Good morning Toronto Maple Leafs fans!

It's good to be here with you when there's news to report and rumors to make fun of, so let’s jump into it.

First up, we officially have the Maple Leafs pre-season schedule!

The pre-season for 2022 runs from September 24th to October 8th, and the team will play seven games.

Saturday, September 24 - 2 pm ET, 7 pm ET (split-squad doubleheader) vs. Ottawa
Scotiabank Arena (Toronto, ON)

Wednesday, September 28 - 7 pm ET vs. Montréal
Scotiabank Arena (Toronto, ON)

Friday, September 30 - 7 pm ET at Ottawa
Belleville, ON

Monday, October 3 - 7 pm ET at Montréal
Bell Centre (Montréal, QC)

Friday, October 7 - 7:30 pm ET at Detroit
Little Caesars Arena (Detroit, MI)

Saturday, October 8 - 7 pm ET vs. Detroit
Scotiabank Arena (Toronto, ON)

Only one non-NHL arena this year, with the Leafs & Senators playing in the home rink of the AHL Belleville Senators. I like when the games are held outside the NHL arenas. Even if it’s just a pre-season game, it’s nice to give a show for a smaller crowd.

With the Leafs home games being at the SBA, I would assume training camp isn’t on the move this year, and will be held at the Ford Performance Centre. I hope 2023 camp will be held outside Toronto again, pre-pandemic the Leafs held camp in Halifax, Niagara Falls twice, and St. John’s.

The Leafs weren’t done with announcements after the schedule drop, they made a few moves in the front office:

Maple Leafs add a goalie coach and change the brass plaques on some office doors

TL;DR:

Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser - Assistant General Manager, Player Development
Ryan Hardy - Assistant General Manager, Minor League Operations
Darryl Metcalf - Assistant General Manager, Hockey Research and Development
Curtis Sanford - Goaltending Coach

After that post went out more names were announced:
Matt Moulson - Pro Scout
Jill Reiner - R&D Data Analyst
Viktor Alm - Amateur Scout
Chris Borque - Amateur Scout

It was a good day for new hires around the hockey world:

The WHL Moose Jaw Warriors launched a new branding, with new jerseys and logos.

The Warriors dropped the First Nations logo, and meaning behind the name and are working with the Canadian Forces Snowbirds air team, which is based in Moose Jaw. From the team:

Over the past decade, the Warriors have developed a connection with the Canadian Forces Snowbirds air demonstration team, which is based out of 15 Wing Moose Jaw.

The two organizations have partnered to share experiences and information, learning from each other about teamwork and dedication to their craft.

“As the relationship grew, it evolved to this,” Lt. Col. Denis Bandet, Commanding Officer of the Snowbirds. “We’ve had some pretty open communication with the Warrior organization, within the RCAF about what we want to do and then seeing how the Warriors wanted to include aviation and 15 Wing into the spirit of the community is pretty special.”

Bandet said it was an honour for the Snowbirds to be included in the rebranding of the organization.

“Hockey is in the fabric of every Canadian and just showing the ice between the Warriors and 15 Wing is pretty special,” he said. “To see it actually come to light is awesome and truly honoured to be a part of it.”

The connection between the two Moose Jaw-based organizations goes deeper than their work together over the past decade.

The Snowbirds’ motto is “The Hatiten Ronteriios”, which means “Warriors of the air”.

The Western Hockey League club is now the Warriors of the ice.

I like this new look for the teams. There’s something about airplane logos that I like, and a red/black colour scheme is also a favourite of mine. Morgan Rielly’s WHL team has done good work here.

It’s also rumor season! So here’s some that I found:

I have no feelings about this.

Will Dubas buy low?

I love the Oilers keep quitting on high draft picks.

Alright folks, enjoy your day.

From The Branches