Toronto Maple Leafs Rookie Tournament Day 3 Notes, Thoughts and Observations

The Toronto Maple Leafs overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-5 in overtime at the final game of the Rookie Tournament.

Maple Leafs Scratches:

Defensemen:

No. 53- Rinat Valiev

No. 54- Justin Holl

No. 78- Ty Stanton

No. 86- Nicolas Mattinen

Forwards:

No.16- Mitch Marner

No. 33- Frederik Gauthier

No. 37- Tobias Lindberg

No. 41-Dmytro Timashov

No. 63- Colin Smith

No. 81- Adam Brooks

No. 91- Trevor Moore

Recap:

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The Toronto Maple Leafs gave a majority of their high profiled forward prospects the day off in the final game Sunday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Budweiser Gardens. The majority of people in attendance were Leafs fans, but there was a strong showing from fans of the other teams participating in the tournament.

The first period was a tough one for the Leafs as the Penguins speed gave them problems and the Leafs saw themselves trailing 2-0 after the opening period. The first goal was a tough one for starting goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo to give up, allowing a shot to beat him short side. The second goal was a point shot that Kaskisuo was unable to pick up with traffic in front of him.

The Leafs got into penalty trouble, which led to a powerplay goal for the Penguins and a 3-0 deficit for the Leafs in the first minute of the third period. However, the Leafs would get on the board right after that as Mason Marchment puts the puck in off a nice pass from Nikita Korostolev.

The Leafs would continue to put pressure on the Penguins and it would finally pay off as Jeremy Bracco was able to put the puck in on the powerplay. This would cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-2 early in the second period.

The game was getting physical with both teams refusing to step away from the physical play. Marchment got into a fight, which gave the Leafs some life when they were down. With the Leafs on the powerplay again, Korostolev would tie the game with a nice play in front of the net.

Andrew Nielsen would continue his strong rookie tournament with a goal to put the Leafs ahead 4-3. Nielsen would walk in and score with a wicked wrist shot that found the top corner. It was the first of many plays that Nielsen would make to put the Leafs ahead.

Nielsen was not the only player with a great game as Korostelev had another goal in the third period, giving the Leafs a 5-3 lead. He converted a nice pass from free agent invite Tye Felhaber in front of the net to give the Leafs a commanding lead.

Must Read: Toronto Maple Leafs Rookie Tournament Day 2 Notes, Thoughts and Observations

The Leafs were unable to hold on to the two-goal lead as the Penguins were able to climb back into the game. Both teams traded chances for the rest of the period but neither were able to convert and the game would go to overtime.

Kaskisuo stood on his head at times making a nice sprawling save at one point to keep the game tied. For a second time in the tournament, the Leafs would play 3-on-3 overtime where they were able to seal the day.

The Leafs were putting on a lot of pressure in the offensive zone but Nielsen decided to take the puck out of the zone and make a nice pass to set up Bracco on the breakaway and he would score five-hole.

Thoughts and Observations:

• The Leafs finished the tournament with a 3-0 record, which is a nice reward for all the hard work the prospects put in over the three games.
• The Leafs may have a solid prospect in Korostelev who has been working hard to improve his defensive game. He moved to Canada when he was a teenager to play for the Vaughan Kings and eventually made the move to Junior A then the OHL. He played in the 2015 top prospects game and was ranked in the top 50 among North American skaters. He dropped all the way to the seventh round where the Leafs picked him 185th overall. He will mostly likely return to the OHL with Sarnia, play in the World Juniors with Russia and get a shot to be a decent prospect moving forward.
• Nielsen had a strong showing in the final game and certainly has the attention of Toronto Marlies coach, Sheldon Keefe. Keefe said after the game that Nielsen has a lot to offer. He did a better job moving the puck more efficiently but there are some things he needs to work on moving forward. There were times in the game where he wanted to set the tone physically but he would get caught out of position trying to make a hit along the boards, something Dion Phaneuf was crucified for when he played in Toronto. He did take a costly penalty, which got the Penguins back in the game, but he made up for it with a goal and assist on the winner. He has made a strong case to be seen as the Leafs’ top defensive prospect moving forward.
• The players with more size like Keaton Middleton and Marchment showed that they are not afraid to jump into the play and throw their weight around.
• Mark Hunter was in attendance on Sunday and addressed the media after the game. He mentioned that Mitch Marner made nice plays and that although he did not factor much on the scoresheet he wants Marner to continue to put the work in when training camp starts. He liked Marchment’s game during the tournament and impressed the Leafs brass enough that he will probably get more opportunities moving forward.

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• The Leafs will probably have a big group at training camp so it will be interesting to see who makes it deep into camp.