Cole McWard is headed to waivers as Jim Hiller and the Maple Leafs start cutting their NHL camp roster.
Toronto announced Wednesday that McWard and Dakota Mermis were placed on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to the Toronto Marlies.
The move puts both defencemen in a different category from a standard camp reassignment. They first have to get through the waiver process before Toronto can send them to the AHL.
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McWard now faces that waiting period as the Leafs begin separating NHL roster candidates from players expected to continue preparing with the Marlies.
Mermis is in the same position, giving Toronto two defencemen exposed while the competition on the blue line moves into its next stage.
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The Leafs also reassigned Vinny Borgesi, Brandon Buhr, Hayes Hundley and Borya Valis directly to the Marlies, creating a sizeable one-day reduction in camp numbers.
Leafs make their first major camp cuts
Toronto didn't stop with the waiver announcement. Matt Anderson, Matthew Barbolini, Sawyer Boulton, Frank Djurasevic, Reese Johnson, Marc Johnstone, Ryan Kirwan and Jackson Kunz were among another group assigned to Marlies training camp.
Kaiden Mbereko, Ben Meehan, Ross Mitton, Timofei Obvintsev, Logan Shaw and Sam Stevens were also included in that Marlies camp group.
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The organization made moves further down the depth chart as well. Matt Hellickson, Adam Kydd, Joe Miller and Max Smolinski were assigned to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.
Three younger players were sent back to junior. Alexander Bilecki returned to Kitchener, Tyler Hopkins to Guelph and Harry Nansi to Owen Sound.
For McWard, the immediate story is the waiver wire. Toronto has clearly shifted him out of its current NHL camp group, but another club now gets an opportunity to make a claim before the Marlies assignment can become official.
That adds some tension to what would otherwise be a routine September cut. The Leafs are trimming quickly, and McWard's name is now attached to the most significant roster mechanism in Wednesday's wave of moves.
Should Cole McWard clear waivers and report to the Marlies?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
34 players placed on NHL waivers on Wednesday including 6 goaltenders
