Right off the bat, let’s get caught up on all the articles published yesterday.

ICYMI

  • The 25th ranked “prospect” in the Top 25 Under 25 wasn’t a prospect at all... yet. It was the fourth-round pick obtained by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Garret Sparks + David Clarkson trade. What a weird duo to be traded. Clarkson’s tenure on the Leafs cap still doesn’t seem real to me. I genuinely don’t believe it actually happened./

Top 25 Under 25: #25, the 2020 Vegas 4th -Round Pick

  • Next, was the Top 25 Under 25 article for the two goalie prospects that just missed our cut. In the poll, a lot of you said Ian Scott and Joseph Woll were on your ballots, and I agree so I laid the case. There’s a lot of promise still left in these two young butterflies./

Top 25 Under 25: The Case For The Goalies

  • Species gets jaded about all the Leafs prospects that have come and gone over the years. Jeez, there were a lot. /

PPP celebrates a Champagne Anniversary; not the good kind of Champagne

  • As the NHL finds a way to bring hockey back, there’s a lot of hoops they have to jump over, especially as June hosts a whole bunch of deadlines and [insert lawyerspeak here]. Katya breaks it all down./

June deadlines the NHL is going to blow right by

Around the Hockey World

  • Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is on the AHL’s Return to Play Task Force (the name did better than “Do Group”). They’ve been put together “for the purpose of providing expert leadership and strategic direction to the AHL in planning for the league’s return to play in the 2020-21 season.” There’s a lot the AHL needs to do to make sure they can be a viable business next season. It’s nice to see Dubas still actively participating in his old stomping grounds he loves so much. /
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets are set to play the Maple Leafs in the pre-playoffs best-of-five. Even with the long break, they’ll still be without a key player in Josh Anderson. /
  • The detail of broadcaster Chris Cuthbert’s new contract with Sportsnet has been shared. Gotta respect the hustle to get that goal on the bucket list checked off. /
  • Eric Guest played for the OHL Kitchener Rangers in 2016-17. He has now ended his competitive hockey journey and finally felt comfortable speaking out against the hazing and bullying he experienced on the team as a 16-year-old. Reading the whole Rick Westhead thread, you can quickly see how horrible this experience was for Guest as well as in the years since. /

Guest didn’t want to speak up because doing so would mean the end of his hockey career. He also didn’t want to name the accused because it would impact his current pro career. Hockey culture needs to change. All these kids that have come and gone through this system deserve better. They deserve a better hockey world than this bubble they’re trapped in.

  • This was a really good write-up and explanation of the Paul McFarland power play, a coach whom you’ll remember was with the Leafs this season but is leaving to go back to the OHL. Definitely read this incredible bit of analysis./
  • As long as Brad Marchand doesn’t lick you, you’re good. /
From The Branches