In a move that the many of us will overlook or soon forget,

the Marlies have signed Jack Rodewald from the Moose Jaw Warriors to an AHL

contract.

Marlies have signed Jack Rodewald out of the WHL. Had good numbers as an overage player in Moose Jaw. — James Mirtle (@mirtle) March 26, 2015

via HockeyDb.com

Rodewald is a 6’2, 21 year old right winger who has put up

35 goals, and 85 points this season on a bad Moose Jaw team. He had 55 points

last season, but while he was draft eligible he failed to pass 14 points in a

season while playing in Regina.

This is a small move, but one that should be admired for a

few reasons.

1.

Even though Jack Rodewald’s numbers were only

dominant as an overager in the WHL, he may be a late bloomer worth taking this

very low risk chance on.

2.

This is an AHL contract. Gone are the days of

the Leafs signing CHL overagers like Richard Greenop and Robert Slaney to NHL

SPC deals, they are bringing in interesting prospects to observe, but over

committing to them.

Assuming the Leafs graduate a few Marlies forwards to the

NHL roster next season Rodewald might be a good fit with fellow AHL contracter

Byron Froese. It’s also not out the realm of possibility that Rodewald could

spend the bulk of his time in Orlando and simply be a means of providing the

Marlies with depth.

Rodewald was good enough to receive a training camp invite

from the Buffalo Sabres last fall, so he’s been on some NHL teams radars, but

at the end of the day is still a long shot and not really in the same class as

the Soshnikov and Bailey signings. It is however incredibly low risk and has no impact on NHL contracts so there isn’t a reason to dislike this signing.





