The Toronto Maple Leafs have won six of their last eight games with a roster made up primarily of young prospects, but most of those victories have occurred at Air Canada Center, where head coach Mike Babcock has been able to protect youngsters like William Nylander by using the last change to keep him away from difficult match ups.
The Boston Bruins visit to ACC on Saturday marks the end of Toronto's season long six-game home stand and the dramatic imbalance of home and road games the club has had for most of the second half.
Wins over Tampa, Buffalo, Calgary and Anaheim has improved the Leafs home record to .500 (14-14-9) on the season, as opposed to a 13-21-2 road record (worst in the Eastern Conference)
Toronto is just two points behind the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks and three points in back of Columbus, Calgary and Winnipeg at the bottom of the NHL standings, but of the eight remaining games on the Leafs schedule, five are on the road, including back-to-back contests with the Lightning and Panthers Monday and Tuesday and a visit to the Buffalo hall of horrors to face the Sabres on Thursday.
The Leafs demoted forward Josh Leivo to the Toronto Marlies on Friday, who play the St. John's Ice Caps at ACC on Saturday afternoon.
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Leafs prospect Tony Cameranesi scored a goal and assisted on Karlson Kuhlman's game-winning goal in double overtime that lifted Minnesota-Duluth to a 2-1 victory over Providence on Friday.
The 22-year-old center was selected in the 5th round of the 2011 NHL Draft by Toronto and scored 10 goals and 26 assists in 36 games in his senior season for the Bulldogs. The Maple Leafs can sign Cameranesi to an entry-level contract after UMD completes their season or he can choose to become an unrestricted free agent and sign with another NHL team after August 15th.
That decision is now available to two prominent NCAA products, Mark Jankowski and Jimmy Vesey, whose clubs were eliminated on Friday.
Jankowski was selected him 21st overall in 2012 by the Calgary Flames, but the 21-year-old center could opt to go to another NHL club with youngsters Sean Monahan and Sam Bennett playing up the middle for the Flames.
Vesey's Harvard Crimson were eliminated by Boston College on Friday and it is likely that by early next week, the big 22-year-old forward either signs with the Nashville Predators or informs them that he is undecided about his future.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported earlier this week that the Predators have told the 2012 draft pick he has a spot on their roster and the opportunity to burn a year of his entry-level deal right away, but Vesey balked signing with the Preds after his junior season and opted to remain at Harvard to complete his degree.
If Vesey does not join the Preds, it is likely that GM David Poile will shop his rights to recoup a prospect or draft pick for an asset with a time limit. That could be advantageous for the Leafs and GM Lou Lamoriello, who have 20 draft picks over the next two years.
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