Toronto Maple Leafs: Results from the Traverse City Prospects Tournament
The 2023 NHL Rookies Prospect Tournament for the Toronto Maple Leafs took place in Traverse City, Michigan, this past weekend.
From September 14th, 2023 to September 17th, 2023, the Toronto Maple Leafs and three other teams competed in this tournament. The Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets, and host Detroit Redwings.
The Players on the 2023 Leafs prospects rookie team, had a pretty good beginning to their season.
During the developmental camp, 28 players and 3 goaltenders represented the Toronto Maple Leafs in Traverse City, finishing with a 2-1 winning record against the three other teams competing in the tournament.
Toronto Maple Leafs and the the 2023 NHL Rookie Tournament
The first game played by the 2023 Toronto Maple Leafs prospects was against the Columbus Blue Jackets, where they were defeated by Columbus 7-3.
Though Columbus took the win, the Leafs rookies were pumped and excited about their opportunity to play in the Showcase in the aftermath of the game, which was seen during the media availability.
In the second game the Leafs Prospects played against the Stars Prospects and won the game in a fashionable style, so to speak, taking the game by a score of 5-1.
In the final game, the Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings Prospects as well. Detroit had taken the lead after 40 minutes of gameplay with a score of 3-2.
The Leafs rookies eventually tied the game up at 3 and even took a brief 2-goal lead in the game, but eventually the score was 5-5.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs rookies then scored with 34.8 seconds left in the game to take the victory by a score of 6-5 and have they finished with a 2-1 winning record in the 2023 NHL Rookies Tournament.
A standout in the tournament for the Toronto Maple Leafs was recent draft pick Easton Cowen, but the real star of the shower was someone named Brandon Lisowsky.
Though not a well-known prospect, Lisowsky was lining up on the third line of the Leafs team, and had a hattrick in the final game against the Red Wings.
Lisowsky is a 7th round pick from the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Although he won’t be appearing on the upcoming Editor In Leaf Top 10 Prospects list, it is encouraging to see some production from a one of the lesser known prospects.
Next. 3 Things the Leafs Need to Compete for the Stanley Cup. dark
At the end of the day, the prospect tournament doesn’t mean much, but it’s still a great way to kick off the new NHL season. The Toronto Maple Leafs will open training camp this Friday.