Toronto Maple Leafs News: Enroth, Hunter, Prust, and Hrabarenka
By Ryan Ritchie
Toronto Maple Leafs News: Jhonas Enroth Signs, Mark Hunter Promoted, Brandon Prust and Raman Hrabarenka Handed Professional Tryout Offers (PTOs)
Lou Lamoriello and company were busy on Monday brewing a storm of Toronto Maple Leafs news.
Swedish netminder Jhonas Enroth signed a one-year deal to serve as backup to fellow countrymen Frederik Andersen. Mark Hunter was promoted from Director of Player Personnel to Assistant General Manager. Lastly, free agents Brandon Prust and Raman Hrabarenka were invited to training camp on a professional tryout offer (PTO).
Toronto Maple Leafs News
Enroth Signs
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Jhonas Enroth has been heavily linked to Toronto since the acquisition of Frederik Andersen/departure of Jonathan Bernier. He signed a one-year $750,000 contract on Monday afternoon.
Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello was on Sportsnet’s Prime Time Sports and expressed that Jhonas was a prime target due to several factors. Lou likes the fact that Enroth knows his role as a backup and embraces it. They also like that he has experience within the division (Buffalo). Lastly, Lou noted that both Enroth and Andersen are fluent in Swedish, which presumably makes communication a lot easier.
"via The Score,The 28-year-old spent last season serving as Jonathan Quick‘s backup in Los Angeles. While he only appeared in 16 games for the club, he put up better numbers than Quick with a 2.17 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage."
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Mark Hunter Promoted
After serving as Director of Player Personnel since 2014, Mark Hunter was promoted to Assistant General Manager on Monday. His duties won’t change significantly and he will still work alongside Kyle Dubas in development and scouting.
"via The Score,“Mark’s new title is essentially a formality as these are duties he’s already been performing,” Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello said in a release. “Brendan and I have been discussing this change of title since last season – as it’s a more appropriate recognition of Mark’s role with the organization since joining the Maple Leafs. There are no changes to Mark or Kyle’s duties, or to that of Brandon Pridham, assistant to the general manager.”"
Professional Tryout Offers (PTOs)
Also announced on Sportsnet’s Prime Time Sports in an interview with Lou Lamioriello, the Toronto Maple Leafs have invited veteran Brandon Prust and Belarusian defenseman Raman Hrabarenka to training camp on PTOs.
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Prust, 32, was originally selected by Calgary (70th overall) back in 2004. A 10-year veteran, Brandon has also spent time with Phoenix (Arizona), NY Rangers, Montreal, and Vancouver.
He’s a gritty bottom-six forward that plays on the edge, similar to new addition Matt Martin – although Prust is one of those players that can sometimes cross the line, making him no stranger to the Department of Player Safety.
It doesn’t sound like Brandon Prust has any big expectations heading into camp.
His agent Claude Lemieux has kept in close contact with Lou all summer long, and it sounds as though the physical veteran simply wants to see where he’s at, and whether or not he thinks he can still contribute at the NHL level.
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Toronto also invited a former New Jersey Devils prospect, Raman Hrabarenka, who was born in Belarus but spent his junior career in North America.
He went undrafted after wrapping his final year in the QMJHL (2011-12), and was signed shortly after by NJ.
Raman joined AHL Albany in 2012-13 where he remained through the 2015-16 season. His production peaked in 2014-15 leading to a one game NHL debut with New Jersey, but unfortunately his game took a step back in 2015-16 after battling injuries.
At 6’4, 230lbs, this right-handed shooting defender still has time for his game to fully develop. After all, he’s only 23-years-old. Considering how thin the Leafs are on the right side, it wouldn’t hurt to have a little extra depth in case of injuries.