Maple Leafs trim training camp roster to 49

As has been speculated today by a few Leafs reporters, the Maple Leafs have announced the first wave of cuts to their training camp roster, taking the group from 73 players down to 49. You can see who has made the cut below (click here for original image):

Forwards after first cuts

Defence after first cuts

Goalies after first cuts

The cuts are players who were not expected to compete for NHL roster spots. The Leafs started with a huge camp, so this set of cuts still leaves them with a more manageable group, though one still robustly populated by non-NHLers. Looking up and down the updated roster, many are there to make up the numbers.

You can see the list of cuts below, along with where they were assigned:

Here's the Leafs cuts. No shockers. pic.twitter.com/a8UrKeYtjn

— James Mirtle (@mirtle) September 17, 2017

A mild surprise is that the Leafs chose to send some of their prospective AHL players down to the Marlies now, presumably to fill out their training camp with Sheldon Keefe. Specifically, Adam Brooks and Jeremy Bracco may have expected to get a longer look in the main training camp. Just as notably, players like Andreas Johnsson, Tobias Lindberg, and Trevor Moore are not on that list and are still with the NHL group. None of them will sniff a NHL roster spot out of training camp, but it looks like they’re being kept up to make the numbers and hit the ice in the preseason. It may also indicate that they’re generally seen as being higher on the totem pole of Leafs-controlled players. Or it could indicate nothing more than seniority in terms of tenure.

Almost all of the players who are playing in junior hockey were reassigned to their CHL teams. The only one who wasnt? Keaton Middleton. I have no idea if that means anything at all, but it’s true.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that Timothy Liljegren is the only 2017 draft pick remaining in the main camp - that is to be expected, of course. It would be quite unusual to see a highly touted first round pick cut before lacing them up for even a preseason game. There has been some talk of a Dermott - Liljegren pairing, which we saw for a bit at rookie camp, and we may see this season if Liljegren comes over to the AHL, and Dermott doesn’t make the NHL. The former seems increasingly likely, but the way the media and team has been speaking about Dermott, the latter seems increasingly unlikely.

All in all, there’s nothing too surprising about this set of cuts. 24 cuts down, 26 to go.