Two mystery players spotted at Leafs practice today
Leafs practice at Ford Performance Centre this morning was an interesting one, as a mystery player wearing number 51 skated out onto the ice. The player was a University of Toronto defender and his name is Brendan Bornstein. Bornstein, a right-handed defender, was skating on a pairing with Travis Dermott, indicating that Dermott is likely the odd man out when Muzzin returns.
Bornstein wasn't the only U of T hockey player on the ice at Leafs practice today, as forward Kyle Potts, who is having an outstanding season for the Blues, took up a spot on the left side on the Leafs' 4th line. This is not the first time that a U of T player has been involved with the Leafs this season, as goalie Alex Bishop backed up Jack Campbell when the Leafs played the Ottawa Senators back in October.
While Bornstein's presence at practice may have simply been to have an extra body to skate with Dermott, Potts' presence was due in part to the absence of Auston Matthews. Matthews was injured in last night's game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Following the conclusion of last night's game, Sheldon Keefe had mentioned that Tuesday was always going to be a day off for the Leafs' superstar forward after a busy All-Star weekend, so hopefully we get some good news about Matthews at some point over the next 24 hours and he'll be ready to go in time for Thursday's game against the Flames in Calgary.
With taxi squads no longer being in place, that could be one reason for the Leafs bringing in a couple of U of T players in order to help out with drills. Regardless of what the motivation behind the move is, it must be a pretty cool moment for a couple students who are likely on the countdown to reading week.
