Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Maurice’s Influence
To note further upon my post yesterday about the influence Paul Maurice has had on this Leaf team this year, the Toronto Sun has an article about the infusion of youth. As we all had noticed over the years, Pat Quinn wasn't a fan of having young players on his roster, much less giving them substantial ice time. Maurice is not afraid to go the more young guys and give them decent minutes. Matt Stajan is one player of late who has seen an ice time increase. Coaching the Marlies last season was beneficial to Maurice as well, to get a feel for some of the younger Leafs, as well as them adapting to his coaching style. From Fidlin's article ""Some of the younger guys are probably more relaxed with me since I coached them last year," Maurice said. "They know that when I'm screaming at them it's really not personal."" Getting away from bringing in older players is what this organization has needed for years. At the end of the 2004 season, the Leafs average age was 31.4 with only 3 players under 24. Currently their average age is just over 27, and the roster has 9 players (out of 27 listed) that are 24 or younger. Now the quality and overall potential of these younger Leafs is debatable, but the organization seems to be moving in the right direction. Old and slow doesn't really cut in this faster paced NHL.
2 Sent to the Marlies
Jay Harrison was sent to the Toronto Marlies for a conditioning stint. Harrison will remain on the Leafs roster, therefore he doesn't have to go through waivers. Staffan Kronwall was also sent to the Marlies today. Kronwall has yet to appear in a Leafs regular season game this year
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