If the Toronto Maple Leafs were planning on recalling top prospect Rasmus Sandin at any point this season, it’ll have to wait. The young defenseman suffered a foot injury earlier this month and after further examination, the team has confirmed it is a fracture. Sandin will be re-evaluated in mid-March, according to the club, at which point they’ll provide a further update on his recovery timeline.
Sandin, 20, ended up playing just one game for the Maple Leafs and one (partial) game for the Toronto Marlies before his injury. He did record a point in his NHL appearance but played only five minutes in the game as one of seven defensemen dressed.
The Maple Leafs were hoping that Sandin could go to the minor leagues and play big minutes, continuing his development until a spot opened on the NHL club. Unfortunately, this injury means he’ll miss a good chunk of the shortened AHL season. It’ll be almost an entire year of lost development time (at least in terms of game action), since Sandin was injured at the time of the 2019-20 season suspension as well. Not ideal for a top prospect.