NCAA playoff update, Tverberg turns pro, Hirvonen comes up clutch: Leafs Prospect Roundup

The Leafs had a handful of prospects competing for conference titles in the NCAA this past weekend, including Matt Knies and Mike Koster of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. After losing last year’s B1G10 Championship against Michigan, the Gophers were looking for a measure of revenge against the Wolverines this time around.
As he has done so often in big games throughout his collegiate career, Knies came to play with the title on the line against a familiar foe. He helped to pull the Gophers even in the second period with a great defensive play that sent Jimmy Snuggerud and Logan Cooley in all alone, and the pair of star prospects from the 2022 draft made no mistake.

Great defensive play by Matt Knies springs Jimmy Snuggerud and Logan Cooley on a 2-on-0 and Minnesota pulls even with Michigan#LeafsForever #Yotes #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/et5SMWXEJL
— Nick Richard (@_NickRichard) March 19, 2023

His most impressive play of the night came just moments later, as he gloved down a puck in the neutral zone and fended off a couple of checks before bursting around a defender and taking the puck to the net for a great scoring chance that forced Michigan to take a penalty. Minnesota probably has a case that the goal should have counted, too.

Holy 💩 Matthew Knies pic.twitter.com/esETzcOnWA
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) March 19, 2023

Knies showed off his repertoire of skills throughout the contest, making skilled plays with the puck and using his body to protect pucks and sustain possessions, but it wasn’t enough. After Knies found himself on the wrong side of a couple of fortuitous bounces in the third period, Michigan came away with their second consecutive B1G10 title.
It was a bitter …

Read More

Author: Nick Richard / The Leafs Nation

Digging into Ross Atkins press conference: The future of the managerial position, bullpen heading into 2023 and more!

The annual end-of-season press conference took place on Tuesday afternoon, let’s dig into some of what Ross Atkins said.

Of course, he didn’t say much in terms of who they’re looking at in the free-agent market, or what the plan is for roster construction, other than “we need to improve”, but let’s start with some good news.
George Springer’s health:
On the play that tied the game, Bo Bichette and George Springer both dove for the ball, with Springer essentially getting close-lined. He suffered a concussion (which was pretty much a given) and a shoulder sprain.
Atkins also noted that Springer’s elbow is feeling better and that he’ll be visiting a doctor once cleared. If there’s an operation to remove the spur in the elbow, Atkins believes that it will only benefit the outfielder positively.
The future of the manager position:
The Toronto General Manager will spend more time looking for a manager, but it seems as if John Schneider is the leading candidate for the role. Atkins said, “I feel very confident about the job [Schneider] has done, it will be very difficult for us to find better than John Schneider”.
Although Schneider made a gaff in the second game of the series, the 42-year-old manager had a 46-28 record once he took over for the Jays. When they fired Charlie Montoyo, the Jays were 46-42, so it’s difficul …

Read More

Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation