Growlers going with the flow for new roster

Roster-making process within Leafs organization starts as Toronto opens its NHL camp

Come September each year, National Hockey League organizations resemble those tiered fountains that often adorn hotel lobbies. When they’re plugged in, hooked up and turned on, water fills the top tier until it overflows and sends the surplus to the next tier and so on, until the bottom level is brimming.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ fall fountain is up and running — the NHL team began training camp Wednesday — although it will be about three weeks before the players start to pour into the ECHL’S Newfoundland Growlers, who represent the last tier of the Leafs’ system.

However, despite the fact there aren’t many players who began camp with the Leafs this week who might be expected to end up in Newfoundland, Toronto’s training camp roster — more specifically the size of the roster — provides some information about who might start the year in a Growlers uniform.

No less than 51 players — easily two team’s worth

— are listed. Even discounting junior-aged defenceman William Villeneuve; unsigned forwards Josh Ho-sang and Nikita Gusev, attending on professional try-outs; and star centre Auston Matthews and winger Alex Steeves, who are injured, there are still more than enough to satisfy the maximum NHL roster of 23 and, at the same time, almost fully stock the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies.

Goaltender Ian Scott — considered a true prospect, but one who hasn’t played much over the last couple of seasons and needs game action — is widely seen as the Growlers No. 1 backstop this season.

But Scott, who has an entrylevel NHL contract, is one of only a few in Toronto’s camp who can really be included in speculation about players for Newfoundland; others are defenceman and Notre Dame grad Matt Hellickson and huge 6-8 centre Curtis Douglas, both on AHL deals with the Marlies.

That minor-league contract status is the key — players with such AHL pacts will again constitute the largest segment of the Growlers.

That means any consideration of a potential ECHL roster should begin Douglas and Hellickson, as well as 15 other players contracted to the Marlies, but who aren’t with the big team’s camp.

That includes Newfoundlanders Marcus Power and Zach O’brien, back in the fold after both spent a year playing in Germany; forward Ryan Chyzowski, a former captain of the WHL’S Medicine Hat Tigers; defenceman Riley Mccourt, who had almost a point-per-game with the OHL’S Flint Firebirds in 2019-20, his last junior year; and goalie Keith Petruzzelli, a former Detroit Red Wings third-round pick, a recent Hobey Baker finalist and the 2021 ECAC goalie of the year at Quinnipiac University.

This is not to say there won’t be a fair number of Marlies players operating under AHL contracts — especially since the AHL doesn’t have roster limitations like the NHL or ECHL — but with so many re-assignments to come out of Toronto’s main NHL camp, it is fair to say an AHL contract is far from a certificate of assurance of an AHL job.

And we haven’t even gotten to the seven players signed directly to the Growlers — familiar faces Todd Skirving, Derian Plouffe and Garrett Johnston; new signings Orrin Centazzo, Brendan Soucie and Marc Johnstone, and forward Nathan Noel; another newcomer, but one who is also coming home since he’s from St. John’s.

There will be other additions between now and the start of the Growlers’ training camp on Oct. 13 at Mile One Centre in St. John’s. That process started Wednesday, with forward Kyle Mcgrath of St. John’s agreeing to a tryout with the ECHL club, whose new season begins Oct. 21 in Trois Rivieres, Que. (see story this page).

The 22-year-old Mcgrath played in the QMJHL and BCHL junior ranks before returning to Newfoundland to attend university and skate for the St. John’s Caps junior and senior teams, averaging well better than two points per game at both local levels.