It was an eventful third day of training camp in Etobicoke as the Leafs sprinted into on-ice drills and scrimmages.
The 64 man group broke off into two groups of four teams and the speed, tempo, and competitive nature of the camp was entertaining to say the least.
On the injury front head coach Randy Carlyle told us that both Tyler Bozak and David Clarkson had sustained lower body injuries while skating prior to camp. Carlyle added that both players are listed as day-to-day. The injured duo skated hard early Saturday in full equipment with strength coach Anthony Belza and looked no worse for wear.
Thats good news and the news for rookie defenceman Cody Donaghey was good as well.
The St. Johns native thrived at the rookie tournament in London last week and was rewarded with an entry-level contract from the Leafs.
Donaghey will take part in this camp before heading back to his junior club the Quebec Remparts wholl be hosting the Memorial Cup next spring.
Two scrimmages hilighted Saturday at MasterCard Centre with Peter Holland scoring two goals in a 2-2 draw in game 1.
I thought it went pretty well getting matched up with Ashton and Abbott. It seemed very reminiscent of the Marlies. We kindve knew how each other played and things went well for us today, Holland said.
Holland is in a battle for the 3rd line centre job.
The Caledon native is looking to build on his superb Calder Cup playoff run where he led the Marlies with 15 points in 11 games.
The opportunity to establish roots is key as well after bouncing between Syracuse, Norfolk and Anahiem the past three seasons.
I think this is the most comfortable Ive felt coming into a pro camp. Its a lot different this year. In previous years Ive had to leave home and fly across the country. And now its kind of nice to be in one spot and its a comfortability thing for sure.
One of the interesting line combinations today featured Nazem Kadri between James van Riemsdyk and Matt Frattin.
The three dominated in game 1 and combined for a goal.
On the defensive side of the puck Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly were very much in control.
Petter Granberg paid no respect to veterans Joffrey Lupul and Colton Orr in the second game frustrating both with his physical play.
Stuart Percy was grace under pressure making seeing eye passes and thriving against the opposition forecheck.
Up front rookie William Nylander looked very comfortable playing on the opposite wing of Phil Kessel on a line centred by Petri Kontiola.
Nylanders precision passing showed further evidence of this young prospects vast skill set.
Goal scorers in the two scrimmages today included Holland with a pair, Viktor Loov and Matt Frattin from game 1.
The 2nd contest saw Daniel Winnik, Eric Knodel, Josh Leivo and Colton Orr score in a 4-0 win for Team Blue.
Antoine Bibeau recorded the shutout looking positionally strong and giving up very few rebounds.
All four squads will play another two scrimmages on Sunday before the Leafs get set for their first exhibition game in London Monday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
