Leafs 5th round draft pick turning heads at development camp
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, after the Rasmus Sandin situation is resolved and the team becomes cap compliant, there's not much left to do other than sit and wait for training camp to begin.
While training camp is still a ways away, the Leafs do have a prospect development camp going on at the moment, which has given onlookers their first look at Knies up close at Ford Performance Centre in Toronto. Knies certainly was a standout on day 1 on Sunday and also drew the attention of the fans and the media on day 2, when he chose to stay late to do some additional shot release work with the Leafs' development staff. However, there was another prospect who really turned some heads on Monday as well.
Ty Voit, like Knies, was drafted in 2021, probably a lot later than he should have gone. Voit, who had 80 points in 67 games for the Sarnia Sting this past season was among the prospects on the ice on Monday who was turning some heads. Here's a look at some of his shiftiness and puck protection skills on day 2 (49 white):
The Athletic's Joshua Kloke was present for day two of Leafs dev. camp and had this to say about Voit, the Leafs' 5th round pick (153rd overall) in the 2021 draft:
Voit still has a very small frame at 19 years old, but the 5'10, 161-pound forward had a chance to speak with the media on Sunday after day 1 of camp and said that he's doing a lot of work in the gym to bulk and prove that he will not be easily separated from the puck and that he's willing to do what it takes to be a multi-dimensional player.
"It's going to be along the same lines as last summer in the gym. That's going to be the biggest thing throughout my career, getting bigger and showing that it's not going to be a problem for me to deal with anyone out there physically. That, as well as building my speed. My shot is also something I've been working on, I want to be a threat from everywhere."
It may be putting the cart before the horse a bit here, but it appears as though, even though the Leafs had just 3 draft picks in 2021, they've found a couple of absolute gems in Knies and Voit.
