Recently, the Toronto Maple Leafs have had some absences in the lineup requiring the team to call up players from the minors. At the moment, the Leafs have three forwards out with an injury. Auston Matthews, Max Pacioretty, and Calle Jarnkrok are all sidelined with injuries. In addition to that, Toronto will be without their enforcer Ryan Reaves until early December. Reaves was suspended for five games for a high hit on Darnell Nurse in Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers.
The Maple Leafs aren’t in an emergency call-up situation with Reaves now out of the lineup. However, in a potential situation where they could use a call-up, the Leafs are set with plenty of options.
Next on the Call-Up List
Toronto’s latest call-up came about a week ago. The Leafs recalled Alex Steeves from the Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis. This was because Pacioretty was placed on injury reserve. Also, Max Domi and William Nylander were not participating in practices at this time due to maintenance. This meant there were no guarantees that the Maple Leafs could set out four forward lines if they weren’t ready to play. Therefore, they were allowed to call Steeves on an emergency basis. Steeves was the right call-up for Toronto. With the Marlies, he scored nine goals and 12 points in 10 games. He certainly earned another chance in the NHL, especially since he’s only featured in seven games across three different seasons before this campaign. Like Steeves, there are others who are also deserving of a chance in the NHL again, or for the first time.
Fraser Minten
Minten is one of the most exciting prospects that the Maple Leafs own. Selected 38th overall by Toronto in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, the 20-year-old will most likely see the NHL sometime again. Minten has played in the NHL before. Last season, he played the first four games with the Maple Leafs before they sent him back to the Kamloops Blazers as a 19-year-old. Minten wasn’t a standout player in his four NHL games. However, he blended in well and didn’t look out of place.
This campaign is his first full season playing professional hockey. Minten was introduced to the season later than the rest of the pack because of an injury he picked up before preseason. The Vancouver native suffered a high ankle sprain in a prospects game, which forced him to miss all of training camp. Therefore, new head coach Craig Berube was unable to see Minten play first-hand.
Due to the injury, Minten has only played five AHL games with the Marlies. However, he’s made good use of those games, scoring two goals and two assists. If he keeps up this form, Toronto’s staff will have no choice but to take notice of the centreman.
On Monday, Berube was asked about Minten potentially being called up to the Leafs.
“We’ve got to look at what’s best for us and then what’s best for him,” Berube said. “It’s a conversation. But he’s a good player. We all know that. And he’s playing well down there already. So we’ll see what happens.”
It’s safe to say he’s open about giving the youngster a look in the National League.
Nikita Grebenkin
Grebenkin is more of a wild-card option compared to Minten. However, that doesn’t mean the Russian winger will never get his chance in the big leagues. Sneakily, he has been one of the best Marlies of this campaign. Aside from Steeves, Grebenkin leads the team in points. He has four goals to his name and a total of 10 points in 13 games.
During this past preseason, Berube gave him a chunk of games. In his three exhibition games, Grebenkin went point-less. However, he still made an impact of some sort. He became somewhat of a fan favourite in his short time in front of the fans. He also got in a fight in one of those preseason games, firing up the crowd in the process. Toronto’s bench boss loves Grebenkin’s style of play and his size. Furthermore, it seems that the head coach and general manager Brad Treliving don’t have enough good things to say about the player. Grebenkin was selected in the fifth round (135th overall) in the same draft as Minten.
This is Grebenkin’s first year playing professional hockey in North America. Despite the big change, it doesn’t seem to hinder his play or bother him in the slightest. Last season, the 21-year-old had a respectable campaign in the KHL with the Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He hoisted the Gagarin Cup as champions of the league. Also, he scored 18 goals and recorded 41 points in 67 games in what is a low-scoring league. The KHL doesn’t have the same quality as the NHL. However, prospects playing in the KHL go up against players who have multiple NHL seasons under their belt regularly. Therefore, it’s a pretty big deal to lead your team in points, or Grebenkin’s case, be the runner-up.
Main Photo Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
