Chas Sharpe has signed a two year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies, since aging out of the OHL with the Mississauga Steelheads.
2003-born defenceman Chas Sharpe will get his first look at professional hockey with the Toronto Marlies, the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sharpe has signed a two year AHL contract with the club beginning next season, but he will be playing on a PTO with the club for the remainder of the season.
Sharpe finished up his major junior career with the Mississauga Steelheads, where he started his OHL career. This season in particular, Sharpe took a lot of strides. He became much more of an offensive threat, and activated much more often.
He had 19 goals and 53 points this season from the Steelheads blue line.
Sharpe wore the 'C' for his final season with Mississauga, and led a very young group. His team was eliminated in the first round of this year's playoffs by the Sudbury Wolves, but the team going on without him has a very bright, young future.
He filled a lot of roles for Mississauga this season. He quarterbacked the power play, he was a penalty kill specialist, and he was always the cornerstone of their back end. Sharpe faced all of the top matchups, and proved a very mature game this season as a twenty-year-old.
The 6-foot-3, 194-pound defenceman has a pro frame already, and his game should translate well to the AHL level with the Marlies. The Marlies seem to have a lot of offensively-minded defencemen, and Sharpe may be able to jump in and being a calming, solid defensive presence.