Former Maple Leafs Prospects Reportedly Move On to Start Surprising New Chapters
Photo credit: Hockey Patrol
Former Maple Leafs prospects Joseph Blandisi and Ty Voit have decided to move on to the next steps of their careers, joining both the KHL and the ECHL respectively.
Although the Maple Leafs have done good this offseason to add as much depth as possible, they also saw a lot of their smaller and lesser known names head elsewhere as they see their roles diminished or outright eliminated.
Toronto Rumored To Lose Two More Prospects to Free Agency
We saw Nick Abruzzese and Alex Steeves find new homes, and there is still the case of guys like Dennis Hildeby who are still without a contract as the season inches closer.
Well, we can add two more to the list, at least for now.
According to KHL & Euro Talk on X, Russian powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg are going to sign Blandisi as well as Rocco Grimaldi, meanwhile according to Leafs Nation News on X, the Utah Grizzlies have signed Voit to play in the ECHL; moving from Cincinnati to Utah.
While there is nothing solidified in terms of a contract, it seems like when there is smoke, there is usually fire in dealing with these rumors.
Why It's Surprising To See Toronto Move On From Prospects
It's a bit surprising to see Toronto move on from Voit, who is barely in his 20's and has a lot of upside; he could have feasibly stuck around another year or two to get more reps.
For Blandisi, it seems that there was simply a logjam of forwards down in Toronto and the new-look lineup necessitated his descent down the depth chart and pushing him out; but he was still very good for the Marlies regardless.
Blandisi, 31, was drafted 162nd overall by the Colorado Avalanche in 2012 and has been a journeyman with 31 points in 101 NHL games (10 goals, 21 assists) and has spent the last four years in the Marlies organization.
In that time, he had 172 points in 232 games (67 goals, 105 assists) and was a mainstay for the team but never got a real shot with the Maple Leafs.
Voit, 22, was drafted 153rd overall by the Maple Leafs in 2021, but never really did much for the Marlies or Maple Leafs; he played one season with Cincinnati of the ECHL (Toronto's affiliate) and had 37 points in 63 games (8 goals, 29 assists).
There's a big shift in the team's philosophy and the additions made like Travis Boyd, Vinni Lettieri, and Ben King plus the NCAA signings from last season; the writing was on the wall for these players.
We will need to see if either man officially signs their deal, however it looks like the Maple Leafs have lost two more potential impact players.
But they have about a dozen replacements, they'll be just fine.
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