Blast from the Past
There are also going to be some familiar faces on the Leafs. Matthew Bradley, who the Montreal Canadiens selected in the fifth round of the 2015 draft was signed to an AHL contract to play in the Marlies. He capped off his fourth season in the WHL with the Regina Pats scoring 37 goals and 42 assists. However, Bradley also benefitted from playing on Sam Steel’s wing after spending a large portion of the first half of the season as the team’s second line centre.
Stefan Leblanc will also be at the tournament in a different sweater. The Habs signed the 22-year-old out of the OHL. He played in 56 games for the Laval Rocket this past season putting up two (2) goals and eight (8 assists). Unfortunately, he struggled with bringing the style of play that made him an interesting find in Mississauga.
Whether it was confidence or nerves, Leblanc was never able to use those puckhandling skills on a more consistent basis.
It’s tough to gauge who has the better the team between the three organizations. However, one thing for sure is the games between the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs will be fast and lively ones. But all three teams have players on their roster with something to prove and who are using the Rookie Showdown as a stepping stone to reach certain goals.
Kotkaniemi and Tkachuk are fighting to show their coaching staff they can play in the NHL. Getting an edge over the other would be a good way to push that point across.
Acknowledgments: Player stats from eliteprospects.