Training Camp: September 16 - October 1

[Beowulf]

Fwiw, Phaneuf has commented that Kadri came into camp looking a lot stronger and more confident this year.

That open top 9 spot is going to have a lot of good competition.

Kadri, Frattin, Colborne and Lombardi.

Even possible one of these guys take Bozaks spot and bozo drops to the 4th line center (although I think this scenerio is unlikely).

Should be fun!

Definitely a nice problem to have in that not only is it young guys fighting for the spot (well Lombardi a bit older, but no greybeard for sure), but the feeling is it's going to be about who is going to be the best fit/most qualified rather than who is the least "terrible" for lack of a better word.

 

[Tigger]

Fwiw, Phaneuf has commented that Kadri came into camp looking a lot stronger and more confident this year.

That open top 9 spot is going to have a lot of good competition.

Kadri, Frattin, Colborne and Lombardi.

Even possible one of these guys take Bozaks spot and bozo drops to the 4th line center (although I think this scenerio is unlikely).

Should be fun!

Out of camp? I really doubt Lombardi is part of that equation.

Colborne needs time in the A more than Kadri, to me, Frattin has a big league shot and does a lot of little things well but I think he could use a few games in the A, fwiw.

Kadri played fine at the end of last year I think it's his spot to lose on opening day.

Really it depends on how the Leafs want to go with the D. If they decide to carry 7 then there's one less forward spot to worry about. If they decide to carry 6 then I might be inclined to run with a bottom six that included Frattin ( and not Orr ) and play the heck out of both him and Kadri where possible, ie, spot each of them on another line for a shift or two, try Frattin out on the pk/pp and give Kadri some pp time too depending on the situation.

Caputi is another player I'd like to see make a go of it.

That is, of course, going off the current roster. If Lombardi was healthy and playing then I might try a bottom line of Frattin-Bozak-Brown and see what it could do. The Leafs would be way further ahead actually being able to roll 4 lines.

 

[Deebo]

Fwiw, Phaneuf has commented that Kadri came into camp looking a lot stronger and more confident this year.

That open top 9 spot is going to have a lot of good competition.

Kadri, Frattin, Colborne and Lombardi.

Even possible one of these guys take Bozaks spot and bozo drops to the 4th line center (although I think this scenerio is unlikely).

Should be fun!

I think it might be unlikely to start the year, but I wouldn't be surprised if one one of the younger centres you mentioned take Bozak's job some time during the season.

 

[lamajama]

Yep I think Bozak's future - at least with the Leafs - is in jeopardy - not out of training camp perhaps but if Lombardi is able to come back consistantly and maintain his health, Bozak is the odd man out. He's not really suitable for the 4th line role in my opinion.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Few lines, no real surprises...

jonasTSN1050 Jonas Siegel
Liles paired with Schenn. Aulie with Phaneuf.
45 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply
Jonas Siegel

jonasTSN1050 Jonas Siegel
Lupul-Connolly-Kessel take the ice opposite MacArthur-Grabovski-Kulemin in the first of three scrimmages.

 

[maplesyrup]

Few lines, no real surprises...

jonasTSN1050 Jonas Siegel
Liles paired with Schenn. Aulie with Phaneuf.
45 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply
Jonas Siegel

jonasTSN1050 Jonas Siegel
Lupul-Connolly-Kessel take the ice opposite MacArthur-Grabovski-Kulemin in the first of three scrimmages.

Yeah, no point in tinkering there.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Here's a full list of the reported lines so far:

Lupul-Connolly-Kessel
MacArthur-Grabovski-Kulemin
Kadri-Bozak-Armstrong
Crabb-Colborne-Frattin
Heard-Dupuis-Orr
Caputi-Boyce-Rosehill

Aulie-Phaneuf
Liles-Schenn
Franson/Gunnarsson-Komisarek
Gunnarsson-Lashoff
Gardiner-Holzer

 

[L K]

Kadri-Bozak-Armstrong is another line that's been mentioned. And Crabb-Colborne-Frattin.

My hope is that the roster amounts to:

Lupul-Connoly-Kessel
Kulemin-Grabovski-MacArthur
Kadri-Bozak/Lombardi-Armstrong
Boyce-Dupuis-Brown
Orr-Caputi

No Crabb, and I think Frattin and Colborne should play some AHL hockey this year.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Kadri-Bozak-Armstrong is another line that's been mentioned. And Crabb-Colborne-Frattin.

My hope is that the roster amounts to:

Lupul-Connoly-Kessel
Kulemin-Grabovski-MacArthur
Kadri-Bozak/Lombardi-Armstrong
Boyce-Dupuis-Brown
Orr-Caputi

No Crabb, and I think Frattin and Colborne should play some AHL hockey this year.

I'd be fine with that, although I'm not really nuts about both Boyce and Dupuis being in the line-up. Hopefully Lombardi gets healthy and bumps Bozak down there forcing one of them out.

The Crabb-Colborne-Frattin line could be a pretty good potential line for the Marlies.

 

[L K]

Kadri-Bozak-Armstrong is another line that's been mentioned. And Crabb-Colborne-Frattin.

My hope is that the roster amounts to:

Lupul-Connoly-Kessel
Kulemin-Grabovski-MacArthur
Kadri-Bozak/Lombardi-Armstrong
Boyce-Dupuis-Brown
Orr-Caputi

No Crabb, and I think Frattin and Colborne should play some AHL hockey this year.

I'd be fine with that, although I'm not really nuts about both Boyce and Dupuis being in the line-up. Hopefully Lombardi gets healthy and bumps Bozak down there forcing one of them out.

The Crabb-Colborne-Frattin line could be a pretty good potential line for the Marlies.

Well, that would be my point too.  I figure that even as healthy as Lombardi might be by the end of camp, they could probably put him in the AHL for 5-10 games or so as a conditioning stint to get game-ready and once that happens, turf Dupuis.  I'm not a huge proponent of Boyce either, but I'm not quite sure what kind of impact Caputi could have playing 10 minutes a night on the 4th line.  You won't get a long-term production out of Boyce, but you know the kind of effort he will give, and I think that fits well with what Brown (who is starting to get annoyingly injury prone) provides.

 

[WAYNEINIONA]

So what do they do with Mckegg; OHL or AHL? I think he might be ready for the Marlies.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

So what do they do with Mckegg; OHL or AHL? I think he might be ready for the Marlies.

Can't play in the AHL this year because of his age. It's NHL or OHL, so he'll be back with Erie.

 

[WAYNEINIONA]

So what do they do with Mckegg; OHL or AHL? I think he might be ready for the Marlies.

Can't play in the AHL this year because of his age. It's NHL or OHL, so he'll be back with Erie.

Forgot about the age thing. I hope he really lights it up in Erie. Too bad he couldn't get traded to somebody like the Knights or Rangers.

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Well, that would be my point too.  I figure that even as healthy as Lombardi might be by the end of camp, they could probably put him in the AHL for 5-10 games or so as a conditioning stint to get game-ready and once that happens, turf Dupuis.  I'm not a huge proponent of Boyce either, but I'm not quite sure what kind of impact Caputi could have playing 10 minutes a night on the 4th line.  You won't get a long-term production out of Boyce, but you know the kind of effort he will give, and I think that fits well with what Brown (who is starting to get annoyingly injury prone) provides.

I don't know if you are or not, but we should probably wait and see what Dupuis can do before we start sending him to the Marlies. I read that he checks rather well and knows how to finish them.
Maybe he will be exactly what this team needs down there on the bottom line.

 

[McPwnage]

Personally I would prefer to see Lombardi playing with Kessel than being on the third line.  I think when he is 100% healthy Lombardi is probably the most talented center we have.

 

[maplesyrup]

Personally I would prefer to see Lombardi playing with Kessel than being on the third line.  I think when he is 100% healthy Lombardi is probably the most talented center we have.

I'm not sure about center (you may be right) but left winger for sure.

 

[BlueWhiteBlood]

Personally I would prefer to see Lombardi playing with Kessel than being on the third line.  I think when he is 100% healthy Lombardi is probably the most talented center we have.

He certainly has the speed to keep up with Kessel, but Connolly might be a better set up man I think.

 

[Kaberle15]

Personally I would prefer to see Lombardi playing with Kessel than being on the third line.  I think when he is 100% healthy Lombardi is probably the most talented center we have.

And, IF healthy, and along with Franson this could be the deal steal of the century for BB!

A buyout for Lebda would still be a good deal...

 

[Bender]

Personally I would prefer to see Lombardi playing with Kessel than being on the third line.  I think when he is 100% healthy Lombardi is probably the most talented center we have.

He certainly has the speed to keep up with Kessel, but Connolly might be a better set up man I think.

I've seen both play and I think Connolly is very creative with the puck. He sticks out as such a sore point whenever the Leafs played Buffalo. Lombardi I thought was good, but not quite as good as Connolly.

 

[donkeyy0]

So what do they do with Mckegg; OHL or AHL? I think he might be ready for the Marlies.

Can't play in the AHL this year because of his age. It's NHL or OHL, so he'll be back with Erie.

Forgot about the age thing. I hope he really lights it up in Erie. Too bad he couldn't get traded to somebody like the Knights or Rangers.

Well Eerie now has Sondre Olden, so it'll be nice to see McKegg and Olden developing chemistry in the OHL, and hopefully move up in the organization together.