In a move that the many of us will overlook or soon forget,
the Marlies have signed Jack Rodewald from the Moose Jaw Warriors to an AHL
contract.

Rodewald is a 6’2, 21 year old right winger who has put up
35 goals, and 85 points this season on a bad Moose Jaw team. He had 55 points
last season, but while he was draft eligible he failed to pass 14 points in a
season while playing in Regina.

This is a small move, but one that should be admired for a
few reasons.

1.      
Even though Jack Rodewald’s numbers were only
dominant as an overager in the WHL, he may be a late bloomer worth taking this
very low risk chance on.

2.      
This is an AHL contract. Gone are the days of
the Leafs signing CHL overagers like Richard Greenop and Robert Slaney to NHL
SPC deals, they are bringing in interesting prospects to observe, but over
committing to them.

Assuming the Leafs graduate a few Marlies forwards to the
NHL roster next season Rodewald might be a good fit with fellow AHL contracter
Byron Froese. It’s also not out the realm of possibility that Rodewald could
spend the bulk of his time in Orlando and simply be a means of providing the
Marlies with depth.

Rodewald was good enough to receive a training camp invite
from the Buffalo Sabres last fall, so he’s been on some NHL teams radars, but
at the end of the day is still a long shot and not really in the same class as
the Soshnikov and Bailey signings. It is however incredibly low risk and has no impact on NHL contracts so there isn’t a reason to dislike this signing.