Leafs announce Traverse City Rookie Tournament roster
The Leafs have announced their 27-man roster that will take part in the Tracerse City Prospect Tournament this weekend, beginning on Thursday. The team will play against prospects from the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Columbus Blue Jackets. Attending the tournament are a mix of current Leaf draft picks, players with NHL and AHL contracts as well as a number of undrafted free agents that have signed Amateur Tryout Agreements.
The current draft picks attending are Nick Abruzzese, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Pontus Holmberg, Mikko Kokkonen, Filip Král, Brandon Lisowsky, Fraser Minten, Axel Rindell, Nick Robertson, William Villeneuve and Ty Voit. It is a bit of a surprise seeing Nick Robertson on this list, but given the number of injuries and lack of playing time he has had over the past couple of seasons, getting him on the ice earlier will let him come into main camp more prepared.
Those signed to NHL and AHL deals include Curtis Douglas, Max Ellis, Pavel Gogolev, Braeden Kressler, Alex Steeves Luke Cavallin, Tommy Miller, Keith Petruzzelli, Marshall Rifai and Graham Slaggert, while the undrafted free agents include Marco Costantini, Pano Fimis, Avery Hayes, Kasper Larsen, Sean McGurn, Noah Van Vliet.
The two most notable undrafted free agents to join the Leafs' tournament team are Avery Hayes and Pano Fimis. Hayes helped lead the OHL's Hamilton Bulldogs to within a win of the Memorial Cup this past year. He posted 79 points (41G, 38A) in the regular season and 34 points in just 16 playoff games. Fimis was the 2nd overall pick in the 2020 OHL draft and in his first season with the Niagara Ice Dogs put up 44 points in 54 games. Both are expected to compete for Entry-Level Contracts.
Coached by Manny Malholtra, the team begins the tournament Thursday night against the Stars and wraps up the weekend against Detroit with a Monday matinee.
