Maple Leafs Invite Knights Goaltender Austin Elliott To Training Camp After Memorial Cup Title

London Knights goaltender Austin Elliott has a ticket to an NHL training camp this fall.

Following his 31-save performance in the Memorial Cup Final to help the Knights win their third championship, the OHL announced that Elliott, who just finished his fifth season of junior hockey, earned a spot at Toronto Maple Leafs training camp in September.

“London Knights goaltender Austin Elliott has been a key difference maker this season,” the OHL posted to X on Sunday night, “and he earned a free-agent invite to the Maple Leafs training camp this off-season!”

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Elliott finished his junior career with the best season to date after joining OHL London after four seasons with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. The 21-year-old netminder has a record of 52-3-0 with the Knights.

His three losses came at different points this year: one in the regular season, one in the OHL playoffs, and one in the Memorial Cup.

Elliott was the top goaltender in the OHL this season, with a .924 save percentage in 33 games. Although he went 16-1 in the league’s playoffs, his save percentage dipped to .906 through 17 games. However, the Strathmore, Alberta, native returned to form in the Memorial Cup, allowing eight goals in five games and finishing the tournament with a .943 save percentage.

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The University of Massachusetts Lowell commit was named an all-star at the tournament and was awarded the top goaltender honor after stopping 31 of 32 shots in London’s Memorial Cup win over the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers.

Three players from London’s championship-winning team are set to participate in Toronto’s training camp. Joining Elliott is Toronto’s 2023 first-round (28th overall) pick, Easton Cowan, who led all OHL players in playoff points, and forward Landon Sim, who signed a one-year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies in May.

Elliott participated in Maple Leafs development camp in the summer of 2023.

Cowan will push for a spot on Toronto’s NHL roster following a standout season. Sim, who scored 12 goals and three assists for 15 points in 17 OHL playoff games, will look to stand out and earn an AHL roster spot. Elliott will look to impress Toronto’s management before beginning his college hockey career in Lowell, Massachusetts.

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Cowan can join the Marlies if he doesn’t make the Maple Leafs out of camp. After losing former Toronto prospects Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin at the NHL’s trade deadline in March, the Marlies will be looking for scoring in the offseason.

You have to wonder if Cowan and Sim, teammates of nearly four seasons, can put together a strong debut season in pro hockey.

Photo credit: @LondonKnights / X

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