Fraser Minten finds himself in familiar territory again: Making his Toronto Maple Leafs season debut early in the year.
This time, however, his stint with the NHL club could last longer than four games, which he had last season.
“It’s exciting. It’ll be a fun one,” the 20-year-old said on Wednesday morning. “Vegas is a really good team and there’s lots of opportunity in the lineup tonight, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Minten was called up to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday morning after it was announced that David Kampf would be going on injured reserve (now on long-term injured reserve) with an upper-body injury.
Related: David Kampf Will Be Out Until At Least Mid-December With Lower-Body Injury As Maple Leafs Move Forward To Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) Amid Roster Shuffle
Toronto’s prospect has played five games this season with the Toronto Marlies — scoring two goals and two assists — after recovering from a high-ankle sprain he suffered during September’s Prospect Showdown against the Montreal Canadiens.
Minten has played most of his games in the Marlies’ top six, alongside Nikita Grebenkin, who’s set to make his NHL debut on Wednesday, and Alex Nylander. Minten has also been heavily relied upon during key situations, like the power play and penalty kill.
Fraser Minten gets his second goal of the season after some nice work at the blue line from Topi Niemela.
Minten has points in all four games since returning from a high-ankle sprain. pic.twitter.com/558o2buzTO
— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) November 16, 2024
He was doing so well that Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving hesitated before calling the forward up to the NHL.
“Well, to be perfectly honest with you, I would have preferred to leave him down there for a little bit longer just to stabilize. I think you’ve got to be careful, especially with young guys, bumping them up and down. He’s coming off the injury, but he’s had a great start,” Treliving said.
“He’s a smart, smart player. I mean, what jumps out is just his hockey IQ. He talks on the bench like a coach. And you’ve seen that even in the start that he’s had with the Marlies. He’s really intelligent, sees the ice, knows the game.
“Like I said, he had a tough injury to get over. He missed a lot of time, but he’s been off to a great start down there. So we’ll give him a looksy here and we think he’s got a great future in front of him.”
Minten played four games with Toronto last season before being returned to the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. It’s been 13 months since his last NHL game and now he’ll have another chance to prove he belongs with the big club.
“You know what to expect a little more, you know that it’s just hockey. It’s a little faster and stronger and [players] are at the top of their games,” Minten said of what he could take from his last stint in the NHL to this one.
“But it’s still just another game and you gotta go out there and be confident and know that you can make plays and make a difference.”
