Toronto Maple Leafs

Names You’ve (Likely) Never Heard Of

Never one to not take up a challenge, I’ve been tasked with providing some insight into the roster the Leafs released to the media for their Rookie tournament that begins on September 13th. Ask and thou shalt receive (time and energy permitting of course).

I’m not going to bother analyzing the games of Luke Schenn, Mikhail Stefanovich, Joel Champagne, Kyle Rogers, Phil Oreskovic, or James Reimer as all 6 have been discussed on my blog before in a fair bit of detail. If you want to know what I had to say about them, type their names into the search on the right and read it for yourself.

That leaves us with 17 players. I’ll try to keep this quick and easy, so here goes:

Michael Ouzas, G - On April 8th 2008, the Leafs signed Ouzas to an AHL Amateur tryout contract with the Marlies following his career with the University of New Brunswick hockey program. Ouzas was lights out for the Reds, leading the team to consecutive national finals appearances. This past season he sported a 20-1-1 record in 22 games, with a 1.91 GAA, and .924 save percentage. He was named a CIS All-Canadian athlete, and an AUS first team All-Star.

Between 2002 and 2006, Ouzas was actually an OHL regular, playing with the St. Mike’s Majors, Mississauga Ice Dogs, and Owen Sound Attack. In 2005 he was named OHL goalie of the year for the 2004-05 season, in which he played 44 games, registering a 24-11-9 record with a 2.18 GAA and .926 save percentage.

His college numbers and solid history in the OHL might be worth remembering if he leaps up and joins Justin Pogge as one of the Leafs goalies of the future. He’s a bit older than Pogge at 23, but he’s still fairly young in goalie terms. Expect to see him fight with James Reimer for the job of backing up Pogge with the Marlies this year, or perhaps play a starting role in Reading with the Royals.

Korbinian Holzer, D - Drafted by the Leafs 111th overall in the 4th round of the 2006 entry draft, the 6′3″, 190 lb Holzer has been steadily increasing his prominence in Germany. After first playing in the 2nd tier men’s league in Germany as a 17 year old in 05-06, Holzer moved up to the German Elite League (DEL) last year with the DEG Metro Stars as a 19 year old.

The DEL has more North American players in it than any other league in Europe, with many former NHLers counted amongst its ranks. On Holzer’s squad specifically, recognizable names might include Darren Van Impe who played 411 games with Anaheim, Boston, the NY Rangers, NY Islanders, Florida, and Columbus; Jamie Wright who played 103 games with the Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames, and Philadelphia Flyers; Brandon Reid who played 13 games with the Vancouver Canucks; Peter Ratchuk who played 32 games with the Florida Panthers; Charlie Stephens who played 8 games with the Colorado Avalanche; and Jamie Storr who played 219 games with the LA Kings, and Carolina Hurricanes. Obviously he has lots of NHL and AHL experienced players to draw information from, and the relatively high level of play will only enhance his chances of eventually making it in the NHL.

While you might shake your head at the idea of borderline NHL talent having an impact on the development of Leafs prospects, try to remember that the AHL is made up of players of a very similar skill level, and the age factor that distinguishes the DEL from say… the CHL… should be worth considering.

Holzer is probably a few years away from the Leafs, but considering their depth on the blue line, and the fact that there is currently no NHL transfer agreement with the European leagues, for all intents and purposes, we hold his rights in perpetuity at this point… so it’s not like we can’t bring him over and give him a shot if we think he’s got the goods.

He has played at two consecutive World Junior Championships for Germany and was solid defensively.

Juraj Mikus, D - An imposing defender at 6′4″, Mikus still needs to fill out his frame a bit weighing in at around 180 lbs. He has been playing very well in the Slovakian junior ranks, and was on their World Junior squad this past year. He was one of only two defenders on the squad to score a goal, finishing with 3 points. His +2 rating was also noteworthy considering he had zero penalty minutes in the entire tournament. His large wingspan, and solid offensive instincts should give Leafs fans some hope that he may continue to develop for the future.

Last season he had 9 goals and 24 points in 42 games in the Slovak junior league, which paired nicely with his +32 rating and 72 penalty minutes. He also played 35 regular season, and 14 playoff games with the men’s team Dukla Trencin and posted 1 goal and 8 assists to go along with 36 penalty minutes. Leafs fans should look forward to seeing the kid in a few more years, but if he keeps playing at the highest level in Slovakia he may need more of a challenge sooner rather than later.

Josh Day, D - An undrafted D man from St John, New Brunswick, Day played in the OHL most recently with the Niagara Ice Dogs. His 32 assists on the Ice Dogs blue line were second only to Alex Pieterangelo, and overall he was the 3rd highest scoring D man with the club, registering 4 goals and 36 points. He also notched 98 penalty minutes, so he isn’t shy in the physical aspects of the game either.

In 207 OHL games split between the Soo Greyhounds and the Ice Dogs franchise, Day played 207 games over 4 seasons, scoring 11 goals, and registering 77 assists for 88 points. He also registered 227 penalty minutes. His totals rose every year he was in the league, so this may be a case of increasing responsibility bringing more out of a player.

He stands 6′1″ and 189 lbs, so he isn’t amazingly large, but he should be able to hold his own in the rookie tournament. We’ll see how he holds up against the varied competition and from there I suppose the Leafs will decide if they want to hold on to him or not.

Juha Uotila, D - Juha is a 23 year old graduate of the NCAA college hockey program at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. He’s actually Finnish, having been born in Espoo, Finland. He played 3 years in the NCAA, registering 7 goals and 46 assists for 53 points in 103 games, to go along with 104 penalty minutes.

His mother is a former Olympic Figure Skater and his sister was a member of the Finnish national figure skating team. Thus it should come as little surprise that Uotila is an excellent skater who covers the ice very well and is positionally sound. He also possesses decent offensive instincts, but is typically more focused on D. His biggest problem thus far in his development has been consistency at both ends of the ice. He possesses all the tools physically to be a top notch defender. His scoring tends to be streaky thus far in his career, but hopefully he can sort out the kinks and make some strides within the Leafs system.

Scott Langdon, D - A teammate of Kyle Rogers’ at Niagara University, Langdon was signed to a contract by the Leafs over the summer. Relatively physical, Langdon stands at 6′2″ and 195 lbs. He isn’t going to put up a lot of points, registering only 19 points in 101 games in the NCAA. Expect him to play a relatively tough brand of D in his own end, and position himself well. He caught the eye of Leafs scouts while they were checking in on Kyle Rogers, and they kept noticing Langdon’s ability to make big hits.

The Leafs signed him to a two way deal at the end of their prospects camp earlier this summer. It will put him on the Marlies roster to start the upcoming season, with the possibility of demotion to the ECHL Reading Royals (the new 3rd tier for Leafs prospects). Considering the strides he has made in impressing the Leafs brass, it’s not a long shot to say that he’s attracting some notice, but don’t be surprised if he ends up in Reading for a large chunk of this season.

Jadran Beljo, LW - Most recently with the London Knights of the OHL, he’s a tad undersized at 6′ and 175 lbs, but he can score. In 267 OHL games with Peterborough, Mississauga, and London, he recorded 101 goals and 120 assists for 221 points. Most of that came in his last two seasons, split between the Ice Dogs and Knights, where in 116 games, he racked up 69 goals, and 72 assists for 141 points. Basically when his draft year rolled around, he hadn’t produced anything yet. He’s a year older than last year’s CHL player of the year Justin Azevedo, and he basically suffers from the same problem; he’s small. He scored at a pace roughly comparable to Bobby Sanguinetti of the Brampton Battallion, or Andrew Fournier of the Plymouth Whalers. Durability may be a bit of an issue for him in the long run.

Unlike Azevedo, Beljo didn’t put up 124 points last year in the OHL, but hey who knows. Considering the Leafs numerous options at LW (like 90% of their forwards play LW) I’d say his chances of ever making the club are pretty remote. We’ll see how his rookie camp goes before making an assessment, but he’ll likely play in the AHL for a while.

Darryl Boyce, C - The product of Canadian university hockey had a very solid rookie AHL campaign last season, eventually earning a call up to the Leafs. He sustained a bad shoulder injury in his first NHL game though, and didn’t see any more ice time for the rest of the season.

He plays a very solid two way game, but isn’t quite as much of a scorer as some of the other players on the roster. Expect his responsible nature defensively, and his age, to work in his favour. He’ll likely be one of the leaders on this Rookie squad, and has an outside shot of making the Leafs again going forwards. He’ll be a key cog in the AHL for the Marlies again this coming season.

Joe Cooper, RW - He was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators, and there’s a reason he became a free agent who ended up in the ECHL with the Leafs last year. He’s a rough and tumble checking forward with great wheels, that makes his presence felt on the ice. Most of the box scores I read had him taking a lot of checking from behind and boarding penalties, so he might be another player in the Ryan Hollweg mold, with slightly less offensive upside.

A player with the Columbia Inferno last season for all of 5 games (that’s two tiers below the NHL for those of you who don’t pay close attention to this stuff), Cooper is a product of the NCAA hockey program at Miami University (Ohio). He was never a scorer in college, and in 5 games in the ECHL last year he had exactly 0 points, and 12 penalty minutes. I doubt he’ll develop into much at the NHL level, but we’ll see where his intensity takes him.

Chris DiDomenico, C - A scorer with oodles of skill from the St John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL, DiDomenico’s problem is he is undersized for a Center, standing 6′1 and 170 lbs. The Leafs drafted him in the 6th round of the 2007 draft, and he’s put up 64 goals, and 170 points in 140 games in the Q. One thing working in his favour is his durability. He has played 70 games in both of his years with St John. Also, his competitiveness shined last year in the playoffs where in 14 games with the Sea Dogs, he scored 8 goals and had 19 points.

DiDomenico has been overcoming lowered expectations for most of his hockey career, and he might be a shining light going forward. He has the talent, he just has to keep proving himself against stiffer competition and his recognition will follow.

Stefano Giliati, LW - Another player that may fall victim to the Leafs depth in Left handed forwards. Giliati is another scorer from the QMJHL that might make some noise as he gains experience in the AHL going forwards. That being said, he definitely has an edge to his game that in combination with his scoring ability, may transfer well to the NHL. In 4 years in the Q, he played 257 regular season games, putting up 94 goals, and 113 assists for 207 points. His last year was by far his most productive with Lewiston as he had 40 goals and 47 assists for 87 points in 65 games, to go along with 103 penalty minutes. He, like DiDomenico also shows up in the playoffs historically, having produced 21 points in 32 playoff games in junior.

Last year Giliati was brought aboard the Marlies for their playoff run, and he played reasonably sound defensively while adding some physical play in 13 playoff games. He should play an important role under Gilbert and Gilmour for the Marlies this season.

Dale Mitchell, RW - The fact that Mitchell is a right handed shooting RW might work in his favour in the future. The Leafs are amazingly thin on the right side, and while Mitchell’s trajectory took a bit of a nosedive with the Oshawa Generals last season, he still had 60 points in 63 games to show for his efforts. In 195 games in the OHL for the Generals (playing with the likes of Jonathan Tavares doesn’t hurt) he has produced 87 goals and 96 assists for 183 points to go along with 223 penalty minutes.

He is unlikely to develop into a top line player at the NHL level, but he may one day become a serviceable 3rd or 4th line player. The Leafs (and most teams in the NHL) have a lot of players of this ilk. Don’t be shocked when he doesn’t win the Calder.

Dan Rudisuela, C - A very small centre who has played the last 4 years in the CIS with St. Mary’s university, Rudisuela decided to go the Canadian college route after 3 years in the OHL with the Mississauga Ice Dogs. He’s already 25, and thanks to the fact that he is only 5′7″ and 165 lbs, it’s unlikely he’ll be playing in the NHL… ever.

He’ll be a role player on the team, with some age and experience to add to the mix. He might also end up playing for the Marlies or the Inferno later this year.

Greg Scott, RW - The Leafs are looking at Right Wingers apparently. Scott has spent the last 3 seasons playing for the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL after part of a year in the BCJHL with the Victoria Salsa. He actually was the 2nd leading scorer in the VIJHL (junior-B level) as a 16 year old before he made the jump to the WHL, so he does have some offensive potential.

He’s 6 feet tall and 178 lbs, so his size isn’t going to intimidate most of his opponents. That being said, his point totals have improved in each of his seasons of junior hockey, ramping up from 2 points in 7 games with Victoria, all the way to 38 goals and 37 assists for 75 points, in 72 games played last season with Seattle. In the playoffs he registered 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in 12 games. Overall in 213 games played in the WHL for the Thunderbirds he has registered 64 goals, and 65 assists for 129 points.

He’s obviously still developing his game, but as an undrafted prospect (he was eligible in 2006), he might stick around if he can put the puck in the net.

Thomas Stajan, C - The younger cousin of Leafs Centre Matt Stajan, Thomas is 5′11 and 160 lbs, and he’s played for both Brampton and Owen Sound in the OHL so far. He hasn’t done that much in the OHL, playing predominantly as a 4th liner. Last year for Brampton he managed 24 goals and 19 assists for 43 points in 60 games. He also wears the number 14 like Matt, and likes to use his speed on the forecheck. He’s a solid penalty killer, and he also takes the body, and drops the mitts on occasion. You can check out an interview with him and some footage of a solid hit where he lays out Ryan Gottschalk here.

Max Taylor, C - Undrafted, Taylor split last season between the Texas Wildcatters of the ECHL and the Toronto Marlies. Prior to that he played NCAA college hockey at St. Lawrence University for 4 seasons, after a standout Junior-A career in Ontario Minor Hockey.

He registered 53 goals and 51 assists for 109 points in 54 games with the Cumberland Grads of the Central Junior Hockey League in his final year of Junior-A leading his team to the regular season championship. He was selected to Team Ontario, was a first team league all-star, being selected as an all star for 3 seasons. He was also captain of the team for two years.

He’s tough and has decent speed, and he scored reasonably well for the Wildcatters last year, putting in 25 goals and 20 assists for 45 points in 59 games. He also scored 2 goals and 3 assists in 13 games with the Marlies. We’ll see how he develops going forward. He may be with the Marlies if he plays well this season, but he could just as likely end up in the ECHL or Europe depending on how things pan out.

Eric Wellwood, LW - One wonders if the Leafs are going with a family theme on purpose. Eric is Kyle’s younger brother, and he’s similar in stature, standing 5′11″ and 165 lbs. He’s a shifty, skill player like his brother though quite a bit less productive. In 2 seasons of OHL hockey he has played 91 games and has put up 11 goals, and 12 assists for 23 points. He’s 18 years old, and he was undrafted this year. Wellwood’s too small to project as anything OTHER than a scorer… and he hasn’t shown enough offensive production to warrant roster space. We’ll see if he shows anything, but if he’s given 4th line minutes, don’t expect much of anything.