Toronto Maple Leafs | CollegeHockeyPlayers

03Jul

Ryan Hamilton(12) Toronto Maple Leafs

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Undrafted, 7th year center Ryan Hamilton(12) captained the AHL Toronto Marlies to a Calder Cup Championship Final. They were beaten in 4 straight but to come as far as the team did and to get within four wins of lifting that trophy was a pretty outstanding accomplishment for the team.

Maple Leafs‘ brass likes this 27-year old vet because they re-signed him to another one-year, two way contract for a fourth season in the system. He even received his first NHL recall in 2012 and notched an assist.

He’s played a total of 365 regular season games in the minors scoring 99 goals and 85 assists (puck hog). He had career bests in 2011/2012 in goals, assists, points, games played.

He’s a fairly big frame at 6’2″ 219 lbs. and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him fill the slot on the Leafs last occupied by Joey Crabb.

22May

Matt Lashoff(21) Toronto Marlies

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Former Boston Bruins‘ 1st round pick in the 2005 draft (#22 overall) defenseman Matt Lashoff(21) missed all but 9 regular season games in October with his team of the past two years, Toronto Marlies.

He scored a goal and added 4 assists in that short time frame before suffering an acl injury that required surgery and what looked like the remainder of 2011/2012 on the sidelines.

The 6th year blue liner thought differently and put a stake in the ice to make it back for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Goal achieved.

The 6’2″ 205 lbs. d-man played his first game in 191 days in the Western Conference Semi-Finals but then sat out for the opening couple of contests of the Western Conference Finals before he got back into action for game 3.

In it he notched a pair of assists helping the Marlies claim a 2-1 series lead.

With play like that, he’s going to be tough to sit.

He has 74 NHL games experience (1 goals, 15 assists) with three different teams.

He’s only signed through this season, so it will be interesting to see if Toronto Maple Leafs can work out an offer to keep him around.

The 25-year old is also a fairly competent musician. You can listen to clips from some of his tunes on his reverbnation site. He’s also a fun guy to follow on Twitter @MattLashoff

12May

Mike Zigomanis(93) Toronto Marlies

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Everyone’s favorite 12th year vegan pro, Toronto Marlies‘ center Mike Zigomanis(93) got the OT winner in the series vs. Abbotsford Heat to lift them into the AHL Calder Cup Western Conference Finals for the second time in the team’s history.

He becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season after spending the last two in Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system. His last NHL appearance was eight games in 2009/2010.

The 6’0 200 lbs. forward has appeared in 197 NHL games scoring 21 goals and 19 assists.

Chances are probably pretty good that the Leafs will keep the 31-year veteran around for another year. He’s pretty much the consummate player to have on your team.

20Apr

Mark Fraser(29) Toronto Marlies

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6th year, 25-year old defenseman Mark Fraser(29) will definitely help Toronto Marlies in their quest for the Calder Cup.

He’s had quite the ride in the 2011/2012 season as he started the season with the team that selected him in the 3rd round of the 2005 draft (#84 overall), New Jersey Devils. In 5 years in their system, he’s skated 98 NHL games (3 goals, 5 assists) and has appeared in 233 AHL contests.

Never really considered a big point producer, he is however a big presence on the blue line at 6’3″ 220 lbs.

A trade in mid-December, saw him go to Anaheim Ducks but he didn’t appear in a game before being reassigned to Syracuse Crunch, where he played some mean, shutdown hockey and was a career high +13 plus/minus.

Only a couple of months later though, he was dished again in a minor league deal that has him playing in the AHL postseason for the first time in his pro career. He got himself an assist on the game-winning goal to boot.

01Mar

Keith Aulie(3) Tampa Bay Lightning

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Keith Aulie(3) is a monster of a 22-year old, 2nd year defenseman at 6’6″ 217 lbs.

He’s been in Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system from the start of his pro career and played in 57 NHL games (2 goals and 2 assists).

With their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, he’s skated in 64 games (3 goals, 7 assists).

All of that ain’t so bad but in 2011/2012 with the two teams, he has only 3 assists and is a -10 plus/minus.

He must have slipped pretty low on their depth chart because they dumped him at the trading deadline for prospect forward Carter Ashton.

Could be that they just needed more up front than on the blue line.

He will debut with his new team Tampa Bay Lightning in the upcoming weekend. The team needs to make sure it has defense that takes up a lot of space with their goaltending worries, as they stumble and surge, pushing for a playoff spot.

He was originally a Calgary Flames‘ 4th round draft pick in 2007 (#116 overall) but played most of his rookie season with Abbotsford Heat.

29Feb

Darryl Boyce(47) Columbus Blue Jackets

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Lost in the trade deadline shuffle: undrafted, 5th year center Darryl Boyce(47) didn’t survive going through waivers after being reassigned by Toronto Maple Leafs to their AHL affiliate Marlies, the only two pro teams he’s ever played for.

He was snapped up by Columbus Blue Jackets and skated in his 1st game with his new team on Tuesday night.

He had appeared in 64 NHL games with the Leafs 6 goals with 9 assists but goal scoring isn’t where he lives.

At 6′ 200 lbs. he’s not excessively large but he plays a big game out there and is a tireless agitator for all his opponents to have to deal with.

It will be interesting to see how he adapts to the change of scenery and where the Blue Jackets see him fitting into their lineup. Seeing him with Springfield Falcons before the end of the season wouldn’t surprise me.

He traded in his odd number 47 jersey he’d been wearing for 43, which is a bit of a thinker.

23Jan

Christian Hanson(21) Hershey Bears

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Undrafted 3rd year center Christian Hanson(21) signed a one-year, two-way deal with Washington Capitals in the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. He spent his first couple of seasons in Toronto Maple Leafs‘ system and got his first NHL goal in 2009 fresh out of college.

In 42 NHL games he has 3 goals and 6 assists, all with the Leafs.

He spent most of his pro career with their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies and continues in 2011/2012 with Hershey Bears, where he’s put up 8 goals and 10 assists in 42 games this season.

He has yet to be called-up but with his rather large 6’4″ 228 lbs. frame, he probably deserves a look before his current contract expires.

He is the 25-year old son of Dave Hanson, who was made famous for his role as one of the brothers in the movie Slapshot.

22Jan

Mark Bell(18) Anaheim Ducks

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11 year veteran, former Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round draft pick in 1998 (#8 overall), 31-year old center Mark Bell(18) received his first NHL call-up with his new team for the 2011/2012 season, Anaheim Ducks.

He now has 446 big league games to his credit, registering 87 goals and 95 assists to go along with 597 penalty minutes.

For the last couple of seasons he played in the Swiss-A League but signed a one-year, two-way contract to come back to North American pro hockey early in the offseason.

In 32 games with the Ducks‘ AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch he has 5 goals and 8 assists but is a kind of miserable -11 plus/minus.

20Jan

Brett Lebda(21) Columbus Blue Jackets

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30-year old Stanley Cup winning defenseman Brett Lebda(21) signed a one-year deal with Columbus Blue Jackets after starting the season with their AHL affiliate Springfield Falcons.

Without a contract for the 2011/2012 season, he agreed to a pto in November with Springfield in hopes of making back to the NHL.

He makes that happen with an injury to the big club and good play in the minors. In 26 games he got a goal and had 9 assists, while playing at an even plus/minus. No doubt, he’s also helped the younger guys in the system, bringing 8 years of pro experience to the locker room.

As a defenseman who’s played in 367 NHL games and played for 5 years for Detroit Red Wings, he was the natural choice to fill-in.

Rumor has it the Blue Jackets had something to do with him getting signed to his tryout agreement with the Falcons.

He was undrafted and played his first season the year of the NHL lockout, signed by Detroit and playing with their minor league affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins.

04Jan

Luca Caputi(17) Syracuse Crunch

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In one of the most uncomfortable trade scenarios we’ve come across in a little while, 4th year pro Luca Caputi(17) was traded to the team that happened to be visiting his (former) home area that night, Syracuse Crunch.

Toronto Maple Leafs made a minor league trade with Anaheim Ducks that perpetuated this cruel joke.

What makes it worse is the player he was traded for Nicolas Dechamps(16) scored a goal in his debut for Toronto Marlies 2-0 victory over his new team.

A humorous aside from the trade, the two players also traded numbers assuming each other’s numbers for their new teams.

In 23 AHL games this season Caputi has 2 goals and 1 assist.

He has 35 games of NHL experience with the Maple Leafs and the team he was originally drafted by in the 4th round of 2007 (#111 overall) Pittsburgh Penguins. He has 3 goals and 6 assists to his credit.

Anaheim Ducks are slumping so badly that it’s almost certain he will see his 1st NHL call-up of the 2011/2012 season.