The Land of Oz

[crump]

After a fairly successful first game on North American ice, Ozhiganov has established himself in the battle for the #6 spot on the Leafs.

Aside from a jittery first shift from the Kadri line that led to the Ottawa goal, Ozhiganov showed good position (even on that goal against he was in the right position ready to accept a pass).

He skated well, showed simple yet effective passing skills, good instincts on when to jump into a shooting position. Displayed his good shot a few times. Stood up at both lines at the right times. All in all, a solid outing for his first time.

Looks like he scheduled for the 2nd Buffalo game this weekend. It will be interesting to see him play in a regular sized rink.

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[ShaneFalco]

Boylen also shared that Ozhiganov isn’t someone that you’d want to mess around with. Due to his size, he isn’t afraid to use his body to hit the opposition. NHL.comlists him as a 6’2″, 207 lbs defenseman. If you compared Ozhiganov’s height/weight to the defensemen that Mike Babcock and Lou Lamoriello chose to use day-in, night-out last year, you’d see that he’d be the second biggest defenseman aside from Morgan Rielly.

While the scouting report sounds great, he’ll still have to put up a solid fight in training camp and pre-season to earn a spot on the Toronto Maple Leafs day one roster.
He’d have to show Mike Babcock and the Maple Leafs coaching staff that he’s ready to play on North American ice. While the Leafs are thin on the right side, there is still quite a few players competing or spots: Carrick, Hainsey, Borgman, Rosen, Liljegren, and Holl to name a few.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Pay Attention To Igor Ozhiganov