Leafs Announce 21 Additional Roster Cuts in Final Week of Camp, Place Forward on Waivers
The Maple Leafs announce significant roster trim in final week of training camp, placing one on waivers, cutting 20 others with regular season looming.
A total of 21 players are being assigned to the Toronto Marlies on Thursday following one of the final sessions from Maple Leafs training camp.
In making roster cuts today, the Leafs placed Nick Abruzzese on waivers in order to re-assign him to the Marlies and while the 25-year-old has performed well with the Marlies the past two seasons, was never really challenging for a roster spot at training camp this season.
In addition to placing Abruzzese on waivers, the Leafs also sent down the following forwards: Marc Barbolini, James Frasca, Matthew Gosselin, Braeden Kressler, Brandon Lisowsky, Robert Mastrosimone, Max Sikic, Zach Solow, Sam Stevens and Ty Voit.
On the blueline, many fans were surprised that defensive prospect William Villeneuve didn't get into a single pre-season game, so seeing him re-assigned to the Marlies isn't much of a surprise. Along with Villeneuve, other defensemen that were re-assigned to the Marlies include Max Anderson, Julius Bengtsson, Ryan McCleary, Tyrell Miller, Rhett Parsons and Connor Sharpe, while goaltenders Jon Gillies, who signed a PTO as training camp began, Vyacheslav Peksa and Dennis Hildeby were also assigned to the Marlies.
The Leafs released their roster for Thursday's game, which features a number of prominent Marlies players from last season who are being given what seems to be one final shot to earn a roster spot on the Leafs' opening night lineup. With the first round of cuts finally made for the Leafs as Marlies' training camp begins, we may see some additional ones made following the game.
