Griffith off of waivers from Boston, but could be waiting for a final decision on the buyout of defenseman Jared Cowen (scheduled for Wednesday) to sign Prust to a deal.
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Listen to the latest episode of the Blue N’ White Tonight podcast with special guest Bryan Hayes of TSN 1050 Radio.
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