The Leafs and their AHL affiliate remain busy during free agency, as the Toronto Marlies have inked 6 players to 1-year AHL deals in the last 24 hours. It was reported last night that Brock Caufield, brother of Montreal's Cole Caufield, had signed a 1-year deal with the Marlies, and this morning it was announced that Jackson Berezowski, Neil Shea, Tate Singleton, Tyler Weiss and Nolan Dillingham have all put pen to paper as well.
If that last name looks familiar, it's because Dillingham made headlines last week when he absolutely flattened one of the Leafs' top prospects, Roni Hirvonen, during a Leafs summer development camp scrimmage. You can see the hit below:
Many had suspected at the time that laying out one of the Leafs' top prospects as a camp invitee likely cost Dillingham any shot that he might have had at a contract. However, Leafs AGM Hayley Wickenheiser was quick to point out that the hit was a clean one in the eyes of the Leafs, who obviously appreciated Dillingham's willingness to step up and play the body in an attempt to disrupt a zone entry.
We know that Hirvonen suffered a concussion as a result of the hit, but we also know that he was up and walking around after the scrimmage and touching base with all of his teammates to let them know he'd be okay.
Dillingham, 21, is a 6-foot-1, 200 lb right shot blueliner from nearby Mississauga, who played his last four seasons as a member of the Sarnia Sting in the OHL. He was a teammate of fellow Leafs prospect Ty Voit and has captained the team since February of 2022.
