The Toronto Maple Leafs organization is actively scouting and recruiting talent from the NCAA hockey ranks.
In their latest move, Toronto has signed forward Ryan Kirwan from Arizona State University to a two-year contract, continuing their strategy of adding promising undrafted free agents from the NCAA.
The Marlies, the AHL affiliate of the Maple Leafs, officially announced the signing on Saturday. Kirwan will immediately join the Marlies on a professional tryout for the remainder of the current 2024-25 season. His two-year contract will commence at the start of the 2025-26 season.
Earlier on Saturday, Sportsnet`s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Maple Leafs were close to finalizing a deal with Kirwan.
Friedman mentioned during Saturday Headlines on Hockey Night in Canada that Toronto has already signed a couple of free agents who debuted in the AHL that night and that Ryan Kirwan was another player on their radar, with the team showing strong interest.
Kirwan, aged 23, has demonstrated strong performance in his first season with the Arizona State Sun Devils, scoring 26 goals and providing 13 assists in 37 games.
Prior to joining Arizona State, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound forward played for Penn State in the Big Ten conference for three seasons, accumulating 34 goals and 35 assists in 100 games.
The Maple Leafs have recently added two other NCAA free agents to the Marlies, namely former Dartmouth forward Luke Haymes and Union College defenseman John Prokop. Both players made their Marlies debut on Saturday against the Belleville Senators.
