Toronto Maple Leafs Sign P.K Subban’s Brother
By Josh Tessler
Yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Jordan Subban to a one year, two-way contract.
Subban, a Toronto native, is the brother of P.K. Subban, defenseman for the Nashville Predators and Malcolm Subban, goaltender for the Vegas Golden Knights. Unfortunately, he is not a top prospect. J. Subban is a 23 year old former 4th round pick, and this signing is likely more significant for who he is related to than for what he’ll accomplish as a Leaf.
Just like his two brothers, Subban ended up playing junior hockey for the former OHL team, the Belleville Bulls. In 253 games played with the Bulls, he posted 57 goals and 108 assists.
His success in Belleville caught the attention of the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks were impressed by Subban’s skill-set and decided to draft him in the fourth round of the 2013 Entry Draft.
Unfortunately for Subban, his success in the OHL didn’t translate into success at the AHL level. He played in 148 games for the Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. During his time in Utica, Subban registered 27 goals and 50 assists. In December of last year, the Canucks saw enough and decided to trade him to the Los Angeles Kings. In exchange, the Canucks received Nic Dowd. Similarly to Subban, Dowd also signed with a new club yesterday. The Stanley Cup champions, the Washington Capitals decided to offer him a contract.
The trade to Los Angeles didn’t spark a revival in his game. After the trade was finalized, the Kings sent him to their AHL team, the Ontario Reign. He appeared in 36 games for the Reign and tallied 8 points.
Perhaps, by signing a contract with his hometown team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, he’ll be able to improve enough to become a decent prospect. He’ll be working with the Calder Cup champion mastermind, Sheldon Keefe. Hopefully, the combination of Keefe and being closer to home will revitalize Subban’s defensive skill-set.
It’s A Solid Acquisition
This is a solid signing by Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs front office, in that, there is no risk and some upside.
Keefe and the Toronto Marlies coaching staff have done a phenomenal job working with other Maple Leafs prospects and developing them into strong assets. The coaching staff has done a solid job with prospects including Andreas Johnsson, Kasperi Kapanen, Carl Grundstrom, Travis Dermott and others. With the success that they’ve had, I have a lot of faith that they’ll be able to work their magic with Subban.
That said, Subban is 23 and usually if you haven’t made it by then….
If Keefe and the staff aren’t able to get Subban back into the limelight, it wouldn’t be a huge loss. Subban only signed a one year deal.
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Hopefully, Subban will be able to revive his career with the Toronto Marlies. He’ll be surrounded by one of the best minor league coaching staff and his family. Perhaps, a ticket home is all he’ll need to get back to where he was in Belleville.
stats from theahl.com, wikipedia.com and nhl.com, research from wikipedia.com