Toronto Maple Leafs: Newfoundland Growlers Season in Review

The Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t the only team to end their season early.

Like the NHL, the Toronto Maple Leafs affiliates in the ECHL and the AHL are also suspending operations during this crisis.

The Leafs ECHL affiliate is the Newfoundland Growlers.

With the cancellation of the remainder of the ECHL season and playoffs, let’s recap the defending champions’ (and your Toronto Maple Leafs affiliate) season and what the future may hold for some up and coming Leafs prospects.

Toronto Maple Leafs Affiliate Newfoundland Growlers

(All stats from nlgrowlers.com and hockeydb.com)

On Saturday, March 14, the ECHL board of governors voted to cancel the remainder of the 2019-20 season, as well as the playoffs, due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. At this time, operations are set to resume in the fall.

At the time of the cancellation, the Toronto Maple Leafs affiliated Newfoundland Growlers had clinched a playoff spot for the second consecutive year and were the number one team in the North Division, holding a record of 42-17-1 with 12 games remaining in their schedule.

Their season concluded on a five game winning streak, which started with a 9-1 thumping of the Jacksonville IceMen, the most goals scored in a single Growlers game in the franchise’s short history.

Speaking of history, the Growlers also accomplished ECHL history this season by winning 19 straight home games, a new record previously held by the 1994-95 South Carolina Stingrays.

In other team-related stats of note, the Growlers were 2nd league-wide in goals for, 9th in goals against and had the 2nd least amount of penalty minutes.

Leading Scorers

All of the team’s top scorers registered close to (if not greater than) a point-per-game.

24-year-old Brady Ferguson led the way with 63 points (24 goals) in 57 games played.

Rookie Justin Brazeau held the distinction of being the team’s top goal scorer (27), he scored 55 points in 57 GP.

22-year-old Giorgio Estephan held the highest PT/G average, with 52 points in only 44 GP, a performance that saw him get a call-up to the Marlies for a stint. St. John’s, NL natives Marcus Power and Zach O’Brien round out the leading forward scorers with 50 points in 51 games and 46 points in 41 games, respectively.

Aaron Luchuk, a prospect who was acquired in the July 2019 Leafs-Senators trade, scored 50 points in 45 games before being traded back to Ottawa (and subsequently flipped to Montreal) in February.

Prospect Joseph Duszak was the highest scoring defenceman, with just over a point-per-game (35 in 34 GP before being called up to the AHL).

Of the Growlers regulars, forward-turned-defence Evan Neugold led the way for the D-corps, notching 27 points in 53 games.

Goalie Controversy

Between the pipes, the Growlers utilized a total of four netminders this season: Parker Gahagan, Angus Redmond, Maksim Zhukov and Patrick Munson. Leading the way was the 20 year old Zhukov, a 2017 4th round selection by the Vegas Golden Knights, made his professional hockey debut this year in a slightly larger spotlight than many anticipated.

Before the season began, it was widely expected that one of the two highly touted Leafs goaltending prospects (Joseph Woll and Ian Scott) would be taking starting minutes with the Growlers.

Unfortunately, Scott suffered a season-ending injury during training camp and, due to a lack of other options, Woll went to the AHL, leaving Zhukov as the Growlers starter.

Early in the season, the young goalie struggled greatly, leaving many in the local fanbase wondering aloud why he was still getting the majority of the starts, but he’s put his game together and rebounded well, winning 14 of 26 total starts, with a .871 save percentage. Still rough around the edges, but given his age, that’s to be expected.

Munson, an undrafted journeyman, was signed as the backup to begin the year, and though he played well (2 wins in 3 games) he was ultimately released for reasons unknown very early in the season.

Redmond, a Ducks prospect, was acquired on a conditional loan from Anaheim’s farm system (rights traded to Edmonton at the trade deadline, but he remained with the Growlers). “Beef” quickly became a fan favorite, winning 16 of 20 starts and posting a .904 save percentage.

Injury troubles in early December led to the signing of Gahagan out of the SPHL. The 26 year old Buffalo native and active Army First Lieutenant made a splash immediately after his arrival, winning 10 of 15 starts and putting up a league-high .939 save percentage, a performance that earned him an AHL contract and a call-up to the Marlies.

Prospects to Watch

In addition to the previously mentioned Brazeau, Duszak, Estephan and Zhukov, fans of Toronto hockey may want to keep an eye on Colt Conrad, Riley Woods, Trent Bourque, and Sergei Sapego.

Conrad, a 22 year old center in his first pro year (signed as a college free agent) scored 38 points in 42 games with the Growlers. Speed and vision are the keys to his game, and though he’s more of a playmaker, he can put the puck in the net.

Woods (21) another forward making his professional debut this season scored 37 points in 43 games. A versatile winger who improves at all aspects of the game every time he steps on the ice.

Bourque (21), a 2017 6th round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, was acquired in an AHL trade between the Marlies and the Belleville Senators. In 9 games with the Growlers, he picked up 4 assists, prior to that he scored 20 points in 42 games with the Brampton Beast. Defensively, he still has some work to do, but his puck-moving ability and nose for the net make him stand out.

Sapego, a 19 year old making his professional debut after three seasons in the WHL, notched 7 assists in 35 games with the Growlers. He may not be traditionally big (6 feet, 177 pounds) but he can still lock down the back end and keep opposing teams honest.

What’s Next?

While this season will go down in the record books as unfinished, it may not be the end for some players. Many of the Growlers are signed to AHL or NHL contracts, so presumably, they may get an opportunity to answer a call to action should the other leagues resume operations.

Per Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun (@sunhornby), Growlers CEO Glenn Stafford states that talks have begun for St. John’s to host the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp once again, which would be a great opportunity for the fans to catch up with both new and returning players, as well as for any future new Growlers to get accustomed to the city they’ll call home for the 2020-2021 hockey season.