The Toronto Marlies are not lacking for depth in their pursuit of a Calder Cup, but their reserve list has grown by two as prospects Andreas Johnson and Travis Dermott have been signed to amateur tryout contracts for the remainder of the season.
The 21-year-old Johnson capped off his career with Frolunda with an SHL Championship earlier this week. The speedy SHL Rookie of the Year winner finished with 19 goals and 25 assists and is expected to challenge for a spot on the Leafs roster this September.
Dermott was selected by Toronto in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft, played for Team Canada at the 2016 World Junior and had another productive season for the Erie Otters, with six goals and 37 assists in 51 games.
The Otters were eliminated from the OHL Playoffs by Mitch Marner and the London Knights on Wednesday.
The odds of Johnson and Dermott being inserted into the Marlies post-season lineup are slim. 2015 pick Andrew Nielsen and 2011 prospect Tony Cameranesi were added to the AHL roster following the completion of their Junior/NCAA seasons and played late in the season, but are reportedly not in the mix if head coach Sheldon Keefe contemplates tinkering with his lineup.
In their series clinching 6-4 win over Bridgeport on Thursday, forwards Tobias Lindberg, Nikita Soshnikov, Matt Frattin, defensemen Rinat Valiev and David Kolomatis (with varying degrees of AHL and/or NHL experience) were scratched, but if a string of injuries occurs, it is always nice to have options.
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Interesting note regarding the Leafs from Russ Cohen(@sportsology) during a discussion with Rob Simpson and NHL.com’s Mike Brophy on Sirius/XM on Friday.
Toronto will pick anywhere from 1st to 4th after the NHL Draft Lottery on Saturday, which means Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Jesse Puljujarvi, Matthew Tkachuk and Pierre-Luc Dubois are potential selections, but Cohen suggests that the Leafs covet Alex Nylander, who shined at the 2016 World Junior for Sweden in January.
Selecting the younger Nylander would be considered by many to be a reach at #4, but interest in him may suggest the possibility of the Leafs trading down or using Pittsburgh’s top pick and additional picks and/or prospects to move up into the top half of the first round.
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Listen to the latest edition of "The Convo" with myself and CTV's Norman James:
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