'He'll Come In And Just Help Us Push Everyone': Maple Leafs Prospect Fraser Minten Practices With Marlies, Debut Could Come Next Week - The Hockey News
The young forward told Crocker on Thursday that his rehab process consisted of plenty of one-on-one work with Toronto's return-to-play staff.
"They have great return-to-play staff here that make everything very easy for you," Minten said.
"They take care of all the workouts and all the on-ice and you just gotta show up and put in the work that they ask and you'll get better. The timeline worked out pretty much just as they expected and it was really smooth honestly."
Minten's entering a Marlies team he's familiar with following countless prospect tournaments with the Maple Leafs organization, in Traverse City, and, this past September, in Montreal.
"You feel like you've played on their team before which is nice," he said. "It's not a bunch of new players and new faces that you don't know. There's a decent amount of familiarity already."
This will be Minten's first year of professional hockey after several seasons in junior. Due to the CHL and NHL agreement, the young forward wasn't eligible to play in the AHL until he turned 20.
And now, after suffering a high-ankle sprain, his debut with the Marlies has been on hold. As Minten returns to full practice, it's possible he gets into an AHL game pretty soon.
However, the AHL's schedule — which sees the team play three times in the next two weeks (this Saturday vs. Cleveland and next Saturday and Sunday in Charlotte) — might make him wait a bit longer before a debut.
"I think just kind of getting into as many practices as I can here and get back up to game speed with some contact and different game situations through practice," he said on Thursday.
"And then, after five, six practices, feeling good, getting hopefully back into some games."