Fraser Minten’s first NHL taste as come to an end.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Friday the 19-year-old centre has been reassigned to the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers.
The move back to junior comes after Minten was a surprise inclusion on the team’s opening-right roster following an impressive training camp.
In a corresponding move Friday, the Leafs recalled defenceman William Lagesson from the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies.
Selected in the second round of the 2022 NHL draft, Minten was held without a point in four games as the Leafs’ third-line centre before being made a healthy scratch the last three contests.
The Vancouver native, who’s a good bet to be part of Canada’s entry at the 2024 world junior hockey championship in Sweden, will join a Kamloops club that sat last in the Canadian Hockey League with 1-9-2 record heading into Friday’s action.
The Leafs (5-2-0) wrap up a season-long five-game road trip Saturday in Nashville against the Predators.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2023.