Monday Morning Musings With Me, the Big E: Maple Leafs Rookie Camp & More

The Toronto Maple Leafs Rookie Tournament so far has been a bit of a mixed bag for fans and management alike. 

Featuring rookies from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins, this unofficial start of training camp got off to a great start on Saturday night for the Leafs with an impressive 6-3 win over the Blackhawks.

Goalie Jussi Rynnas had a solid night between the pipes for the young Leafs team stopping 31 of 34 Chicago shots, while Brian Burke's first three draft choices from last year scored the first three goals.

Greg McKegg has so far been much of the story for the young Leafs squad

In the first game on Saturday, McKegg had a goal and an assist and was a force everywhere on the ice. While he was also good against the Pens but for the most part the whole Leafs team appeared to be somewhat disinterested in the Sunday night tilt that saw them lose a 2-1 decision Pittsburgh in the last minute of regulation.

Aside from Brayden Irwin, the Leafs lone goal scorer, the only other real standout of this game was Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens who like his counterpart the night before was more than solid in net after shaking off a few butterflies.

“I thought I played pretty well but I was upset about giving up that second goal,” Scrivens said.

Up next for the 'Baby Buds' is their third and final game of the tourney against hated rivals the Ottawa Senators this Tuesday at 7 p.m. and at 8 p.m. on Leafs.com.

There have been several stand outs for the Maple Leafs rookies. The aforementioned Greg McKegg was certainly a stand out in game one, along with him though goalie Jussi Rynnas looked very sharp after a bit of a shaky start.

D'amigo, Ryan, Mueller, Kadri and Irwin among others have also looked very good all though Kadri seemed to be a little out of 'sync' with the rest of the team for the most part on Saturday.

Kadri did miss Sundays game against the Pens due to a mild hip 'flexor' but will be in the line up for Tuesdays tilt against the Senators.

On of the many players who have so far impressed has been defense man Simon Gysbers.

At 6'4", 200 lbs, Gysbers is already a force to be reckoned with. Blessed with good vision and the ability to make a quick pass out of what appears to be tight quarters will certainly go a long way to helping him get a job in the NHL.

His physical style and fearlessness also makes him a prototypical Burke type player, look for him to crack the line up in the next three years.

The future is looking very bright for the Toronto Maple Leafs, their almost sudden depth in goal and on defense leaves really only one area of improvement for Burke and Co, and if they are any indication, this team should be shooting the lights out someday soon.

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