Maple Leafs make another cut, sending captain back to his junior team
The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to narrow down their roster for opening night and for one captain it means he's going back to junior at least for the time being.
With the regular season only a couple of weeks away, the Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to put their best team forward in order to not only find that regular season success they've been known for, but get over the hump and make a long playoff run and perhaps find themselves lifting the Stanley Cup come the end of June. But for one Maple Leafs hopeful, he may need to wait a little bit until he can be a part of that roster.
Noah Chadwick, drafted in the 6th Round in 2023 was someone who the Maple Leafs were looking for to bring a complete game to their defensive corps future and felt compelled enough to sign Chadwick to an entry-level contract clearly seeing him in their future plans. But for now, he'll have to help his junior squad the Lethbridge Hurricanes as the Maple Leafs have assigned the Hurricanes captain back to the WHL per David Alter of The Hockey News reports:
Chadwick, who would be hard pressed to find a spot thanks to the myriad of defensive signings the Maple Leafs made, had a decent training camp but found himself on the rough end of a crosscheck into the net during the Prospect Showcase:
He was able to recover from that but didn't necessarily stand out enough to fight for a spot. While he's clearly talented and leaped his production from 20 points in 2022-2023 to a superb 56 points in 2023-2024. He has found his offensive touch in addition to his already solid defensive IQ, and him being a booming 6'4 just adds to his value. If he can add a few more pounds of muscle without sacrificing his mobility, he could be a dangerous asset for the Maple Leafs in the near future alongside future defenders Topi Niemala and fellow big body Cade Webber.
If the Maple Leafs want Chadwick to gain a bit more conditioning and muscle, sending him back to junior isn't a bad way to do it. He's captain of the Hurricanes and he is going to be able to work on his leadership ability and gain more skill and knowledge and start finding his game more and more. Toronto clearly sees something in Chadwick; often times 6th round picks don't get three-year deals off the rip so clearly there's some untapped potential. Giving Chadwick more time to grow into himself is a pretty good start, and would allow Toronto to monitor him a bit more efficiently without having to sacrifice a roster spot for someone who isn't of the caliber of an NHL player just yet.
It's unfortunate that it'll be a bit longer for Noah Chadwick to skate with the big boys on the Maple Leafs, but if he keeps up his momentum from last year, he's not going to have to wait long.
| POLL | ||
Should Noah Chadwick be called up this year? | ||
| Yes | 81 | 34 % |
| No | 157 | 66 % |
| List of polls | ||
