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Dylan Strome

The Dylan Strome Situation

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Dylan Strome is one of five rookies who made the 2016-17 Arizona Coyotes roster, joining D Jakob Chychrun, F Christian Dvorak, F Laurent Dauphin and F Lawson Crouse. Strome, the third overall pick in 2015, is expected to one day fill the longstanding vacancy the Coyotes have had for an elite, #1 center. But after being announced as a scratch for tonight’s season-opener, questions are already being raised as to whether Strome is or even will be that guy, as Craig Morgan of Today’s Slapshot writes.

Of course it’s just one game in what likely promises to be a long career for Strome, but it has to be somewhat disconcerting a highly-regarded rookie is already sitting in the press box this early on. To his credit, Strome is looking at the bright side of the situation:

“It’s obviously a little disappointing but you’ve got to look at the positives. I’m here in the NHL, living my dream at 19. Not a lot of people get this opportunity so I’m just going to wait for my chance and just run with it when I get it.”

For his part, head coach Dave Tippett “promised” Strome would get an opportunity and as Morgan notes, the coach even implied the 19-year-old rookie could rotate in and out with Dvorak in a platoon scenario. It seems odd that the Coyotes would subject two of their top prospects to this type of arrangement considering they have other options. Dvorak could have been sent to Tucson of the AHL to gain more professional experience. Strome is eligible to be returned to Erie of the OHL for a final season of junior but according to Morgan the Coyotes would prefer to introduce the youngster to their system and have him work with their staff to further his development. After netting 240 points in his last 124 OHL games, it would seem apparent that another year of junior wouldn’t do Strome much good.

This situation probably will qualify as nothing more than a blip on the radar in the career of Strome. But it has to register as somewhat surprising that he will have to wait a little longer before making his NHL debut.

Four Rookies Make Coyotes Final Roster

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Bob McKenzie tweeted earlier that Dylan Strome, Lawson Crouse and Jakob Chychrun have all made the Coyotes final 23-man roster. They will be joined by 21-year-old center Laurent Dauphin, who appears poised to fill the fourth-line pivot job for the Coyotes.

Strome was drafted by the Coyotes third overall in 2015 and will likely fill a top-six center slot for Arizona. He’s combined to score 240 points the last two seasons with the Erie Otters of the OHL, serving as the team’s captain in 2015-16.

Crouse was acquired by Arizona from Florida in the offseason as incentive for the club to assume the balance of Dave Bolland’s contract. If he stays with the Coyotes for at least 10 games this season, the 2018 conditional draft choice the Coyotes are set to send to Florida will become a second. If he doesn’t burn a year of his ELC, the pick will be a third-rounder.

Chychrun was chosen 16th overall in 2016 with the pick acquired from Detroit in exchange for taking on the final year of Pavel Datsyuk’s deal. The 18-year-old will likely take the spot of Kevin Connauton, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. It’s possible Chychrun’s stay in Arizona will come to an end once Connauton is healthy enough to return.

GM John Chayka made a lot of moves in the summer to help mold his roster into one capable of challenging for a playoff spot. At least to start, it looks like the Coyotes will be counting on a handful of rookies to make significant contributions to that pursuit.

Pacific Division Notes: Rodin, Gryba, Bennett, Coyotes Prospects

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In need of additional scoring punch up front, the Vancouver Canucks were hopeful Swedish winger Anton Rodin would earn a big league job and contribute some secondary scoring to the lineup. He has impressed during camp but now it looks as if his NHL debut will be postponed as the 25-year-old winger is experiencing soreness and swelling in his surgically repaired knee. Rodin suffered a severed tendon last year while playing in the Swedish Elite League and as Iain MacIntyre of the Province writes, it’s believed that Rodin has simply aggravated the knee by playing too much hockey in a relatively short period of time this preseason.

GM Jim Benning indicated Rodin will be held out of the lineup for up to a week to allow for rest and rehab.

“The injury got aggravated and so he’s going to have to take a step back. We’re going to give him a few days or week off here to get the swelling down, and from there just rehab so he’s a 100 per cent for us. We’re going to need him at 100 per cent.”

MacIntyre notes that Rodin is averaging a point-per-game through five preseason contests and has demonstrated an ability to protect the puck and to play in traffic against bigger opponents during exhibition games. The 2009 second-round pick has some experience in North America, skating in 111 games with Chicago in the AHL, scoring 14 goals and 41 points. He returned to Sweden in time for the 2014-15 season and would go on to win the Swedish League’s MVP in 2015-16.

Fortunately for Vancouver, the injury doesn’t appear serious and it looks as if Rodin will only be out a short time. It could threaten his availability to play in the season opener and as such, his absence could come into play as the Canucks look to finalize their roster.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • After signing Kris Russell to a one-year contract, the Edmonton Oilers have given fellow blue liner Eric Gryba permission to speak with other clubs in an attempt to land a job, tweets Jason Gregor of the Edmonton Journal. This would seem to suggest Gryba, who is in camp with the Oilers on a PTO, will not make the Edmonton roster. If Gryba fails to find a spot in another organization, Gregor believes he could continue to skate with the team, though of course he would be doing so without a contract. Gryba spent the first three years of his NHL career with Ottawa before a 2015 trade sent the defenseman to Edmonton. He appeared in 53 games in 2015-16 with the Oilers and tallied one goal and six points.
  • It’s looking more and more likely the Arizona Coyotes will break camp with a few rookies among their ranks, writes Sarah McLellan of AZ Central. Dylan Strome was expected to make the team and fill a scoring line pivot role and has done nothing in camp to change that line of thinking. Recently he’s been skating with Lawson Crouse and Anthony Duclair on the team’s second line. Speaking of Crouse, the Coyotes value his grit and toughness though it’s still likely he doesn’t start the season with Arizona. Laurent Dauphin could force his way into a 4th line role and has evidently earned the trust of his teammates with his hard work. McLellan also notes the team is still giving looks to forwards Christian Dvorak and Christian Fischer along with blue liners Jakob Chychrun and Anthony DeAngelo. Whatever happens it seems quite possible that several rookies will be suiting up for the Coyotes in 2016-17.
  • Calgary Flames center Sam Bennett appears poised for a breakout campaign as a sophomore in the NHL, writes Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Herald. Bennett, who scored 18 goals and 36 points in 77 games as a rookie, is already well on his way to earning the trust of new head coach Glen Gulutzan due to his responsible two-way play this preseason. The 20-year-old pivot has also made an impression on veteran winger Troy Brouwer, with whom he has skated with this preseason: “He’s a good player. He sees the ice well and he reads the game well, which is a tough thing and a unique thing to have, especially at 20 years old. I think he’s the type of player, under this coach, who is going to have a lot of responsibility and it’s really going to elevate his game.” Gilbertson notes that with Johnny Gaudreau still unsigned and not playing, Calgary has struggled putting the puck in the net scoring just nine times in seven games. If Gaudreau is out for any extended period of the regular season, Bennett could help fill the scoring void created by his absence.

2016-17 Season Preview: Arizona Coyotes

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With training camps opening around the league and the new season less than three weeks away, we continue our series of team previews with a look at the Arizona Coyotes.

Last Season: 35 – 39 – 8 (78 points), fourth place in the Pacific Division. Missed the playoffs.

Salary Cap Space Remaining: $2.347MM (per Cap Friendly). The Coyotes will be able to free up to an additional $10.5MM by placing Dave Bolland and Chris Pronger on LTIR.

Key Newcomers: Alex Goligoski (D) – trade with Dallas; Jamie McGinn (LW) – free agent from Anaheim; Luke Schenn (D) – free agent from L.A. Kings; Radim Vrbata (RW) – free agent from Vancouver; Lawson Crouse (LW) – trade with Florida.

Key Departures: Antoine Vermette (C) – contract buyout – signed with Anaheim as free agent; Alex Tanguay (LW) – free agent; Boyd Gordon (C) – signed with Philadelphia as a free agent.

Players to Watch: Mike Smith and Goligoski. The Coyotes allowed the third most goals in the entire league which was a function of substandard goaltending and a mediocre defense corps. GM John Chayka addressed the defense, dealing a fifth-round pick to Dallas in exchange for the negotiating rights to Goligoski and subsequently signed the veteran puck-mover to a five-year contract.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the Coyotes #1 blue liner but Goligoski adds a reliable veteran to the mix who can play in all situations and will strengthen the team’s top-four. Last season he tallied 37 points for the Stars and has averaged 40 points for every 82 games he has played during his career. Goligoski was a horse on the back end in 2015-16, averaging nearly 24 minutes a game for the Central Division champs.

Meanwhile, the team is hopeful Smith will be healthy and provide steady play between the pipes for the Coyotes. The team finished 23rd overall in goalie save percentage with Smith appearing in just 32 games. On a promising note, Smith led all NHL goalies with 15 or more games played in 2015-16 in High Danger Save % (HDsV%) with a mark of 87.4% and has stopped at least 84% of those high quality chances in three of the last four seasons.

Smith was superlative in 2011-12 – the last season the Coyotes qualified for the playoffs – winning 38 games and finishing with a Sv% of 93.0%. He has the ability to single-handedly keep the Coyotes in games and if Goligoski can help clean up the defensive end, the Coyotes will be a contender.

Storylines: The John Chayka experiment and the development of the kids. Chayka is not only the league’s youngest GM but he’s also the first to come from a more analytically-oriented background. Fair or not, how the Coyotes perform with the roster he has assembled will have a major impact on how analytics and advanced stats are perceived in the league. If he can build a winner in Arizona with a limited payroll, it might encourage more clubs to actively embrace the role of analytics in the game.

By all accounts Chayka is a bright guy and most of his offseason moves were met with positive reactions from hockey pundits. His actual reliance on analytics in roster construction may be overstated but there is no question old school managers and coaches will be watching with interest.

Although improved goaltending and more contributions from the club’s blue liners will be important, perhaps the key to this upcoming season is the continued development of its young talent. Max Domi and Anthony Duclair are already well on their way to becoming stars in this league but the team does lack an established #1 center. Fortunately, they do have Dylan Strome, the third overall pick in the 2015 entry draft and one of the game’s top prospects. Strome has been among the most explosive scorers in junior hockey, totaling 240 points in 124 games with Erie of the OHL, averaging nearly two points per contest. No one expects the young pivot to immediately fill the void at #1 but if he can establish himself as a legitimate NHL regular it will take some of the pressure of the team’s returning centers. Assuming Duclair, Domi and the team’s other young players take the next step in their development and Strome proves to be ready for the NHL, Arizona has a realistic shot at playoff contention.

‘Yotes Notes: Strome, Duclair, Smith

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The Hockey News published their Arizona Coyotes season preview today, and from it comes some nice analysis of the up-and-coming team. Young GM John Chayka has built a prospect-powerhouse, with players like Christian Dvorak and Dylan Strome joining the club this season.

Strome, as THN reports, is set to become the team’s second line center, behind Martin Hanzal and may skate alongside captain Shane Doan and new winger Jamie McGinn. With those two at his sides, he’ll definitely be able to use his creativity and flash to put up some strong offensive numbers. His future as the Arizona number one center isn’t set in stone, but it’s definitely a real possibility down the line.

  • THN also notes that only eight of Anthony Duclair’s 20 goals came in the second half, including just four in his final 26 games. He’s a prime candidate for a sophomore slump as he heads into his second NHL season, but if he continues to skate alongside Domi he’s sure to have respectable numbers when the season ends.  Duclair is a big part of the power game that compliments players like Domi and Strome, and will be an important contributor going forward.
  • If the Coyotes are to do anything resembling a playoff push, much of it will come on the back of goaltender Mike Smith. He’s 34 and coming off a few poor seasons, but did post a .944 save percentage in his return from a core muscle last season. If he can become the Vezina contender he was in 2012, this team could be a contender as soon as next season.

Snapshots: Sedins, Gaudreau, Strome, Dvorak

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They may turn 36-years-old later this month and certainly they are in the twilight of their tremendous careers, but that doesn’t mean the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, are thinking about retiring any time soon. Still with two years remaining on the matching deals they have with the Canucks – at an AAV of $7MM – the Sedins are adamant that there will be one more contract in their shared future, according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet. Whether that contract is with the Canucks or not remains to be seen. As Henrik said:

“If they don’t want us there, then we’ve got to make a decision. We’re not going to retire because we don’t want to play for another team.”

The likelihood the twins retire as Canucks likely depends on a couple of factors. First, how effective will they be at age 38 and two, will Vancouver have embraced a full rebuild by that point. Not many players remain particularly effective into their late 30’s but the Sedins have shown to be an exception. Last year, each twin tallied an average of 0.74 points-per-game, which prorates to roughly 60 over an 82-game schedule. For their careers, Henrik has slightly outproduced his brother, 0.83 to 0.82 points-per-game. The Sedins are still producing reasonably close to their career scoring rates.

Still, in two seasons, Henrik could have more than 1,300 NHL games under his belt and Daniel can reach that plateau if he plays virtually game over the next couple of years. That’s a lot of hockey and doesn’t even count postseason or international contests.

It’s also quite possible the Canucks will have little interest in keeping the Sedins beyond the 2017-18 campaign, as Spector points out. Vancouver doesn’t look to be a playoff team this season and many of their better players are also in the later stages of their careers. The club does have some high-end prospects coming – Brock Boeser and Olli Juolevi, for example – but their system isn’t particularly deep in quality talent. It’s likely their top prospects will just be breaking into the league by 2018-19 and while it’s never a bad thing to have veteran mentors the caliber of the Sedins, the organization may simply want to move in another direction by that point.

The Sedins may well be among the most interesting free agents on the 2018 open market.

More from around the NHL:

  • Perhaps the top remaining unsigned restricted free agent, Johnny Gaudreau, is still no closer to a resolution of his status, and as Eric Francis reports, the contract situation has been “painful,” for the Flames young star. “Honestly, throughout the whole summer and contract situation it’s been so painful because every day it’s something that’s on my mind.” Fortunately for Gaudreau, the World Cup has provided the Team North America participant with a distraction from the situation. “So this tourney has helped me not worry about that. I can just play hockey, have fun, be part of the team and hang out with teammates. It’s been the easiest part of my summer without the contract situation there.” It would be shocking if a new accord between the two sides wasn’t reached soon after the World Cup. Both sides clearly want to get a deal done; it’s just a matter of closing the remaining gap and finding common ground. At least playing in the World Cup will help keep Gaudreau sharp and ready for the regular season, assuming he misses all or part of training camp.
  • John Chayka made a number of moves this summer designed to help the Coyotes get back to the playoffs after a four year absence. However, two players drafted before the league’s youngest GM assumed his position may play critical roles if the team is to qualify for the postseason tournament. Writing for the Coyotes team website, Dave Vest reports that while Chayka is pleased with the overall depth of the team’s prospect pool, expectations are specifically high for 2015 first-round pick Dylan Strome and 2014 second-round choice Christian Dvorak. Strome could position himself to earn one of the team’s top two center positions with a good training camp. In fact, their current depth chart on Roster Resource already lists him as the top center, although he’d likely be best suited playing more protected minutes. Still, Chayka has made it clear to Strome and the other prospects what he expects to see at the team’s prospect camp. “He’s just a real smart, cerebral player who does a lot of good things. It’s not like he has to be hitting the scoresheet every night to make an impact. We want him to play a 200-foot game and look after all the details that we know he learned from last year’s camp. We’re looking for consistency. It’s one thing to have one good game but you have to come in each day and follow that up consistently. For Dylan, and for all of our players, it’s a matter of making an impact in the game consistently. That’s what we’re looking for.” 

 

Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: Theodore, Strome, Dvorak, Shinkaruk

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The Pacific Division has its fair share of intriguing prospects, placing five players among the first 14 names on Corey Pronman’s list of top 120 prospects compiled recently for ESPN.com (Insider required). The Coyotes lead the way overall with nine prospects making the cut. Today we profile four talented young players in the division who should have a chance to contribute to their teams this season.

Shea Theodore (Anaheim) – The Ducks already boast a strong complement of defenders with Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen leading the way. But with the NHL moving more to a speed and skill game there is always room for a smooth two-way blue liner who knows how to move the puck and that’s exactly what Theodore is.

Theodore was drafted in the first round by the Ducks in the 2013 draft out of the WHL. In 258 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Theodore scored 58 goals and 212 points and won the Bill Hunter award as the league’s top defenseman in 2014-15. After turning pro, Theodore would appear in 63 AHL contests over parts of three seasons, culminating in an impressive 2015-16 showing with the San Diego Gulls where he tallied 37 points in 50 games as a 20-year-old. He would also chip in eight points in 19 regular season games with the Ducks in his first taste of NHL action.

There have been rumors much of the summer that the Ducks could look to move one of their defensemen – Cam Fowler specifically has been linked to several trade rumors – in an effort to acquire a scoring-line LW. If Anaheim should succeed in those purported efforts, Theodore’s path to a regular NHL job becomes much clearer.

Dylan Strome (Arizona) – The third overall choice in the 2015 entry draft, Strome is one of the game’s top prospects after tearing up the OHL the last two seasons. Strome combined to tally 82 goals and 240 points in just 124 games for the Erie Otters. That averages out to nearly two points per game over the last two campaigns. He also led the OHL in scoring with 129 points during the 2014-15 campaign.

The 6-foot-3, 185 pound pivot has drawn comparisons from scouts to a young Ryan Getzlaf in terms of his frame and strong skating stride. Of course there are no guarantees Strome will ever impact the game the way that Getzlaf has but it does speak to the youngster’s high skill level and potential ceiling.

The Coyotes spent the summer remaking their roster into one they hope can compete for a playoff spot in 2016-17, though they didn’t add any centers from outside the organization. The top returning pivot is Martin Hanzal, who is a fine two-way player and scored a career-best 41 points in 2015-16. But he hasn’t played a full schedule of games since 2009-10 and is best suited as a #2 or even a #3 center for a contending team. Consequently, the Coyotes are likely to give Strome every opportunity to win a job centering one of the team’s top two lines. That would put him in position to share the ice at times with Anthony Duclair and Max Domi, which should ease his transition to the NHL.

Christian Dvorak (Arizona) – Dvorak, is yet another talented young forward who could force his way onto the Coyotes roster. The Coyotes used their second-round selection in the 2014 draft on Dvorak after a mediocre debut campaign with London of the OHL where he scored just 14 points in 33 games. But Dvorak took his game to another level the next two seasons, combining to score 93 goals and 230 points over that time. He would augment that performance with an impressive 35-point output in 18 games during the 2015-16 postseason and added another seven goals and 12 points in four Memorial Cup games for the Knights.

Assuming the Coyotes can get RFA Tobias Rieder re-signed, he would join free agent addition Jamie McGinn, Duclair and Domi as top-six wingers. A good performance in camp could earn Dvorak a job on the third or fourth line since Arizona’s depth up front is somewhat shallow, though it wouldn’t hurt his development to get some seasoning in the AHL first.

Hunter Shinkaruk (Calgary) – Shinkaruk, who was originally drafted in the first round by Vancouver, was acquired by Calgary in exchange for center Markus Granlund during the 2015-16 season. He made his debut this past season with the Canucks and appeared in another seven games after his trade to the Flames, with whom he scored his first two NHL goals. Shinkaruk also suited up for 62 AHL contests, tallying 27 goals and 51 points between Utica and Stockton.

The Flames have terrific young forward talent already on their NHL roster. Johnny Goudreau and Sean Monahan have already established themselves as two of the best young players in the game and could soon be joined by Sam Bennett. Free agent addition Troy Brouwer brings needed size and experience to the club’s top-six. Center Mikael Backlund, coming off a career-high 47-point campaign, and Michael Frolik, 32 points in 64 games, add more offensive punch. But there is room on the LW for a skilled player to join the Flames’ top-six and Shinkaruk may get the first crack to fill that role.

(All depth charts courtesy of Roster Resource)

‘Yotes Notes: Front Office, Prospects, Braid

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The Arizona Coyotes have had a busy offseason, between hiring the youngest GM in NHL history, the first full-time female coach and using their cap-space to build a great young pool of players. Today, they announced that they’d done some more hiring, this time to beef up their scouting staff. The team has brought on Jim Hammett, Rick Beckfeld and Sergei Kuznetsov as amateur scouts, Brett Stewart as a development coach, Brad Rossen as Director of Statistical Science and Al Ambrosia as the Hockey Operations Coordinator.

Other news from the desert:

  • ESPN released their annual top 120 prospect rankings (subscription needed), and the Coyotes fared very well coming in with four players in the top 40 and nine players in total. Dylan Strome and Clayton Keller led the list at #4 and #6 respectively, while Jakob Chychrun and Lawson Crouse, both acquired through the use of cap space, came in at #32 and #37. Solid drafting, combined with a shrewd use of every advantage has led the Coyotes to have one of the best young crops in the league, and this list even excludes players like Max Domi and Anthony Duclair.
  • After all the fanfare that has surrounded the hiring of Dawn Braid as the first full-time female coach in the NHL, she’s quick to heap praise on other people. In a piece by Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated today, Braid admits it’s “a little bit overwhelming”, and quickly lists other skating coaches Barbara Underhill (Toronto) and Tracy Tutton (Colorado) as deserved of the same praise. It was her father who had pushed her into helping hockey teams, and Braid continues to remember why she started: “It’s the opportunity to honor my father again. Every day I teach or I coach or I consult I think about him. It is part of what drives me on the ice to do what I do. He’s always in the back of my head.”

Coyotes Notes: Hanzal, Rieder, Strome

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While former Arizona GM Don Maloney was originally looking to sign center Martin Hanzal to an extension this summer before he wound up being let go, his replacement in John Chayka doesn’t seem to be as enthusiastic about the idea, writes Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports.  Morgan reports that Chayka held talks with Hanzal’s representatives shortly after he took over but those talks were pushed to the backburner.

Chayka’s comments certainly suggest they’re in no rush to get a new deal done with the 29 year old:

“If there was something that made sense, we would probably take a closer look at that because Marty’s been a good player for us.  But maybe it’s not a bad thing to get into the season and see how things play out.”

Hanzal has spent his entire nine year career with the Coyotes.  Last season, he had a career year offensively, picking up 13 goals and 28 assists in just 64 games, setting career highs in both assists and points.  He also won an impressive 56% of his faceoffs, putting him in a tie for 15th league wide amongst players who took at least 300 draws last season.

Hanzal is entering the final season of a five year deal that carries a cap hit of $3.1MM and a salary of $3.5MM.  He will be an unrestricted free agent after 2016-17 and should be in line for a sizable raise if he can repeat his efforts from last season.

More news and notes surrounding the Coyotes:

  • Also from Morgan, there is no update to the Tobias Rieder contract situation. The two sides are believed to be several hundred thousand dollars apart per season.  Rieder’s agent Darren Ferris suggested earlier this summer that Rieder would be open to signing in the KHL if a deal can’t be reached.
  • Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com sat down with Chayka with the focus being on their youngsters, particularly Christian Dvorak and Dylan Strome, both of whom are expected to contend for a roster spot in training camp. Some have suggested that with Strome’s case in particular, he has achieved all he can at the junior level (he is too young to play in the AHL) and that sending him back could be detrimental to his development.  Chayka is at least mindful of that concept, noting “I do think there is, obviously, a fine line between overbaking your prospects. I think there’s some detriments that can occur if you do that as well. But at the same time, there’s no rush for these players.”  The Coyotes are expected to have a few spots open for younger players next season.

Mitch Marner Has “Good Chance” At Cracking NHL Roster

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While speaking to TSN’s Brent Wallace, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock revealed his thoughts about top-prospect Mitch Marner, and his chances at breaking camp with the NHL team:

Well I sure think he has a good chance. Mitch has been working with our guys and really training hard. He’s eating right and doing everything he can to get stronger. To say Mitch has got to put on a bunch of weight is ridiculous. All you have to do is get stronger – you are who you are, be the best Mitch you can possibly be. He’s got a lot of summer here left, and he’ll keep working at it, but he’ll have a real good chance to make the Leafs.

Babcock is referring to the overwhelming opinion that has been floated around since his draft, that Marner is too small to play in the NHL. Standing at 5’11”, 164lbs he’s always been a light player, and while he’s been working diligently to put on weight, he’ll never be a bruising forward.  Opponents of the “he’s too small” camp use examples like Patrick Kane (5’11” 177lbs) and Johnny Gaudreau (5’9″ 157lbs) as reasons why Marner will succeed at the next level, given his elite offensive ability and hockey IQ.

While Marner played center in junior with the London Knights of the OHL, and was drafted as such, these smaller players often find the most success on the wings in the NHL and his role at the current National Junior Evaluation Camp may give credence to the idea that Marner is destined to move. He suited up today on the wing of Dylan Strome, top prospect of the Arizona Coyotes, for their game against Sweden (which they lost 4-1).  The Maple Leafs have multiple options down the middle for next season, with Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak and Peter Holland returning, while number-one choice Auston Matthews has been added to the fold. William Nylander, another top prospect who showed off his offensive ability in a short NHL stint last season, is also a center by trade, though some think he’s also destined for the wing long-term.

Babcock also talked about the huge number of young players in Leafs camp this season.  When asked if it was too many, he said he’d thought about that himself:

I’ve spent a lot of time on that. Obviously I have our lineup built out with three teams for camp, two teams for exhibition, and then you get down to one. They have to solve it themselves, it’s not up to me, they decide who’s on the team. When I go through it, we have some good men, we’ve acquired good men, we have good people in our leadership group so I think we can handle some kids. Obviously we had a lot of them last year, and having a few more this year – especially high-end ones – won’t hurt us.

The Maple Leafs have built quite a prospect pool to draw from going forward, with players like Nikita Soshnikov, Zach Hyman, and Kasperi Kapanen all making their NHL debuts last season. This year will be more of the same, as Marner and Matthews try to break in.

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