Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Viktor Stalberg

By Louis "King of Roncesvalles" Pisnao

All the preseason hype over the young Swede fell off after an eight game stint from October first to the 28^th which produced only one assist and a plus minus rating of minus five.

While playing 19 games down on the farm with the Toronto Marlies, Stalberg has amassed eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points.

This guy has all the right parts to be a daily contributor in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He’s got a sixth gear when it comes to his wheels, he can handle the puck and he can finish.

At 6’3” and 210 pounds he is big enough to battle in front of the net and in those tough areas and separate himself from the AHL and solidify himself as NHL player.

 As for any player entering the NHL it may take a little time to understand the coach’s defensive zone schemes.

In his defence, when he was up with the team earlier this season, the whole team was a mess defensively, which still stands as a knock on this squad.

Which roster spot he will fill or who the odd man out is, has yet to be released by the team, but if I were to speculate it may be due to an injury suffered in last night’s loss to the Phoenix Coyotes.

Hopefully Stalberg comes in this time with a little more confidence and not the wide eyed deer caught in the head lights persona he had in his first stretch.

Leafs Nation’s expectations for Viktor Stalberg are high and with the recent success the team has seen he may flourish and give them a taste of what Brian Burke and Leafs management saw in him.

After watching this kid down in the AHL this year and last with the Marlies, he is in my mind an NHL calibre player and will in the future suit up on a daily basis for this team and will produce, once given the ice-time.

In case you didn’t know,  Gabe Morency (formally of The Score ) has launched his new website. Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter, my B/R counterpart, and I will be throwing down our Podcast “Get The Puck Out ” every Saturday from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

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