Toronto preparing protection list, involving players in their decision.

[Peace 1,562]

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- Externally it might seem like an easy decision for the Ontario hockey team, but the Toronto Legion are still privately discussing who to protect from expansion while they still have the opportunity to discuss it. All options are being explored, and all avenues being exhausted, but it's important for the team to be smart about their protection list. They're in the playoff bubble, but their roster isn't quite strong enough to be considered defenders. Vladimir Shaposhnikov's recent contract extension might reveal one member who was protected by the team, or perhaps there is alternative motivations behind the single season extension for the steadily developing depth forward. 

"Personally this expansion draft is an entirely new experience," GM Rylan Peace admitted. "In the VHLM we never really had prospects we had to protect, since the minors was fairly turbulent on the rosters. You generally protected your top players, so that much has remained the same, but there weren't really any 'prospects' to really protect. It kinda went against the whole reason of the VHLM -- you were there to promote activity and growth into the big leagues." 

The Toronto Legion released the names of three players that they've confirmed to be protected from the expansion draft, but there should be absolutely no surprise these individuals were protected from expansion, they're the core of the surprisingly competitive S72 Toronto Legion that find themselves within a playoff position: Chad Magnum, Jaxx Hextall and Erik Killinger have all been secured by the team and -- as we've already implied in this paragraph already -- that's not surprising at all.

Chad Magnum is judged to be the teams top forward by numerous VHL talent analysts, and is currently enjoying a career season with 47 points in 52 games. His twenty three goals are second on the club, while his twenty four assists tie him for fourth on the Legions team scoring. He is on pace to finish with sixty five points -- a twenty point improvement over his sophomore season -- and he's a far more dangerous player than ever before. 

Jaxx 'Stud' Hextall has earned his nickname, occasionally reinforced by fans of the Toronto Legion, and is arguably the most important piece of the Legions success this season. The young goaltender has improved greatly over his rookie season, improving in all major categories and the season isn't over yet. His .920 save percentage is better, his 2.74 GAA is better, and he's on pace to finish over thirty VHL victories. He should absolutely be in individual award categories, and if there was an award for biggest backpack, Hextall would firmly win that award. 

Erik Killinger is the teams top defender despite swapping over to the position in the off season, and we'll be the first to admit it's a rewarding experience to witness the product of his hard work -- and aside from his glaring discipline issues -- a refreshing can-do attitude that puts the team first over his own success. Killinger's taken a goal hit, that's for sure, being cut from twenty eight in his rookie season to just nine so far in his first as a defender. Point wise, however, he -- like other members of the Legion -- is set to end the season on a career note.