The Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice tonight. Sort of. Oshawa, Ontario is the site of the 2011 Toronto Maple Leafs Rookie Tournament, which will showcase young talent from three NHL clubs (and Ottawa). A few names to focus on include Matt Frattin, Jake Gardiner, and Jesse Blacker. As Jonas Siegel of TSN Radio writes:

First impressions are made on a yearly basis at the annual rookie tournament, which takes place in Oshawa, Ontario this weekend. With an ever-improving pipeline, the showcase - which also includes futures from the Blackhawks, Penguins and Senators - offers Leafs brass their first view of top prospects heading into the 2011-2012 season.

The Leafs games will be available live on Rogers Sportsnet Ontario and on 30 minute tape delay on MapleLeafs.com.  Be sure to stop by around 6:30 tonight for the first PPP GDT of the year.

Links after the jump...

The surprisingly effective Colby Armstrong

Jeffler really likes Colby all of a sudden

Media optimism around the Leafs the usual fare

New VLM on preseason positivity

The hefty truth about player weight

Justin Bourne's last article for PD carries a lot of weight

Zajac out for 4-6 months

In Lou We Trust has the scoop