The Toronto Maple Leafs will have no more weekends without hockey between now and next off-season. NHL training camps and pre-season games begin this week. The Leafs will open training camp on Friday, September 22nd.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will have a few battles going on during training camp and pre-season. There will be a battle for one or two spots in the Leafs bottom-six. As for who will earn the spot as the Leafs sixth and seventh defensemen will be another battle.
Prospect Matthew Knies will be battling against Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and Calle Jarnkrok for a chance to play in the Leafs top six with players like Auston Matthews or John Tavares. There will be plenty to watch for over the next three weeks.
Before we get ahead of ourselves with training camp and pre-season, the Leafs prospects took part in the annual Traverse City Tournament against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, and Detroit Red Wings.
Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects in Traverse City Tournament
The Leafs prospects played well in the Traverse City Tournament that took place September 14th to 17th.
The Leafs prospects lost their first game of the tournament 7-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
They bounced back in their second game on Friday against the Dallas Stars and won 5-1. In their final game of the tournament against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, the Leafs came out on top by winning 6-5.
The Leafs finished the tournament 2-1 in three games. The prospects that stood out the most for me during the Traverse City Tournament were Matthew Knies, Easton Cowan, Ryan Tverberg, Fraser Minten, Mikko Kokkonen, Brandon Lisowsky, and Dennis Hildeby.
Toronto Maple Leafs Pre-Season Schedule
The Toronto Maple Leafs pre-season schedule begins on Sunday, September 24th, on the road against the Ottawa Senators.
Ottawa will then travel to Toronto and play the Leafs on September 25th. The Leafs will host the Buffalo Sabres on September 27th before heading to Montreal for back-to-back games against the Canadiens on September 29th and 30th. On October 2nd, the Leafs will host the Canadiens for the third and final pre-season game between these long-time rivals.
The Leafs will finish their pre-season with two games against the Detroit Red Wings on October 5th (Home) and 7th (Away).
Toronto Maple Leafs Broadcast Crew Returns
Long-time broadcaster Joe Bowen confirmed to Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun that he and broadcast partner Jim Ralph will be returning to the radio booth this season.
It will be Bowen’s 42nd year, which is something he’s very proud of, as he points out that Foster Hewitt did it for 41 years.