Toronto's general manager weighed in on Fraser Minten surprising many by winning a spot on the opening night roster.
Toronto's general manager weighed in on Fraser Minten surprising many by winning a spot on the opening night roster.
Brad Treliving was just as surprised as any to see 19-year-old Fraser Minten earn a roster spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Speaking as a guest on The Fan Morning Show with Ben Ennis and Brent Gunning, the Toronto GM spoke about the Vancouver native's rise within the team's system.
"I’d be lying if I said that we had any thought that Fraser would be here today," Treliving said. "We didn’t have a lot of jobs available but Fraser pushed our hand."
Minten, who was selected in the second round (38th overall) in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft played in six pre-season games and continued to impress staff with his intelligence on the ice. With a lack of center depth, the natural center fit in well on the third line and will likely start on opening night alongside fellow rookie Matthew Knies and veteran Calle Jarnkrok.
But how long will Minten stick around? As a rookie, there is a nine-game window that would allow for a year of eligibility in the players' entry-level contract to slide down.
"We’ll see," Treliving said when asked. "He’s earned this position. It isn’t charity. It’ll be up to Sheldon (Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe) how he uses him and we want to do everything to help him succeed."
Minten fit in well at the center position to the point that the Leafs abandoned an experiment of having William Nylander move over from the wing. If the Minten doesn't stick around for very long, it's not clear if the Leafs will entertain moving the player back to the wing.
"Willy at center is something that I don’t know if it got enough play at training camp," Treliving said. "But when you’ve got Fraser in here and you’re giving him an opportunity and you put him in the best possible place to succeed, in the middle. That’s where he’s most comfortable. I look at it as a luxury. You’ve got a number of guys who can play in the middle. We’ll be a work in process at the start of the season. Fraser will start here and we’ll watch it day by day."
Earlier in training camp, Keefe revealed that it was Treliving who first broached the idea of having Nylander start camp at center, the position he was drafted in by the Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft.
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