The Toronto Maple Leafs might have an option to call upon if they need more goal-scoring firepower on the wing (or down the middle) at some point this season.
Brendan Brisson is currently playing in the AHL for the Toronto Marlies, and he's on fire.
Brisson isn't a name many Leafs fans will have put much stock into, but he does have an intriguing pedigree and the ability to play both wing and center.
He also is scoring a goal per game in the early going with the Marlies — 7 games played, 7 goals scored (along with 4 assists).
It's likely an unsustainable pace, but the more goals Brisson scores, the better chance he has of making it back up to the NHL at some point.
Brisson is a native of Los Angeles, California, and he was originally a first-round pick by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2020 NHL Draft.
He had been drafted after a big season for the Chicago Steel in the USHL — 59 points in 45 games, with 24 goals and 35 assists.
After being drafted, Brisson went to play at the University of Michigan for two seasons. As a freshman, he had 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 24 games. As a sophomore, Brisson put up 42 points (21 goals, 21 assists) in 38 games.
From there, Brisson broke into the AHL with the Henderson Silver Knights. He had eight points in seven games in his debut (3 goals, 5 assists), then went for 37 points in 58 games (18 goals, 19 assists) in his first full AHL season.
Brisson made his NHL debut in 2023-24 with Vegas and had two goals and six assists across 15 games. He also had 38 points in 52 games for Henderson in the AHL that season.
The next year, Brisson got nine games with Vegas but didn't record a point.
He began that AHL season with Henderson with 19 points in 45 games, and he ended it with the Hartford Wolf Pack with six points in 16 games after moving to the Rangers ' organization.
With Hartford in 2025-26, Brisson had 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points in 66 games.
Brisson also got three games with the New York Rangers in 2025-26 and recorded an assist.
The Toronto organization brought Brisson aboard this offseason, likely figuring that he mostly could help the Marlies follow up a championship season with another strong year.
But it never hurts to have experienced depth at the AHL level, and Brisson clearly brings plenty of hockey know-how.
The 25-year-old left-shot may not be the most likely Maple Leafs contributor this season, but sometimes a guy just finds a nose for goal and keeps it rolling for a while. There's a chance Brisson gets that sweater at some point, and if he does, he might just score some goals.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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