Toronto Rookie Tournament Part 2

The Toronto Maple Leafs recently hosted their annual Rookie Tournament, which took place at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario this year. Other participants along with the Maple Leafs included the Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Chicago Blackhawks. In part two of his report, McKeen's correspondent Gus Katsaros has notes on several rookies from the host Maple Leafs including 2009 first round draft pick Nazem Kadri.

Nazem Kadri (Tor), C

Playing in his hometown provided incentive for a good showing, but he didn't dress in the second game due to a minor hip flexor .. settled into a rounded team game early in the first game .. a wide display of attributes .. showed off puckhandling wizardry and developing finishing skills along with distribution ability .. made the efforts that most in these tournaments wouldn't, paying the price in corners and along the boards to make the play and responsibly getting back defensively .. wasn't afraid to throw the body and could have tweaked his hip in a late collision in his own zone taking out a forechecking forward and separating the man with the puck, thus allowing his defenseman to skate away with it .. characteristically over handled the puck at times and tried some lone ranger efforts .. infuriated Gryba in the final game, agitating him before the Senators defenseman dropped his gloves and pounded him .. Michael Liambas stepped in and Kadri paid tribute as he was escorted to the penalty box .. there are still elements in his game that could be worked out with a year in the AHL.

Jerry D'Amigo (Tor), LW

Signed an entry-level contract over the summer and walked away from RPI to a future yet unknown .. eligible to play on the Marlies and his OHL rights are held by the Kitchener Rangers, presenting a dilemma as to what is best for his development .. given a run at playing alongside his peers that resembled a typical AHL roster, and didn't look out of place .. started the tournament sluggish, sizing the pace instead of asserting himself .. a hunched over skating stride provides a low center of gravity .. gets up to speed quickly after the first two-steps .. his attention to defense saw consistent backchecking efforts .. played positional game offensively and a better wingman than rushing the puck .. drove to the net and set himself up for a tip in goal from a shot directed at the net .. a bit of a wide-track skater that sneaks to the goal .. displayed that individualistic approach to the tournament in Game 1, but played a more rounded team game in Game 2 .. protects the puck well and finds teammates with hard, crisp passes .. some intriguing components, but has to fuse a good two-way game together, something he could find better in Kitchener than in Toronto.

Sondre Olden (Tor), C

Mysterious Norwegian drafted in the 3rd round (79th overall) in 2010, was one of the better performers in the tournament .. fairly unknown commodity towered over other players at 6-foot-4, but clearly needed some bulk at a lanky 176 pounds .. a wide-track skater with long casual loops .. good hockey sense, intelligent and defensively aware, often being a support position, not too far from the puck or assignment .. covered up on the point when defensemen pinched and followed his man to the front of the goal to get in the way of a possible scoring opportunity .. seemed to struggle in the face off circle .. lack of size was evident and at times, was knocked over easily, but he wasn't shy about throwing his body around, a plus for when he fills out .. mimics a Lecavalier-like raggedy skating style, with elbow juts and hip movements .. first-step acceleration is sluggish that becomes a wide horseshoe stride .. displayed a bit of a mean streak but also some soft plays, physically and with the puck .. must work on energy levels on long shifts and could add some zip to his shots.

Sam Carrick (Tor), C

Brampton Battalion pivot showed flashes of a good forechecking game, diligently working in the offensive zone, but he also made some mistakes getting caught out of position and missing his assignment .. losing his man led to a goal in the first game, when he only needed an extra stride to get in front .. he stopped moving his feet and glided to his man after the goal was scored .. flashed some skilled moves and displayed heads-up vision and anticipation .. skating is smooth, with a unique separation gear while already traveling at high speed .. likely destined to return to the Battalion in 2010-11.

Greg McKegg (Tor), C

Erie Otters pivot displayed some excellent drive to the net and hockey sense .. decision making and vision are assets while he assesses situations and acts proactively instead of reacting .. protects the puck well and has the willingness to drive into dirty areas and show off a quick release .. burst down the wing after a turnover on a 2-on-1 where a change of pace found him behind the defender for his first goal in a Leafs uniform .. displayed a good work ethic and positional soundness .. defensive game wavered and in still immature/inconsistent .. a project pivot that will spend another season in the OHL.

Jesse Blacker (Tor), D

Built off his time with the Toronto Marlies and was clearly more mature on the blueline in this rookie tournament than one year before .. displayed customary mobility, rushing the puck and supporting the offense by jumping into the rush .. wide skating stride, yet his body still flails a little while skating .. normally made good decisions while incorporating playmaking ability in more high-risk areas, something he could get away with in a rookie contest, but will be quickly thwarted in higher levels .. over handled the puck at times usually ending up as turnovers .. has to be more diligent about getting the puck out of the zone, not trying to make the cute play .. developing a hard hip check along the boards and can catch a rushing forward along the wall stopping him dead in his tracks .. excellent second and third effort kept a goal from being scored .. showed persistence defensively pays off .. a Marlies blueliner.

Simon Gysbers (Tor), D

Lake Superior blueliner seemed rigid with pace issues in his Marlies debut, yet looked much more comfortable and fluid in his skating in this tournament .. carried and handled the puck more frequently .. at the point, he seemed to pass it off more than finding outlets, showing a better aptitude for shooting than playmaking .. actively directed a lot of pucks to the net .. low, hard shot, almost a half-slap pass, only about a foot off the ground makes for perfect height and speed for tips in front of the goal and rebounds from scrambles .. gives up too much space off rushes .. backs up under rushing pressure, giving too much room to forwards, thus allowing them space to enter and relies on backcheckers to take away the space at the high end of the zone .. has to cut down time/space off the rush, and develop more of an active stick .. while the showing was fairly decent for the tournament, he could use a little help in making better decisions, and still has to increase pace and urgency .. Marlies project

Marcel Mueller (Tor), LW

German import played in the first game but didn't dress in Game 2 .. displayed willingness to get dirty along the boards and in the corners, throwing around his 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame .. propels himself on a decent stride from start up to top speed, but misses some quickness and pivoting ability .. often lost control of the puck and when hurried, he abandoned the skill element and braced more for contact .. puckhandling and distribution skills are still a little immature, which for a 22-yr-old isn't a positive sign .. tantalizing shot, however he used it sporadically in the tournament .. displayed good hockey sense and willingness to get into scoring areas .. puckhandling skills aren't up to pro standards, but there's a basis for a power forward here.

Brayden Irwin (Tor), C/W

College free agent signed from the University of Vermont has a hulking frame, towering at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds .. was the main scoring threat in Game 2, playing center .. skating is painful to watch, as he lacks first two-step acceleration and a sluggish stride lacks zip .. makes up the mobility issues with advanced hockey sense and quick release .. not afraid to go into the dirty areas in front of the goal for a developing one-timer, and will compete along the boards and in the corners .. defensively, still maturing, seemingly relying on the positional game to make up for the skating .. intensity level wanes and he will stop dead on plays that require a little more effort .. has to be diligent in puck pursuit and will let up on defenders while forechecking, giving them an out to create a play .. likely Marlies bound to work out some skating and work ethic inefficiencies.

Dale Mitchell (Tor), RW

Displayed very little in the form of development from the season before and struggled somewhat with the flow of the game .. made more individualistic plays and operated in a bubble with the puck, trying to do too much on his own and not making progress and causing turnovers .. has had three rookie camps and may have had the weakest showing thus far.