#2. Rasmus Sandin
In my opinion, Sandin could jump into the line-up every night, but at the same time, I don’t think he needs to. However, that could all change if he proves to be one of the best defenseman on the Leafs roster Saturday night.
Sandin is going to play a ton of NHL games in his career, but he’s still incredibly raw. In 28 games played last season, we definitely saw some good, but we saw a lot of bad. He was outworked physically a lot of the time and showed his age as a rookie defenseman in the NHL.
Sandin is only 20-years-old and will be on the team’s blue-line for a while. Although he’s slotted in as the eighth defenseman with little signs of moving up, you’d have to think he wants to show the organization that he’s capable of playing in the NHL every night.
Paired with Dermott, both players have a ton to prove. Sandin has the luxury of time and progression (compared to Dermott), but this is still a big moment for Sandin to showcase his talent.
If Sandin can play a great game this weekend, Leafs fans would be ecstatic to know that they have eight legitimate NHL defenseman on the roster. Injuries are going to happen and Sandin will most likely have to step up at some point this year, so a good performance from him Saturday will help his chances of getting more ice-time this season.