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Leafs make first round of cuts, Hakanpaa recovering well, Tverberg joins main group: News and Notes
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Photo credit: © Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Michael Mazzei
Sep 21, 2024, 15:55 EDTUpdated: Sep 22, 2024, 21:12 EDT
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As the third day of training camp commenced, the Leafs announced their first round of cuts with five players being reassigned to their junior teams.
Three of the players who returned back to junior were selected in the 2024 Draft, while the other two were UFA invitees to the 2024 Prospect Showdown that took place last weekend. The most notable of the bunch is arguably Miroslav Holinka, who by all accounts made a strong impression on the coaching staff during the summer camp and finished 17th in our prospect rankings.
Among those cut from camp was Marshall Finnie. Finnie delivered a hit, where Ben Danford suffered a concussion during practice prior to the Prospect Showdown. Finnie was always considered among the longshots at this year’s camp.
What is notable is that Brandon Lisowsky and defenceman Rhett Parsons were not sent down, with the latter getting into a spirited bout with Logan Nijhoff last weekend. These two are destined to return to their respective junior teams at some point before training camp ends but the fact they will get to stick around a bit longer means they both made a strong showing in the early going.
With Steven Lorentz and Kyle Clifford absent for a second straight day, the Leafs got some reinforcement with Ryan Tverberg making his debut appearance in training camp. This comes a few days after Brad Treliving told reporters that the prospect was wrapping up his recovery from shoulder surgery and would be returning to the fold soon.
Tverberg will be entering his sophomore season in the AHL where he had a respectable rookie campaign with 32 points (nine goals and 23 assists) in 46 games played which placed him eighth on the Marlies in scoring. Injuries derailed the start of his campaign last year so the Leafs are surely hoping he can remain fully healthy this time around.
Lorentz was absent during yesterday’s practice with an upper-body injury and was deemed day-to-day, so perhaps he could be back in the fold soon. Clifford suffered the same ailment and was given the same timeline for his recovery, meaning he too will not be gone for long.
After practice, Craig Berube spoke with reporters and provided an update on how Jani Hakanpaa’s conditioning has been going. It appears that things are going well with his recovery and perhaps it won’t take long before he could be fully cleared to join the main group.
During the opening day press conference, Berube mentioned that the plan from the start was to get Hakanpaa skating with the third group as he worked his way back up to full strength before gradually joining the regulars. The towering defenceman told reporters a few days ago things are going well with his recovery and was closing in on getting back in business.
“You’re itching. You’re itching at this time,” Hakanpaa said earlier this week. “We put a lot of work into all of that so we’re getting close but now just put the finishing touches on it and get back out there.”
He is fresh off inking a one-year contract with the Leafs following weeks of mystery and confusion surrounding his health which prevented the signing from becoming official. Hakanpaa last played in an NHL game on March 16 due to suffering from a degenerative knee that threatened to prematurely end his career.
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