It’s finally here. Organized professional hockey is back in Toronto for another season.

Well, sort of.

The rookie tournament begins tonight. Hosted by the Maple Leafs at Ricoh Coliseum, we finally get a chance to see some new faces in the organization—and a few familiar ones—playing in an actual hockey game.

There has been training and preparation scrimmages this week leading up to the game, all media circuses surrounding new star prospects like Timothy Liljegren. There’s always some rust to shake off after the summer, but there’s no better way to get ready for hockey than playing real hockey.

Tonight’s game is against the Canadiens. The puck drops shortly after 7:00 pm. We’ll have roster and lineup information as available later today.

Meanwhile the Maple Leafs front office was busy announcing the hiring of some new staff. After spending the past year informally a part of the team, Stephane Robidas is now officially with the player development group. Joining him on the team is former SB Nation writer Jack Han.

ICYMI

George Parros named head of Player Safety for the NHL - Katya
"Rather than the fox in charge of the hen house, Parros is the ultimate insider, so versed in NHL culture he could likely teach a college course in it."

Too many wingers: The conundrum of the forward lines - Katya
Training camp will be a rousing game of musical chairs. How will it turn out?

Other News

Bracco eyes NHL after eye-opening year - Toronto Star
Playmaking forward Jeremy Bracco arrives at Leafs' rookie tournament looking to follow flight path of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander.

Pats' Smart happy to get the call from Leafs - Leader-Post
Regina Pats defenceman Jonathan Smart is headed to rookie camp with the Maple Leafs after being passed over in the 2017 NHL draft. [Species: You’ll never guess what his nickname is.]

Golden Knights goalie Calvin Pickard unveils contest-winning mask - Knights On Ice
[Species: I like this one. I hope we are over the "street art" style masks that have been so overused in the past few seasons"]

The Galchenyuk conundrum: Maximizing the impact of a flawed player - Eyes On The Prize
Using competition statistics to comprehend the mistrust coaches have in Alex Galchenyuk.

Which rookie are you most excited to see tonight?

Liljegren.210
Yes.123
From The Branches