Leafs announce surprise addition to Traverse City tournament roster
The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially announced their roster for the annual Traverse City Prospect Tournament, which will commence this week, with games against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, and Detroit Red Wings between the 14th and the 17th of September.
There are several key prospects that will be taking part in the 2023 tourney, but the biggest surprise addition is Matthew Knies, considering his placement with the big club compared to the rest of the prospects.
After a strong finish to his collegiate career, Knies made the leap to the NHL and played in 3 regular season games and 7 in the post-season. He is expected to make the club out of training camp and make a real impact in his rookie season at the NHL-level.
Even though these tournaments are generally for prospects who are a few years away from making the jump to professional hockey, it will be good exposure for the Leafs top prospect and will allow him to get his feet wet just in time for training camp.
Forwards:
Matthew KniesRoni HirvonenFraser MintenTy VoitEaston CowanTyler WeissRobert MastrosimoneBraeden KresslerRyan TverbergMax EllisJacob FrascaBrandon LisowskyDmitry OvchinnikovTyson Greenway
Defensemen:
Topi NiemeläMazden LeslieNoah ChadwickSpencer SovaNolan DillinghamTommy MillerWilliam VilleneuveJonny TychonickMikko Kokkonen
Goaltenders:
Luke CavallinDennis HildebyVyacheslav Peksa
Amongst this group, there are several key players to keep an eye on in Knies, Hirvonen, Minten, Voit, Cowan, Niemela, Hildeby, and Peksa - as they represent some of the top prospects within the organization.
The Toronto Marlies' head coach, John Gruden, will be overseeing the Prospect Tournament alongside Micheal Dyck, Eric Wellwood, Hannu Toivonen, Troy Paqutte, and Harry Mahesh.
They will be playing the Blue Jackets on the 14th of September at 3:30 PM, the Stars on the 15th at 6:30 PM, and finally the Red Wings on the 17th at 2:00 PM.
