Max Ellis

Signed an AHL deal out of Notre Dame, Ellis can turn on a dime, with the puck and under pressure. His skating — in both tight spaces and open ice — allow him to be the shifty player he is when in the offensive zone. Aggressive on the forecheck, very quick, can make some skill plays. He will make a nice addition to the Marlies this season.

Pavel Gogolev

It is really nice to see Pavel Gogolev having success in this tournament. He had a really rough year last year where he was healthy scratched with Marlies, and bounced between getting 4th line mins to playing in the ECHL. He has looked very engaged, has gotten a lot of chances, and has brought a lot of physicality in all 4 games. Not to mention excellent puck control and seems to have immensely improved his skating, hopefully making him a candidate for a breakout season with the Marlies.

Keith Petruzzelli

Petruzelli looked great. He made some highlight reel saves and looked really solid in net. For a guy his size (6’5) most rely on their athleticism rather than positioning, where Keith plays a really strong system. Doesn’t over play shooters, plays calm, square, let’s the puck hit him. After a very solid regular season with the Growlers, had a poor showing in the ECHL playoffs. Looking forward to him to having a big season, most likely splitting time between both the Marlies and Growlers (Leafs have a lot of goalies). I would have liked to see him already signed to an ELC but with the Leafs only having two SPC left, don’t see that happening this season unless a goalie is traded.


Nick Robertson

His skating still seems clunky & he's getting left behind in some situations. I did noticed he wasn't knocked off the puck as much as last year, could tell he's been working on power and bulking up, but I still feel like another full season in the AHL would be the best route for his development. He JUST turned 21, I still believe in him becoming a top 6 fwd, it’s just not this year. And that’s ok. He needs to be more selective with his shots and without the puck needs to find more dangerous scoring areas. And when he does, he has a legit NHL shot.


Alex Steeves

Like Robertson, I feel like he caught a couple times trying to do too much, resulting in the play going the other way. But no denying his upside, he looked dangerous on most shifts. Has a quick and accurate release. He has really improved his skating, showing off some nice change of direction to hold on and protect the puck. Having that extra bit of speed was also noticeable on his forecheck retrievals. He definitely has middle 6 upside, for all the concerns Leaf fans (like myself) have with bottom 6 scoring, should an Engvall, Jarnkrok, NAK, etc go down with an injury, calling up Steeves will be nice addition.


Nick Abruzzese

Abruzzese looks on another level compared to his 9-game stint and needs to a serious look on the Leafs. He scored a pretty goal falling to his knees but his puck protection, retrievals, and was really strong at supporting the defense, being exactly where he needed to be on breakouts. He just does a lot of little things well. Size will always be an issue at the next level, 5’10 depending on what website you look at, but plenty on smaller guys have made it work in the NHL.

Pontus Holmberg

IF the Leafs were to give a rookie a shot playing in the top 6, Pontus would get my vote. He is always in the right spot at the right time, gets in on the forecheck and can win puck battles, also showed some really nice awareness setting up scoring chances in front of the net. The Leafs look to be setting him up as a C, something I’d welcome, as the are not too many prospects at C to be excited about.

Marshall Rafai

He surprised with his four-way mobility. His consistency when it comes to reads and defensive work was outstanding. He jumped into the rush on a few occasions, creating scoring, and was also physical with some nice hits and sticking up for his teammates. I am a fan of his.

Fraser Minten

I will try not to read into this too much but Minten did nothing to show me he was deserving of being a 2nd round pick. Finished without a point, only 4 SOG in 4 GP, and a team worst -5. With a lot of high end players at this tournament and given opportunities to play with some skill players and playmakers, other than a couple of nice checks, he was a ghost. He showed some nice puck protection and has a little edge to his game. His passing and playmaking are supposed to be strong aspects of his game, I just didn’t notice any of that. He was everything I thought he was when they drafted him, he is fringe 4th liner whose value will come from his relentless forecheck and shoot-from-anywhere mentality.


Honourable Mentions

Semyon Der-Arguchintsev

One of the few Leafs who could enter the zone with the puck at ease. He was very strong on the puck, used his body to hold off defenders, made some slick passes.

Curtis Douglas

His skating has improved a lot since last year. He already has a nice accurate shot and some pretty soft hands for such a big guy. Adding some nice movement to his game will only make him tougher to play against.

I didn’t see much for Pano Fimis that would warrant an ELC but I would still give him one. He should have been drafted last year, he will be exempt from the 50-man contract list as long as he’s reassigned to Niagara (which he will). Should be a no-brainer to sign him based off his potential.

I didn’t see much from Avery Hayes, unless they see a role with the Growlers.


It sucked not having Knies, Miettinen, Tverberg, Moldenhauer, Koster, Miller, Hirvonen, Niemela, Ovchinnikov, Grebenkin, Peksa, Akhtyamov, Abramov (injury), but I liked what I saw. Would have liked to see some more finish cause they were able to create a ton of chances.