A few weeks ago, I wrote my first “Marlies Material” of the season, profiling several players on the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ AHL team.
The Marlies are in the middle of a six-game, two-and-a-half-week road trip, an annual tradition in November because of a horse show that takes up Ricoh Coliseum. I’ll wait until they get back from that trip before doing more profiles but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t worth talking about.
Here’s some Marlies material worth looking at.
Check out the highlights from the Marlies’ Sunday win over the St. John’s Ice Caps, the AHL farm team of the Montreal Canadiens. It really showcases the Marlies’ game plan from first 10 games this season: Get the puck to either Brendan Leipsic or Kasperi Kapanen.
Kapanen had two goals in this game, bringing him up to seven for 12 points in 10 games. Leipsic scored one goal to bring him up to four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 10 games. Leipsic is tied for first in AHL scoring while Kapanen is tied for sixth, although it should be mentioned two players above Kapanen have played two more games than him.
It’ll be fascinating to see if these guys can keep this pace up. Things are going well for the Leafs right now but once they maybe lose two or three in a row down the line, I wonder if fans will start asking about a promotion for one or both of those two. This video of Kapanen’s weekend from a Finnish hockey YouTuber already has over 26,000 hits.
Speaking of Marlies forwards, can you guess who the next-highest scoring Marlies forward is behind Leipsic and Kapanen? Byron Froese, with five goals and two assists for seven points in 10 games.
The Leafs don’t exactly need an extra centre at the moment. (With Ben Smith in the lineup, the Leafs already have Peter Holland sitting in the press box.) But let’s say the Leafs had to call up a centre. Who would it be?
For clarification, the Marlies have been using Colin Greening up the middle instead of on the wing.
I tweeted this and at the time I’m writing these words (things change), most people seem to think Brooks Laich will get the call with Freddy Gauthier trailing behind. Byron Froese doesn’t seem to get much thought.
Froese’s excellent AHL production in 2014-15 got him an NHL contract and a big-league look last season. If he keeps scoring in the AHL, I wonder if he gets another shot.
I also wonder if the Leafs will ever offer Colin Smith an NHL contract. The Leafs received Smith from the Colorado Avalanche in the Shawn Matthias trade before last seasons’ trade deadline. After that, Smith scored 22 points in 23 games with the Marlies, as well as another five points in nine Calder Cup playoff games. The Marlies managed to sign him to an AHL contract this summer. Could he get an NHL deal at some point like the Leafs did with Rich Clune last season?
Lastly, Garret Sparks played a game this past weekend. The reason that’s significant is because it was only his third game of the season. He got the win and stopped 28 of 30 shots. Now, is only playing three games out of 10 a sign the Leafs have chosen Antoine Bibeau over him?
No. Bibeau won AHL Goalie of the Month for October and Sheldon Keefe rode the hot hand. Given what happened last season, it’s entirely possible we could see Sparks take the Marlies net back eventually. Click here to read what I wrote about the Marlies’ goalies last spring.
I’ll end by plugging yet another thing I wrote because I have no shame. Josh Leivo’s conditioning stint in the AHL will be coming to an end soon. Given what we know about the Leafs’ glut of forwards, which I wrote about, a decision could be coming in the near future.
