Showing posts with label List of Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label List of Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Matt Frattin and Adam McQuaid collision


s/t to a Tradition of Excellence Check out this collision between former Fighting Sioux forward Matt Frattin and Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid, both men are about the 200 pound range.It's like two trains colliding.
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Matt Frattin's second career goal.


Check out this goal from former Fighting Sioux all American and current Maple Leaf forward Matt Frattin, this goal closed the score to 4-3 before the Bruins scored two more goals. I have a feeling that Frattin is going to score many more goals in his NHL career.

Edit: On an unrelated note, here are the Bruins games against the Leafs this season. Total domination = the Bruins outscoring the Leafs 19-5.

FINAL TOR (2) - BOS (6)
FINAL BOS (7) - TOR (0)
TSN FINAL BOS (6) - TOR (3)  

Addendum: Some people have taken exception with my statement of the Bruins dominating the Leafs in a blog post after last night’s game.  Point of clarification; in the three games Boston Bruins have played against the Maple Leafs this season, the Boston Bruins outscored the Leafs 19-5.  I don't think it is a stretch to put that in the domination category; I am not sure what else we would call that?

While the Leafs out-shot the Boston Bruins 39-37 during last night’s game, I sometimes think the shots stat is one of the most over used and meaningless stats in hockey. Like my buddy Trin says, “you can beat people over the head with stats but the only one that matters is the final score at the end of the game.”

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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Matt Frattin's shootout goal against the Jets.


Former Fighting Sioux forward Matt Frattin scored on one of his patented snapshots in third round of the shootout to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 win shootout win over the visiting Winnipeg Jets. Frattin played 13:58 during tonight's game. Leafs forward Nazem Kadri who just recently returned from MCL injury was actually sent to the Toronto Marlies in stead of Matt Frattin.
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Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Matt Frattin talks about making the Leafs out of training camp...


Goon's World would like to congratulate Matt Frattin for making the Toronto Maple Leafs opening day roster out of training camp. Toronto head coach Ron Wilson said this past week that former Fighting Sioux forward Matt Frattin is NHL ready .
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Tuesday Links...

sportsnet.ca photo
With the start of hockey there are all kinds of news stories.

It looks like former Fighting Sioux forward Matt Frattin and former Badger defenseman Jake Gardiner have made the Toronto Maple Leafs out of training camp. So congrats to Matt Frattin and Jake Gardiner.
Mike Brophy; Sportsnet.ca --- Frattin's story has been told and told again. He was sent home from the University of North Dakota and had his scholarship revoked because of some teenage pranks, but returned to the team, at his own expense, and became one of the best college players in the nation. He was a cut above the rest of the pack at rookie camp and didn't skip a beat when he joined the Toronto veterans. Frattin also had five points, including two goals, in the pre-season.

He said he really wasn't overly surprised that he made the varsity squad.

"Well, maybe a little bit," he said. "We have a bunch of guys out and Clarke MacArthur is suspended. I got put into his role s hopefully I'll play on that line for the first two games. Every game you get opportunities and you just have to build from there. You have to take advantage of them. Coming to practice today I had no clue what to expect. We did a workout and the next thing I know I'm on a line with Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Gabovski. I had a great practice today and I feel good."
There are still tickets available for this weekend's Ice Breaker tourney. [Fighting Sioux]

College Hockey INC has a preview to this weekend's Ice Breaker Tournament. [College Hockey Inc]

Speaking of College Hockey Inc they have revamped their web page. [College Hockey Inc]

The Minnesota Golden Gophers head hockey coach Don Lucia seems to think that the Minnesota Gophers are going to be able to wear down their opponents this season. [Roman Empire]

Chris Peters from the USA of Hockey breaks down the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to the Hockey East move. [USA of Hockey]
The Irish would have helped legitimize the NCHC a little bit more. At the very least it would have made the move to leave the WCHA seem smart as opposed to selfish. It leaves the rest of us questioning whether or not the schools that left for the NCHC significantly improved their situations by leaving the WCHA.

The WCHA could have done much more to keep these schools from leaving, no question. A failure of leadership and foresight might have killed the WCHA as we know it. There are still many questions to be answered, and with the NCHC failing to gain one of the richest athletic departments in college sports, the answers may be harder to come by.
Again the WCHA bloggers/website preseason poll was conducted and the Fighting Sioux were picked to finish third in this season's poll. [Goon's World], [A tradition of Excellence]
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Thursday, September 15, 2011

Burke on Frattin - “He’s going to get a good look in camp.”

With the new season comes new chance for former Fighting Sioux hockey players to get their shot at playing in the NHL, this season former Fighting Sioux power forward Matt Frattin is making an early impression and has a decent chance of making the NHL out of the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp.
Kevin McGran; The Star --- One of few players who may actually get some ice time with the Leafs this year is Matt Frattin, easily the best player on the ice Tuesday night. The puck followed him around, it seemed. He scored the Leafs’ first goal, on a fine feed from defenceman Jake Gardiner.

It was a power-play goal with Frattin — a forward — playing the point.

“He clearly showed some of what he can do and I think he still has more to give,” Eakins said of Frattin. “We used him in all situations. We had him on the point on the power play, up front on the power play, 5-on-5, 4-on-4, penalty killing and he wasn’t falling away. It looks like he’s fairly fit as well.”

At 23, Frattin was one of the older players at the four-team tournament. It was expected he would dominate and he did. GM Brian Burke was impressed.

“I think he’s a good player,” Burke said of Frattin. “He’s going to get a good look in camp.”
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Hockey is in the air...


Waking up this morning I noticed some frost on the roof of my garage and have come to the conclusion that our short summer in the north land is officially now over and the hockey season is upon us. The Fighting Sioux hockey team play their exhibition game on October 1st against Regina 16 days from now.

Some of the first media and pseudo media have begun to release their preseason rankings/ballots [Bucky's Fifth Quarter], [Western College Hockey], [Roman Empire]

This is how I see the WCHA shaking out this season.
1. Denver
2. Colorado College
3. North Dakota
4. Minnesota
5. Nebraska-Omaha
6. Wisconsin
6. Minnesota-Duluth
8. Alaska-Anchorage
9. St. Cloud State
10. Bemidji State
11. Michigan Tech
12. Minnesota State

Fratts making an impression

From reading all of the press clipping coming from the Toronto newspapers it sounds like former Fighting Sioux forward Matt Frattin has made quite an impression on the Toronto Maple Leafs brain trust during this week’s rookie camp and Matt Frattin may have a chance to make the Leafs rosters out of training camp.

Frattin looking good at camp [Toronto Sun]
OSHAWA - The playing field is about to level for Matt Frattin.

But the 23-year-old Maple Leafs freshman couldn’t have had a better send-off to training camp as he played in all situations and shone in a 4-3 Leafs loss to the Ottawa Senators in the rookie tournament closer at the General Motors Centre.

“He clearly showed some of what he can do and I think he has more to give,” said Toronto Marlies coach Dallas Eakins, who was behind the Leafs bench. “He didn’t fall away. And it looks like he is fairly fit as well, which is encouraging.”

Frattin played the point on the power play and one-timed a shot past goalie Robin Lehner late in the second period during a man-advantage. He also killed penalties, and his smarts demonstrated why he should have a good shot at winning a spot on the Leafs’ roster when camp breaks. He played in one game for the Leafs last season.
Leaf's Roster has WCHA flavor

If you glance at the Toronto Leafs training camp roster you will see a hint of a WCHA influence. Currently there are seven former WCHA players on the Leaf's training camp roster. [Toronto Maple Leafs training camp roster]

Brad Malone also making an impression with AV's

Sounds like former Fighting Sioux forward Brad Malone is also making an impression with the Colorado Avalanche coaching staff as well. Here is what the Mile High City had to say about Brad Malone.
Brad Malone: The first thing that jumped off the ice about Malone yesterday and was only reinforced today was that he moves well for a guy his size. He's a smooth skater with a long, powerful stride who isn't blessed with great acceleration but has a top speed that won't cause him to be overwhelmed in the NHL. He was focused on firing a few more pucks past goalies today (same for Landy, who he's living with at a hotel near Park Meadows) and used his quick, compact release to pick some corners. Maybe most surprising on the day was some actual hitting showed up as he and Landeskog came together in front of Pickard for an amusing confrontation. Later during the scrimmages Malone received a pretty significant body check from O'Byrne and took it in stride. As they skated down the ice, Malone was definitely looking to let O'Byrne know he saw the number of that freight train and seemed anxious to get into O'Byrne. Sadly, everyone remembered it was day 2 of rookie camp and the two quickly skated away with smiles on their faces. Don't be surprised to see Malone happily lay into O'Byrne this weekend. From what I saw, Malone had himself a pretty solid day and I'm really liking his potential to make an impact on the bottom 6 this season. It may not be immediate but I wouldn't be surprised to see Malone donning an Avs jersey at some point in this campaign.


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Monday, September 12, 2011

Frattin ready to break out?

Every time I read the Matt Frattin story it makes me stop and think; what a story, here was a kid that made a few knuckle headed mistakes but he turned his life around and made it right. Like many of the college hockey players that had gotten into trouble in the past; Matt Frattin could have left school and signed a professional hockey contract, instead Frattin chose to go back home get his priorities straight and refocus and rejoin his teammates at the half way point of the 2009-2010 season. Now it appears that Matt is on the cusp to make his mark in professional hockey. Like coach Hakstol said last year, Matt took the hard road to get back to UND, the story was well documented, he worked a few jobs that were less than glamorous and came back to UND like a man that was possessed.
Kevin McGran; Toronto Star --- No one is under the microscope at this four-team tournament more so than Frattin — the only player on the Leaf rookie squad to have played a game in the NHL, and the only one singled out by GM Brian Burke as being ready to challenge for a spot.

That might sound like pressure to some. Not to Frattin.

“It’s a sign that things I’ve been doing last year and through the summer, that (Burke) thinks I’ve been doing the right things,” said Frattin, “and that I can be taking that spot after training camp if I keep doing the right things.”

Frattin’s been doing the right things for some time, after a summer of doing many things wrong.

Frattin’s well-told story of drinking-related hijinks — which got him arrested in the summer of 2009 and suspended from his college program — is far behind him now, but follows him everywhere.
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Saturday, September 10, 2011

Frattin talks about playing college hockey...


Toronto Maple Leafs prospects Matt Frattin and Jake Gardiner explain the benefits of playing US Division I College Hockey. Listening to these two young players talk about hockey and the more I think about it; if you're one of these hockey players that is a bit of a late bloomer; maybe you don't develop as fast as other players, Division I college Hockey would probably be a better option than Major Juniors. Not everyone is going to be like Sidney Crosby and play one or two years in Major Juniors before making the jump to the professional ranks.

The reality is that if you’re good enough to play hockey after you college hockey days are over, more than likely than not you're going to start out in the ECHL or the AHL and then “maybe” transition to fighting for a spot on the third or fourth line on an NHL club, if you’re lucky. Very few players are going to play in the NHL and the college education gives players an option to fall back on after they are done playing hockey.

Here is an awesome story on former Fighting Sioux forward Matt Frattin and how he has learned from his past mistakes. Apparently Frattin has a "decent chance" of making the Leafs out of training camp as well.
TORONTO — The rookie wants to be a role model.

He wants young people to know his story and how it changed him, made him a better hockey player and — ultimately — a responsible adult. Wants them to know that as a sophomore at the University of North Dakota, he made foolish decisions that resulted in him being kicked off the hockey team and working a blue-collar construction job.

And how it made Matt Frattin who he is today.

“It was a life experience that I kind of needed to happen,” says the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect, who is among those competing at a four-team rookie tournament in Oshawa, Ont., this weekend. “I wasn’t really living my life as though I wanted to be a professional. I was more a college kid. It happens. But it was probably good that I got caught in a couple of situations and it changed the way I am today.”
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