The Toronto Marlies' home opener has been revealed.
The American Hockey League announced on Wednesday that Toronto's first home game will be played on Oct. 11 inside Coca-Cola Coliseum against the division rival Rochester Americans. The AHL will release the entire season schedule on Thursday.
The announcement comes one day after Toronto made a second batch of AHL signings. On Tuesday, the Marlies signed Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Ben King, and Nick Rheaume to one-year AHL contracts, while also re-signing Marko Sikic and defenceman Ryan McCleary to one-year deals.
Rheaume, who just finished his third year of college, attended Maple Leafs development camp this summer. Four of the five players who signed AHL deals with Toronto on Tuesday previously participated in the organization's development camp.
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The Marlies also had a round of signings on Monday, inking former Marlie Marc Johnstone to a two-year AHL contract. Johnstone departed the organization in 2023 after signing an entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He made his NHL debut with the club on Dec. 8, 2023.
Toronto also added Ken Appleby on a one-year contract, while also re-signing Reese Johnson.
Appleby primarily spent last season with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers, posting a .910 save percentage in 24 games. The veteran goaltender had six shutouts, the second-most in the AHL last season. Appleby last played an NHL game during the 2023-24 season with the New York Islanders.
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Johnson is coming off a season where he played three NHL games with the Minnesota Wild and the rest with the club's AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. In 49 games with Iowa, Johnson scored four goals and nine assists for 15 points. He played six games with the Marlies, scoring one assist after being acquired by the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline in exchange for future considerations.
The Marlies saw several departures this summer, including Topi Niemela, Roni Hirvonen, and Zach Solow, who signed in Europe; Matt Murray, now with the Seattle Kraken; Alex Steeves, with the Boston Bruins; Nick Abruzzese, with the Tampa Bay Lightning; and Kyle Clifford, whose playing career could be over after he was a coach at Toronto's development camp.
The Marlies' season concluded after two straight losses to the Cleveland Monsters in the North Division First Round of the Calder Cup playoffs.
(Top photo of Logan Shaw: Christian Bonin / TSGphoto.com via Toronto Marlies)