Just who is on this team now?

A few weeks ago the roster was so thin, every healthy player was in every game and a Solar Bears defenceman was getting shifts as a forward. Now there's so many guys on the team, I'm not sure Sheldon Keefe knows who is who. And to make it more confusing there's two Smiths, two Carricks, two Connors and, well, we'll get to that.

Where'd they all come from?

College, most of them. The Leafs are bringing in a lot of players on Amateur Try Out contracts or ATOs. The deal with these is that you can play for up to 25 games for a per diem fee, maintain your amateur standing (college eligibility), and if the team that tries you out likes you, you might get a contract.

Guys on ATOs are also eligible for the playoffs. The complicated roster eligibility rules are designed for current players on NHL contracts.

Which guys left?

Maybe you didn't notice in all the comings and goings, but one guy has been and gone. Tylor Spink was around for three games and was released to go finish his school year.

In addition, Éric Faille, Brett Findlay and James Martin returned to the Solar Bears.

Who else is new?

Willie Corrin

Also from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, is a left shooting defenceman, who at 24, has four years of college experience. Obviously spied while Leafs scouts were looking at Cameranesi and Kaskisuo, he's a possibility as depth defence on the Marlies. It's not true he never scores, he just does it rarely. This is a beaut though:

Defence: Ty Stanton from the WHL

Willie Corrin from the NCAA

Forwards: Jordan Hickmott from the CIS

Shane Conacher from the NCAA

Tony Cameranesi from the NCAA (Leafs draft pick)

Goalie: Kasimiri Kaskisuo from the NCAA (signed to an NHL contract for next year)

But wait there's more

The Leafs did a flip-flop, and sent some guys down and called some others up.

And they also assigned Ben Smith to the Marlies to make way for Byron Froese coming off injury.

The whole roster right now looks like this (red denotes not playable, i.e. injured reserve or Jared Cowen):

# Player Position Shoots Height Weight Age Birth place Contract
5 Jared Cowen D L 6'5" 230 25 Allan, SK
6 Scott Harrington D L 6'2" 205 23 Kingston, ON
10 Stuart Percy D L 6'1" 193 23 Oakville, ON
59 Willie Corrin D L 6'2" 198 25 International Falls, MN ATO
61 Rinat Valiev D L 6'2" 208 21 Nizhnekamsk, Russia
4 Connor Carrick D R 5'10" 191 22 Orland Park, IL
5 Ty Stanton D R 6'4" 193 21 St. Albert , AB ATO
27 David Kolomatis D R 5'11" 195 27 Livingston, NJ
41 Justin Holl D R 6'3" 195 24 Tonka Bay, MN
44 Taylor Doherty D R 6'8" 235 25 Cambridge, ON Loan from Rapid City
54 Tony Cameranesi F R 5'10" 185 23 Plymouth, MN ATO
23 Frederik Gauthier F-C L 6'5" 220 21 Laval, QC
16 Sam Carrick F-C R 6-0 207 24 Markham, ON
28 Mark Arcobello F-C R 5'8" 166 28 Milford, CT
37 Colin Smith F-C R 5'10" 178 23 Edmonton, AB
17 Richard Clune F-LW L 5'10" 216 29 Toronto, ON
19 Brendan Leipsic F-LW L 5'9" 170 22 Winnipeg, MB
38 John Kurtz F-LW L 6'2" 210 27 Oakville, ON PTO
14 Josh Leivo F-LW R 6'2" 195 23 Innisfil, ON
11 Zach Hyman F-RW L 6'1" 205 24 Toronto, ON
22 Shane Conacher F-RW L 5'11" 177 22 Burlington, ON ATO
24 Jordan Hickmott F-RW L 6'1" 197 26 Mission, BC ATO
21 Ben Smith F-RW R 5'11" 200 28 Avon, CT
29 Connor Brown F-RW R 5'11" 170 22 Toronto, ON
39 Matt Frattin F-RW R 6-0 200 28 Edmonton, AB Loan from Binghamton
49 Justin Johnson F-RW R 6'1" 220 35 Anchorage, AK
33 Kasimir Kaskisuo G L 6'3" 195 22 Vantaa, Finland ATO-signed by Leafs for next year
1 Antoine Bibeau G R 6'2" 210 Victoriaville, QC
32 Alex Stalock G R 6-0 185 South St. Paul, MN

That's a lot of guys. Particularly when you figure in the 8 guys on the Leafs roster right now that are eligible for the AHL playoffs. I'm picturing doubling up in the locker room and fights over mirror time to fix the flow. I'm feeling sorry for Alex Stalock too. The three goalie thing never works, and with Sparks eligible to come back for the playoffs, there'll be four.

Unfortunately the Solar Bears have only the thinnest sliver of a chance to make the playoffs, so sending guys down there for ice time isn't going to be an option. The bigger question is: is there any room to call any of them up. Faille and Findlay were both great, but how do you bump a guy like Lindberg or B. Smith or even Clune for one of those guys?

The projected lineup for tonight's game is, well, honestly, anyone's guess. We're back to the luxury of rotating guys in and out of the lineup and resting minor injuries. Kaskisuo's getting his first start though, so tune in to Leafs TV for that.

Who gets icetime?

Arcobello will stay the 1C until Nylander comes down, which is whenever Peter Holland is healthy. Colin Smith has been a revelation of what happens when you take a guy from a last place team and put him on the best team in the AHL, so expect him to stay at 2 or 3 C for now. He went from 0.63 points per game on the Rampage to 1.07 points per game in 16 games as a Marlie. Gautier is a rock, and he should keep his spot as 4C. Needing to find a spot in there is Cameranesi, who is also a centre.

So with occasion days off for those guys, you can expect to see a changing cast of wingers as that larger pool of forwards fight for places, for attention, for contracts or for the chance to get re-signed in the summer.

There's a lot more than the Calder Cup on the line for most of these players.

Toronto Marlies