The second year of the Toronto Maple Leafs' affiliation with the Solar Bears began with a 6-3 victory over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, and Kyle Dubas's implementation of a baseball-style minor league farm system has truly debuted.
Early results indicate that sending a well-trained coach and well-prepared team into the ECHL season is pretty effective. But will the system still be reaping benefits in a month, when the other ECHL teams get up to speed with the additional practice given to the Marlies prospects? I'll tell you that next month.
Until then, here's what the prospects had to say about their first game of the season, including coach Anthony Noreen, who also considers himself a prospect and wants to rise in the Leafs coaching system along with the Solar Bears.