Tackling the Training Camp Roster: The Defence

Today I continue my preview of the Leafs training camp with a look at the group of defencemen the Leafs have invited to camp. The Leafs have a significant group of defencemen capable of playing a regular shift in the NHL. The biggest task for the Leafs brass this pre-season is to loosen that log jam on defence.


The Leafs defence core will once again be anchored by Tomas Kaberle. With the departure of Bryan McCabe, Kaberle will likely have fellow Czech Pavel Kubina running shotgun to start the year. Jeff Finger is all but assured a top 4 role given the contract he signed in the off season but the 3 remaining spots on the back end are up for grabs.

In addition to Kubina and Finger, the Leaf defence is saturated with right handed shooters this year, Van Ryn, White, Schenn and Stralman all shoot from the right and will have a shot at making the season opening roster. Those four players along with Carlo Colaiacovo, Jonas Frogren and Staffan Kronwall will be fighting for their NHL lives in camp but ultimately as many as three may miss out on being named to the season opening roster.

The most interesting name on the back end is obviously Luke Schenn, he's a steady, physical stay at home defenceman that started off rookie camp slow but got better with every game. With the depth the Leafs have on defence it is no question will have a hard time making the team out of camp. If he really shines in camp, a likely scenario for Schenn would be to star the season on the Leafs roster, get a few NHL games experience under his belt and then he could be sent back to Kelowna to finish his junior career. It will be nearly impossible for Schenn to make this team out of camp, Cliff Fletcher and Ron Wilson have pretty much said that in order for Schenn to make the team he must be one of the top 4 defencemen on the team. But even if that were to happen I'm not convinced they'd hand him a full time spot anyway. This is for a couple reasons, firstly it is simply a numbers game, the Leafs would lose an asset by keeping Schenn on the NHL squad and secondly, Schenn must be paired with an experienced NHL defenceman capable of taking Schenn under his wing. The Leafs currently don't have a guy like that. Kaberle and Kubina will be too busy eating big minutes and everyone else on the core has question marks floating over their head. It would not be in Schenn's best interest to enter a situation like this. They will send him back to junior, allow him to play in the World Junior Championships where he will likely wear a letter.

With Schenn out of the way for this season, there are likely 4 roster spots waiting to be claimed by the remaining 6 players. If Carlo Colaiacovo can finally put together a healthy season he will likely fit into the Leafs top four defensive roster spots. A Colaiacovo - Finger tandem is one that would hit hard and play a steady defensive game. This is the type of pairing we have not had in a long time and the team will certainly be better with those two playing a strong, physical style of hockey.

You can all but ensure that promising youngster Anton Stralman will make the team as they strive to get younger. With Stralman's inclusion it becomes a competition between Ian White, Mike Van Ryn, Staffan Kronwall and Jonas Frogren for the final 2 spots on the Leafs roster. I believe Van Ryn will be one of the guys to make the team. He is Cliff's reclamation project. We will likely see him moved at the deadline to a team looking to move over the top and until then we can not accurately judge the McCabe deal. Kronwall and White seem to be the two defencemen on the outside looking in. They are both capable of taking a regular shift in the NHL and at times in 07-08 Ian White looked like one of the best defencemen on the roster. Unfortunately the Leafs have plenty of soft offensive defencemen and White could be peddled for a mediocre return in the form of draft picks.

Kronwall has had his chances with the Leafs and he really seemed like he fit in well while he played with the teams. His waiver exemption is probably what kept him out of the NHL more than anything the past few seasons. He was an easy roster move. He could squeak in with a strong camp but I think he'll clear waivers this year and will be off to season by Christmas. A bit of a stretch but why not, I'm in the mood to gamble.

So lets talk about the guy who is left. Jonas Frogren, NHL rookie and Swedish import will likely have an edge on Van Ryn for the final roster spot on opening night. He plays a strong defensive game has an edge for European standards and has familiarity with Anton Stralman. The two played together at the World Championships for Sweden and whatever chemistry they've developed playing together may be enough for Frogren to earn an every day role. The Leafs made an attempt to bring Frogren over, its naive to think that he wouldn't get a chance to make an every day impact.

Guys like Sifers, Oreskovic and recent signings Boumedienne, Langdon and Uotila will all be trying to make an impression on Leafs brass but will likely not be capable of enough to knock out any of the players on the Leaf roster.

So as it stands and from my humble perspective the Leafs defence core is looking likely to end up something like this:
Kaberle --- Kubina
Colaiacovo - Finger
Van Ryn/Frogren - Stralman