Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 2nd round pick in the 2015 draft (#34 overall) 2nd year defenseman Travis Dermott(8) is rewarded for his uptick of play with affiliate Toronto Marlies with a first NHL recall.
In 26 AHL games he has a pair of goals and a team second 16 assists with a +15 rating, so is only off rookie numbers (5-19-24 in 59 games) by a small margin.
The sort of small-is looking 6′ 205 lbs. blue liner definitely knows how to head man the puck or put it into play for scoring chances.
That became very obvious in his last two seasons (of three) with Erie Otters and he matched 37 assists before being offer a chance to skate pro on an entry level slide before this season, which is the first of his three year entry level deal.
He’s also the type of player that is always skating and gets himself directly into the play when the puck is visible.
His work earned him a first big league point, an assist in shootout win.
Through 2 games before being reassigned he skated some decent minutes, had some shots on nets, hits, 2 penalty minutes and even a few giveaways.
The 21-year old still has a ways to go but may be getting there sooner than later.