Insider reveals where the Leafs stand with rookie Fraser Minten after 3 games
Fraser Minten surprised pretty much everyone when he made the Leafs out of training camp. Through three games so far, he has not looked out of place, but he has also had his moments where you could tell he was a rookie. Following his first game against Montreal last week Sheldon Keefe acknowledged that he is still going to have to adjust to playing at the NHL, specifically in the regular season, given that it is a vastly different pace than the pre-season.
Now that Minten has played three games, he only has six games left for the Leafs to determine if they will burn the first year of his entry-level deal or send him back to Kamloops for another season in the WHL. According to Chris Johnston of TSN, the Leafs' upcoming five-game road-trip will go a long way in determining what they do.
As Johnston said, Minten was able to be insulated and have his line matchups altered in his first three games because the Leafs had the luxury of controlling the last change. That won't be possible on their road-trip and Minten will likely be thrown into the fire as the Leafs begin with games against Florida and Tampa - the only two teams from the East to make it to the Cup Finals the last three seasons. Minten had been skating with Matthew Knies and either Calle Jarnkrok or Max Domi, but it would not be surprising to see him have a pair of veteran wingers on his line throughout the road-trip to help him defensively against tougher matchups.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 18 | 156 ANSWERS Insider reveals where the Leafs stand with rookie Fraser Minten after 3 games Will Minten remain with the Leafs past 9 games | ||
| Yes | 38 | 24.4 % |
| No | 118 | 75.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
