Abruzzese moved to the Leafs' active roster; here's when he could debut
The Leafs are coming off of an absolutely massive win against a very tough Atlantic Division leading Florida Panthers team, despite a horrendous and very forgettable night for the team's fourth line, who did not register a single shot on the Florida goal.
There have been rumblings of a bit of a shake-up coming for that line on social media and the latest Leafs' transaction is not going to do anything to debunk that theory as Nick Abruzzese, this year's captain for the Harvard Crimson, has been added to the active NHL roster.
No confirmation as of yet on whether Abruzzese will make his Leafs debut on Tuesday in Boston. The Leafs may yet want Abruzzese to get in a couple of practices with the team before committing to throwing him into the lineup.
Abruzzese, 22, posted 77 points in 59 games with Harvard over the last two seasons, producing at well over a point per game. The speedy playmaking center could slot in on the Leafs' fourth line, with either Jason Spezza or Wayne Simmonds coming out of the lineup either Tuesday in Boston or Thursday against the visiting Winnipeg Jets.
Abruzzese may not have the same hype behind him that his NCAA counterpart Matthew Knies has, but the Leafs' development staff thinks very highly of the Slate Hill, NY native and are intrigued to see what he has to offer at the NHL level after impressing on the world stage at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, where he was a point per game (1G, 3A in 4 games).
The Leafs' morning skate should tell us a lot about what to expect. If Abruzzese is a part of the regular game-day roster routine, it's likely that we'll see him in Boston. If not, I'd circle Thursday on the calendar.
| POLL | ||
MARS 28 | 323 ANSWERS Abruzzese moved to the Leafs' active roster; here's when he could debut Will Abruzzese debut on Tuesday against the Bruins? | ||
| Yes, he's a quality player | 85 | 26.3 % |
| No, he's going to be eased in | 81 | 25.1 % |
| He'll debut on Thursday in Toronto | 102 | 31.6 % |
| He's just an extra forward, nothing more | 55 | 17 % |
| List of polls | ||
