The Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Ottawa Senators in preseason action last night.
The game wasn’t overly exciting, but hey. At least Toronto Maple Leafs hockey is back. And they get back at it tonight in Ottawa.
While last night’s key players included Mitch Marner, John Tavares, Tyson Barrie, Jake Muzzin, and Jason Spezza, the Leafs are going to have a new crop of exciting players to watch in tonight’s game.
If I went through the entire roster for tonight’s game and did a profile on each and every player, I would be here writing for hours. So I’m going to pick three players out of the crop and explain why I would keep an eye on them tonight. Without further ado, let’s have a look at who we’ve got.
Ilya Mikheyev
Mikheyev has been an intriguing topic ever since the Maple Leafs signed him back in May. He had just come off an impressive season with Avangard Omsk of the KHL where he put up 45 points over 62 games as well as 11 points in 13 playoff games. He has zero games of NHL experience, which is why I’m excited to see how he fares tonight.
He didn’t participate in the Traverse City Rookie tournament, so this will be the first time getting a look at him in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey.
He has good size, standing at 6’3 and 195lbs, and plays left wing, which the Leafs are thin on in terms of prospect depth. It’s hard to say where he will sit in the lineup, but if he gets enough ice time and has a smooth transition to North American ice, then I could see him putting up around 50 points in the NHL.
Pontus Aberg
Pontus Aberg is a guy who’s had me interested since he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He started last season playing for the Anaheim Ducks and had an impressive start to the season, playing alongside of Ryan Getzlaf and putting up career highs with 11 goals and 19 points through 37 games with the Ducks. He was then promptly traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Justin Kloos and came back down to earth, putting up only six points in 22 games.
The way I see it, if Aberg can find the same form he had with the Ducks, he could quietly be a great addition. He’s making league minimum, so if he doesn’t pan out then it’s no big deal. It will be interesting to see what kind of role he’s given tonight and how he fares in said role.
Rasmus Sandin/Timothy Liljegren
Yes, I know I cheated here by using two players. But I couldn’t cover one of these guys and not the other considering how similar their situations are. The Leafs have a bottom pairing that’s more or less up for grabs for anyone not named Rielly, Barrie, Muzzin, and Ceci. So with a left-handed Sandin and a right-handed Liljegren, you know that the pair of young Swedes are stopping at nothing to earn a job out of training camp.
Sandin and Liljegren now both have at least one year of AHL hockey under their belts. Sandin was incredible in the minors last season, putting up 28 points in 44 games as well as 10 points in 13 playoff games as an 18 year old. While Liljegren wasn’t quite as impressive with only 15 points in 43 games, he’s been working hard on improving his defensive game. Sandin and Liljegren will both be getting a look to see how they fare against NHL players tonight, and with impressive showings, one of if not both of them could certainly push for a job out of training camp.
I sincerely hope that all of these players actually are supposed to be in the lineup tonight, otherwise this article will have been pointless.
Thanks for reading.