The Frat Pack will be expanding its horizons tonight in Buffalo.
Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson has decided to at least temporarily break up the energetic line of college prospects which has impressed early in training camp.
Victor Stalberg is expected to play the wing on a line with John Mitchell and a second of the NCAA stars, Christian Hanson. And the third prospect, Tyler Bozak, moves up to a potentially dangerous line centred by Mikhail Grabovski with Alex Ponikarovsky on the other side.
The top line for tonight?s game against the Sabres is expected to have Matt Stajan at centre between Jason Blake and Niklas Hagman.
For much of training camp, Stalberg, Hanson and Bozak have played together after spending a good portion of the summer living and training together. They have worked well together and all three seem legitimate prospects for the future.
With four games remaining in training camp, however, now may be the time to see which (if any) of the three might make the opening night roster a week from tomorrow against Montreal.
It would appear unlikely that all three will start the season with the Leafs, although the trio is at least giving management something to think about. If they stick to the plan tonight, Wilson and general manager Brian Burke get the opportunity to see how they mesh with others, as the time for roster decisions get nearer.
As you might expect, the buzz is still around top draft pick Nazem Kadri, who scored the tying goal against Pittsburgh last night then scored on a dazzling effort in overtime. Kadri is slated to centre a line between Jay Rosehill and Jiri Tlusty tonight..
Vesa Toskala and Joey MacDonald are the two goaltenders taking the bus ride down the QEW. The six defencemen scheduled to dress are: Ian White, Garnet Exelby, Luke Schenn, Carl Gunnarson, Jonas Frogren and Andy Rogers.
Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson has decided to at least temporarily break up the energetic line of college prospects which has impressed early in training camp.
Victor Stalberg is expected to play the wing on a line with John Mitchell and a second of the NCAA stars, Christian Hanson. And the third prospect, Tyler Bozak, moves up to a potentially dangerous line centred by Mikhail Grabovski with Alex Ponikarovsky on the other side.
The top line for tonight?s game against the Sabres is expected to have Matt Stajan at centre between Jason Blake and Niklas Hagman.
For much of training camp, Stalberg, Hanson and Bozak have played together after spending a good portion of the summer living and training together. They have worked well together and all three seem legitimate prospects for the future.
With four games remaining in training camp, however, now may be the time to see which (if any) of the three might make the opening night roster a week from tomorrow against Montreal.
It would appear unlikely that all three will start the season with the Leafs, although the trio is at least giving management something to think about. If they stick to the plan tonight, Wilson and general manager Brian Burke get the opportunity to see how they mesh with others, as the time for roster decisions get nearer.
As you might expect, the buzz is still around top draft pick Nazem Kadri, who scored the tying goal against Pittsburgh last night then scored on a dazzling effort in overtime. Kadri is slated to centre a line between Jay Rosehill and Jiri Tlusty tonight..
Vesa Toskala and Joey MacDonald are the two goaltenders taking the bus ride down the QEW. The six defencemen scheduled to dress are: Ian White, Garnet Exelby, Luke Schenn, Carl Gunnarson, Jonas Frogren and Andy Rogers.
