Leafs add 3 more to the prospect pool, including 6-foot-8 winger Keenan Suthers
The Leafs continue to bolster their minor league clubs, adding depth at all positions this spring/summer. Per an official announcement from the Leafs' AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies have extended two of their prospects who spent last year in the ECHL and another signing out of the NCAA.
🖊 News | We've signed forwards Orrin Centazzo, Marc Johnstone & Keenan Suthers to one-year AHL contracts. #ForeverStartsHere� Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) June 18, 2022
Centazzo and Johnstone are both former Newfoundland Growlers from the ECHL, and Suthers spent last season with the University of Maine in the NCAA.
Centazzo was a bit of a wildcard heading into his rookie year in the ECHL. He came undrafted, and started the season with some confidence issues. Growlers coaching staff expected him to float in and out of the lineup. Instead, he took off and never looked back. He became one of their leading scorers, and finished fourth in scoring among ECHL rookies. Head coach Eric Wellwood isn't shy about calling him a "success story". He was named the ECHL's player of the week January 17-23 when he scored 8 points in 3 games, including a 5 point night and his first hat trick.
Marc Johnstone is 25 years old, and has taken a long path in his pro career. He played two years in the USHL, captaining the Chicago steel to a championship in his second year. He then played a full 4-year NCAA career, with two of them as captain for Sacred Heart University where he scored 95 points in 136 games. His solid two way play with the Growlers this past year had already earned him a 4-game call up with the Marlies.
Keenan Suthers is listed at 6'8" and 245 pounds in his University of Maine bio. As a high school student, he was captain and MVP of his hockey, basketball, and volleyball teams as well as an honour roll student. After a 4-year university career with Maine and the St. Lawrence Saints, with his immense size and ability to conduct himself like a pro, hopefully putting his full focus on hockey develops him into a powerful two way player.
