Matt Lashoff News

They'll be trying to stay alive the next three games at Ricoh Coliseum to extend the American Hockey League final back here in 10 days.

March 15, 2012; Tampa FL, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Carter Ashton during the third period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Tampa Bay Times Forum.

But the first stage has definitely arrived, with hockey in June now a certainty.

Frattin scored two goals, including the game-winner, as the Toronto Marlies defeated the Oklahoma City Barons 5-3 in American Hockey League action Monday.

Matt Lashoff is the kind of leader every team needs. The quality made him so endearing that the then-injured Toronto Marlies defenceman began travelling with the team at the onset of their playoff run solely for that reason.

The second part of that equation, as in Toronto Marlies goalkeeper Ben Scrivens, would surprise no one.

There was a time not so long ago when being a first-round pick automatically elevated a highly regarded teenager to the top of the Maple Leaf depth chart.