Reading the Tea Leafs: Robbie Earl

Following on the success of two other dormant series Chemmy and I have decided that in order to fill the gap in NHL news that we'll take a look at each of the current Leafs, possible Leafs on the Marlies, and prospects. We'll recap their performance last year, what we can expect from them, and how they can win our hearts (hint: signing the contract was a good first step...unless your name is Bryan McCabe Ian White). We have no idea how long of a series this will end up being or how consistent it will be but with two of us expect it to only be half as half-assed and twice as timely.

Here's what we know about Robbie Earl: he likes condiments and he buys furniture that comes with its own Swedish assembler.

Contract Status (according to NHL Numbers)
$600K salary, $625K cap hit, RFA July 1, 2009

Age (as of October 1, 2008)
23 - Jun 2, 1985

NHL Seasons
Zero

Run of the Mill Biographical Information

AHL Statistics

Former Leaf he'd have to play like in order to be christened a deity

Biggest Question Marks

2007-2008 Summary
The best thing that can be said about The Duke is that during his nine games with the Leafs he did not look out of place. He even managed a pretty nice assist against the New Enemy.

Here's a look at his profile at Hockey's Future:

Earl is a tremendously gifted offensive player who is exciting watch. He is an excellent skater with explosive speed. He’s a difficult player to contain because of his great ability to move not only through traffic but also around opposing defenders. He plays with intensity and will get involved in the physical aspects of the game. His play around the net is quite good. He will drive to the net as well as create chaos around it. He also possesses great playmaking skills. He sees the ice well and has good anticipation. He possesses a quick release and has no trouble finding the net. He has also shown a knack for scoring timely goals as well. One area of improvement for Earl is his size. At 185 lbs. he could stand to bulk up more.He improved on that season last year and he jumped 21 points in plus/minus rating and increased his points despite playing in one game less than in 2006-2007.

Note: He also had quite an interesting university and high school career. Looks like The Duke has a bit more of a pedigree then we would be led to believe.

Projected 2008-2009 role/team
Robbie is in a big bunch of kids that either needs to be getting top six minutes in the show or need to be getting it off Broadway. Barring a training camp miracle, Earl will be picking them up in the AHL and that's not an entirely bad thing. If (ie when) injuries hit the Leafs then I'd expect Earl to be among the first players called up so he will likely see some action with the big club this year.

Robbie Earl's Nickname?