Leafs Sign Top College Prospects Bozak, Hanson

Brian Burke, the new GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, isn’t wasting any time in starting the rebuilding project in Canada’s greatest hockey city. As soon as it was apparent that the Maple Leafs were officially out of playoff contention, Burke immediately set to work trying to sign the top US college hockey players, just as they were finishing up their playoff tournaments.

Tyler Bozak and Christian Hanson (the son of Dave Hanson, of “Slapshot” fame) were both members of different No. 1 regional seeds in the NCAA Frozen Four tournament. Fortunately for Burke, Bozak’s Denver Pioneers were upset handily in the first round by the eventual national runner-up Miami (OH) Redhawks. Likewise, Hanson’s Notre Dame Irish were surprised by the upstart Bemidji State, and just like that two of the top college players in the nation were finished with their college careers.

Joe Nieuwendyk, Burke’s assistant, was one of the crucial assets that enabled the Leafs to get the early jump on signing these two prospects, spending a good amount of one-on-one face time with both players. Bozak posted 128 points in his final season of junior hockey in 2006-07, and 57 points over 60 games in two seasons with the University of Denver. Hanson spent four years at Notre Dame, breaking out over his last two seasons, and scoring 53 points over his last 84 games there. He made his NHL debut against the New Jersey Devils and scored his first NHL goal against his favorite player, Martin Brodeur.

On top of these two signings, Burke missed the Leafs’ last regular season game to travel to Europe, where he met with standout Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson. Gustavsson recently led Farejstads BK to the Swedish Elitserien title. Along the way, Gustavsson posted 5 shutouts, a 1.96 GAA and finished the postseason with a save percentage that was less than a single percentage point away from breaking Henrik Lundqvist’s postseason record.

If Burke can land Gustavsson, and possibly Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy out of Boston University, the Maple Leafs will already be well ahead of the curve in starting their rebuild before the playoffs even start, let alone the offseason. Clearly, Burke wants to win now, but he is also making the right moves to ensure that the Maple Leafs are building for long term success.