Maple Leafs Announce Multiple Surprising Scratches Before Prospect Game vs Canadiens

With the second game of the Prospect Showcase underway, it seems that other players might be potentially getting a look after yesterday's contest as there can only be a certain number of players with a ton of rookies still itching to get involved.

Sunday's contest between the Leafs and Canadiens saw a bevy of changes from both sides, with the Maple Leafs deciding to sit Easton Cowan, Borya Valis, Matthew Hlacar, Alex Pharand, and Blake Smith on Sunday.

Replacing them is Owen Conrad, Rylan Fellinger, Harry Nansi, Ryan Tverberg, and Sam McCue with Vyacheslav Peksa starting in place of Artur Akhtyamov.

Rhett Parsons is also making an appearance in place of Nathan Mayes. The Canadiens are also going to be without rookie phenom Ivan Demidov after a stellar performance on Saturday night.

Valis missing isn't surprising given he took a bit of a nasty spill yesterday and missed the remainder of the game. Cowan is a bit of a surprise but given that he is likely to have a big role at camp starting Wednesday; they think he deserves some rest.

Hlacar, Pharand, and Smith are all unlikely to make the team this year and put in alright efforts against Ottawa but nothing spectacular.

We get to see 2025 draft picks Harry Nansi and Rylan Fellinger make their debuts in a Leafs uniform, while Tverberg and McCue are likely to be part of the Marlies roster this year though McCue has some potential.

Peksa gets the call on the doubleheader after Akhtyamov put in a decent albeit shaky game against the Senators. He came up big at times, but with his defense letting him down at times he struggled.

It will certainly be interesting to see who is going to make an impact on Sunday afternoon, as you never know who could surprise fans and management.

For a direct link to the game, please click this link: