Major Marlies Makeover

The Toronto Marlies fell to the Rochester Americans in a back end of a home-and-home, squandering a 3-0 lead and allowing Rochester to chip away at the deficit, to finally tie the game on a weak goal, and then hang on for a 4-3 regulation time win. It's a revamped lineup in Toronto with a new coach (Dallas Eakins replaced Greg Gilbert) as well as player personnel.

McKeen's correspondent Gus Katsaros was recently able to catch new-look Toronto Marlies in action and has notes on several prospects including Jiri Tlusty, Christian Hanson, Tyler Bozak, Carl Gunnarsson and Juraj Mikus.

Jiri Tlusty RW, Toronto Marlies

Completely buzzed around the powerplay early in the contest controlling the puck until finally scoring a beauty with a shoulder fake and sending the goalie sprawling to the one side, while popping it into a completely open net .. more diligent in his checking game, but still confuses assignments under pressure, especially in the defensive zone .. played a lot of early minutes, with some powerplay and special teams .. found his man after chasing him in the corner and separated him from the puck and retrieving it for a pass to the middle for the Marlies third goal, making it 3-0 at the time .. skated hard, made the right plays and was solid in positioning early on but struggled to keep the same momentum, composure and poise, as the Americans charged to their comeback, trying to hurry plays and cheating from his assignments to make the clean break up ice .. has to maintain intensity for a full 60 minutes.

Christian Hanson LW, Toronto Marlies

Continues the commitment to finding his power game, getting in hard on the forecheck, using his big body to fight through traffic in 1-on-1 battles and improving along the boards .. makes his presence felt and is always involved .. took exception to after-whistle shenanigans getting aggressive but not dropping the gloves.. smooth skating, drifts and glides, providing elusiveness and augments speed with a good change of pace .. ferocious checking tenacity that has improved down low along the boards, controlling the play with his frame and buying time for teammates to get to scoring areas .. hard to move off the puck especially later in the game with the win on the line .. operates with consistent intensity, which is contagious among linemates who work as hard as he does to keep up .. has stopped skating by scoring areas in front of the net and now stops in front waiting for the play to emerge before moving to another spot .. slowly developing his power game.

Tyler Bozak C, Toronto Marlies

Smart reads and good feeds, utilizing good anticipatory skills to read the play and good distribution skills to find outlets .. separated early on the powerplay to a second unit for balance then reunited with the amount of penalties taken in the first period and the ineffective powerplay early on .. stays down low to the right of the net - just under the faceoff circle and the crease .. found Tlusty in stride on the wing with an impressive pass over sticks and through traffic .. buzzed around the goal for rebounds and went there without the puck at even strength and on the powerplay .. shifty, looks one way and passes the other .. aggressive on the forecheck and always gets to scoring areas without the puck .. does a good job of separating the man from the puck if he's got body positioning on him .. showed leadership skills with the Marlies goaltender letting in a bit of a stinker to tie the game at three, and skated all the way down off the bench to tap the pads and have a word .. will likely spend a little more time in the AHL, but likely to finish the season with the Leafs with his maturity and skill level.

Carl Gunnarsson D, Toronto Marlies

Offensive defenseman, likes to pinch on the weak side from the blueline with offensive pressure and will stay down deep if there is pressure and someone is covering the vacated point .. otherwise he hurries back, being somewhat defensively responsible .. shows poise and patience in limited space high in the zone dangling with the puck .. freezes his man covering the point with a fake shot and finds outlets down low that convert to odd-man situations .. keeps both hands on his stick while backing up due to the rush and could limit more space for forwards by extending it .. gives too much space in the high zone to rushing forwards .. could also be more diligent about his defensive assignment and not watching the puck or chasing the man with it and abandoning positioning .. smooth and efficient puck mover with a wide stride and good vision .. is quick in transition .. has great offensive potential, but has a little work to do on the defensive side.

Juraj Mikus D, Toronto Marlies

Long and lanky body translates into a raggedy skating style, similar to Vincent Lecavalier with vibrant hips and arm movements .. jump into the rush with zeal and seems to try everything at high speed and/or intensity .. takes the man with the body when he can, leaving the puck for someone else to retrieve .. has a low, heavy shot with a knack for getting pucks through the initial checker, down into the net and low slot area for tips and rebounds .. a work in progress that will benefit from finding his North American game with the Marlies, however doesn't distinguish himself over any average defenseman.