The good news for the Newfoundland Growlers is that they are getting back two of their leading scorers on re-assignment from the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies. The bad news … perhaps … is that the ECHL’s Growlers are missing their two top-prospect defencemen as a result of collateral transactions.
The returned players are forwards Aaron Luchuk, who remains Newfoundland’s top point-getter (5-11-16) despite missing two of the Growlers’ games while on recall to the Marlies, and Giorgio Estephan (5-8-13), who was promoted to the AHL affiliate at the same time as Luchuk.
Gone are rookie rearguards Mac Hollowell and Joseph Duszak, who were brought up just before Luchuk and Estephan were sent down.
Duszak (2-9-11) and Hollowell (1-4-5) are Newfoundland’s two top-scoring defencemen, big-minute players who have been fixtures on the team’s power play. And they can probably seen as the parent Toronto Maple Leafs’ top prospects assigned to the Growlers. Hollowell, a Maple Leafs’ fourth-round draft pick and 2018-19 OHL first-team all-star, and Duszak, a 2019 Hobey Baker finalist as the top player at the NCAA Division One level, are both signed to entry-level NHL contracts with Toronto.
But it may be that both or one of them may not be with Marlies (8-2-3) too long. Much will depend on the health status of the Marlies’ Timothy Liljegren, who like Duszak and Hollowell, is a right-shooting blueliner. Liljegren suffered what appeared to be a leg injury in Toronto’s last AHL game last Saturday and his readiness for the Marlies’ next contest, this coming Saturday, is in question.
But whether or not Liljegren had been hurt, Marlies’ coach Sheldon O’Keefe said Duszak and Hollowell would have been brought up during a stretch that saw both his team and the Growlers without scheduled games.
Back at it.
— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) November 12, 2019
We checked in with Sheldon Keefe, Mac Hollowell and Joseph Duszak following today’s practice ⤵️#ForeverStartsHere pic.twitter.com/OXlXJ3A1la
“The plan was that we were going to bring them in regardless, given we have a long week of practice and some development days,” said Keefe in an interview posted on the Marlies’ Twitter account (@TorontoMarlies).
“It’s a chance for us to check in with them and have them in our environment a little bit.
“That plan was in place prior to this week, but with Liligren’s status up in the air, it’s nice to have them around. We’re just going to have to take it one day at a time…. before we really know the full picture. But it’s nice to have Hollowell and Duszak, most importantly just to check in with them and see how they’re doing.”
The Growlers (7-5-0) next play Friday, when they host the Toledo Walleye (7-3-1) at Mile One Centre in the first game of back-to-back matchups against the team Newfoundland defeated in last spring’s Kelly Cup championship final.
Even with Duszak and Hollowell gone, the Growlers still have seven defenceman on their overall roster, although second-year Growlier rearguard Evan Neugold has officially been placed on the reserve list in what is often a paper transaction.
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