Toronto Maple Leafs superstar center Auston Matthews took the ice for the club's optional morning skate on Saturday. But when will he return to game action? It was a big debut for Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Fraser Minten in Charlotte with the Toronto Marlies. The 20-year-old forward stepped into game action for the first time since suffering a high-ankle sprain at the Prospect Showdown in Montreal in September. He centered the Marlies' second line [https://x.com/TorontoMarlies/status/1855352284903079973] with Alex Steeves and fellow Toronto prospect Nikita Grebenkin. Minten helped the Marlies get the scoring started on Saturday against the Charlotte Checkers, registering a secondary assist on Toronto captain Logan Shaw's power play goal. Toronto defeated the Checkers 4-3 for their seventh win of the season. The Marlies have only one regulation loss through their first nine games of the year, putting them second in the AHL's North Division behind the Laval Rocket. "Very fun. It was a long time sitting on the sidelines, coming off basically May, right? It’s probably the longest I’ve gone without playing a game except the one in Montreal," Minten told Marlies play-by-play commentator Todd Crocker on Saturday. "It feels like a long time ago, so it was very fun." [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-ZJegumqFE[/embed] Minten finished the game with one assist and two shots on goal. He was also on for Toronto's third goal against, losing the draw and tying up Charlotte's center, before the Checkers beat Dennis Hildeby. The forward also had two penalties, making it an eventful AHL debut for the Maple Leafs prospect. "He’s a smart player. He can play in all situations. You can see how smart he is and it was nice to see him get out there and get his timing back," Marlies head coach John Gruden told Crocker following the game. "Scored his first point, got a couple of penalties. It was a success for him and he’s healthy so, that’s the key." Steeves had two goals against Charlotte on Saturday, including the game-winner midway through the third period. The 24-year-old's second multi-goal game of the season puts him up to 76 career AHL goals, the second-most ever in the Marlies organization. He also has 162 points and is six points away from the Marlies' franchise points record, held by Kris Newbury, who had 168 points with Toronto from 2005 to 2009. Dennis Hildeby stopped 28 of 31 shots against and secured his first win in the AHL this season. Joseph Blandisi also skated in the 500th professional game of his career.
