Toronto Maple Leafs: Early breakdown of rookie tournament roster

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced the prospects that will be participating in the annual rookie tournament in Quebec.

A week after the announcement was made that the annual rookie tournament was going to be held in Quebec, the Toronto Maple Leafs have revealed which players will be attending.

There will be 30 players making the trip to Laval to compete against the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators on Sept. 8 and 9. Both games will be at 3:00 p.m. ET, but there has been no word on how the games will be broadcasted.

As usual, Sheldon Keefe will be the coach behind the bench, along with the head coach of the Newfoundland Growlers Ryan Clowe. They will be joined by Rob Davison A.J. MacLean and goaltending coach Jon Elkin.

Joining this year’s team are seven players from the Leafs’ 2018 NHL draft class in Rasmus Sandin, Sean Durzi, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Riley Stotts, Mac Hollowell, Filip Kral and Zachary Bouthillier. Missing from that list are Pontus Holmberg and Semyon Kizimov, who are getting ready for their club teams overseas.

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There will be many familiar faces joining the roster, including top prospects Timothy Liljegren, Carl Grundstrom and Jeremy Bracco.

The team will also have some more experienced players making the trip in Andrew Nielsen, J.J. Piccinich and Mason Marchment. In goal, Ian Scott and Bouthillier will be splitting the two games and surprisingly, there isn’t a third goalie being brought into camp.

Obviously, a lot of eyes will be on the more well-known players on the roster, because this gives them a chance to showcase themselves before training camp opens. It is also an opportunity for players looking for a job next season, with Drew Hunter, Roman Pucek and Eli Zummack being brought in as free agent invites.

Below is the full roster:

Now there could be some additions and/or subtractions to the roster before the team goes to Laval, but it should be an intriguing couple of games to watch.

The Leafs don’t have many holes to fill on their roster, but there’s still an opportunity for some prospects to show they are further along in their development. It also gives Keefe a chance to see what the Marlies have to work with this season especially on the backend.

Which player are you most excited to watch heading into the tournament? Let us know in the comments below.