The Toronto Maple Leafs apparently liked what they saw from this guy, despite the fact that he obliterated a teammate during a scrimmage with a huge open ice hit. The Leafs announced earlier today that six players have been signed to AHL contracts with the Toronto Marlies. One of them is defenceman Nolan Dillingham.
During the final day of Toronto's development camp earlier this month, Dillingham ran over 2020 2nd round pick Roni Hirvonen while Hirvonen had his head down. The hit knocked him out cold. Hirvonen would eventually leave the ice under his own power and is said to be doing ok.
Dillingham, 21, was never drafted into the NHL and has spent the past four seasons with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League, where he served as captain of the team. In 147 career OHL games all with Sarnia, Dillingham collected 32 points (9 goals, 23 assists).
The Marlies also announced contracts for five other players: Jackson Berezowski, Brock Caufield, Neil Shea, Tate Singleton, and Tyler Weiss. Brock Caufield is the brother of Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens.
