Jan 31, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; The Toronto Maple Leafs logo at center ice during the game against the Washington Capitals at the Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Capitals 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Marlies have signed Garret Sparks to an Amateur Try Out contract. The goaltender was taken in the 7th round by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2011 NHL Draft and has been playing with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.

Sparks had a 2.65 goals against average and a .917 save percentage, to go along with 36-17-0-4 record this year with the Storm. He also led the OHL in minutes played, wins, and shutouts in 2012-13. Sparks won a gold medal earlier this year at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Ufa, Russia while playing for the United States.

He will be joining the Marlies in time for their next game when they host the Lake Erie Monsters this Wednesday morning at 11 a.m.

Jan 7, 2011; Anaheim, CA, USA; Hockey sticks are shown with an American flag projected onto the ice before the start of a game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

If you read Tony Notarianni’s piece yesterday about possible Toronto Maple Leaf prospects playing at the World Junior Hockey Championship, then it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Tyler Biggs and Garret Sparks were named to the 2013 U.S. National Junior Team Preliminary Roster today.

Sparks is slowly becoming a nice find deep in the 2011 NHL Draft. He was taken 190th overall in the seventh round and has been steadily improving over the past three seasons with the Guelph Storm of the OHL. In Sparks’ first year with the Storm he finished the campaign with a 3.64 goals against average and a .890 save percentage. Last season those numbers increased to 3.11 and .907, and in 2012-13 he currently is sporting a 2.91 GAA with a .916 SP.

Biggs is probably a lot more well known to Leaf fans as he was taken in the same draft as Sparks, but in the first round at 22nd overall. Biggs has 31 points in just 30 games this season for the Oshawa Generals, and at 6-3 and 224 lbs, his coach DJ Smith has compared him to Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic. If you live in the Greater Toronto Area you should head over to Oshawa to check out Biggs in action at some point this season. You won’t be disappointed. He should make the U.S. squad easily.

The WJHC is always a great time to learn about prospects from your favorite team and how they are progressing with their development. Thanks to the lockout, this year’s tournament promises to be more of a focal point with the lack of NHL action. Even if you may have to get up at 4am Eastern Time to watch a lot of the games. Or depending on your preference, possibly stay up until 4am. Either way there figures to be a lot of Canadians with a screwed up internal body clock during this holiday season.