The Toronto Marlies announced on Tuesday that they had signed 21-year-old centre Curtis Douglas to a two-year AHL contract with the team. Douglas, who is 6’8” according to Elite Prospects, played with the Belleville Senators last year after being an unsigned draft pick out of the OHL. Douglas was originally a fourth round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2018.

Douglas played the first half of last year in Austria with the Linz Steel Wings on loan from the AHL Senators before playing 11 games for them in 2021. Before that, he played three seasons with the Windsor Spitfires, scoring 30 goals and 60 points in his final age-19/20 year in the OHL. He was on my radar as a potential free agent signing out of junior last summer.

We still don’t have word yet on Josh Ho-Sang’s NHL contract, but this AHL deal helps fill out the Marlies on the AHL contract side. The Marlies currently have 10 players signed to AHL contracts before bringing in Douglas. They are as follows:

  • F: Rich Clune, Antti Suomela, Jeremy McKenna, Bobby McMann, Gordie Green, Ryan Chyzowski
  • D: Noel Hoefenmayer, Riley McCourt, Brennan Kapcheck, Ben Finkelstein/

Douglas is the third centre of that group, and joins Kirill Semyonov, Mikhail Abramov, Semyon-Der-Arguchintsev, and Alex Steeves who are on NHL contracts in the depth chart.

Douglas The Player

I remember Douglas as a winger when he first came on the scene in the OHL, but a 2019 switch to centre really helped him find a home. He doesn’t have incredible footspeed (can you blame him), but he’s light on his feet and can move around relatively effectively. By all accounts he works hard in all areas of the ice and is an effective penalty killer thanks to his agility and reach.

Think Pierre Engvall, Mason Marchment, and the other giraffes who have come and gone through the Marlies. They can all skate in their own ways and they use their reach to good effect.

I looked at his OHL stats just in case and I didn’t see someone who only produced through the power play. Lots of his offense comes from even strength play (I’m still not sure if that’s because of him or his teammates), and particularly from the front of the net and off the rush from the wings, as you would expect.

There aren’t many scouting reports on the guy other than what I’ve said above, but here are some articles I researched from, including a stats deep dive from Canucks Army.

Stars Use Their Second Pick in Round 4 To Draft Curtis Douglas
CANUCKSARMY’S 2018 NHL DRAFT PROFILES: #71 Curtis Douglas
Dallas Stars Prospect Update: Curtis Douglas Soaring With Spitfires After Position Change
Curtis Douglas

Toronto Marlies