Here’s my caveat. This isn’t about the Toronto Maple Leafs and it isn’t about the NHL; however, it is a hockey post and every once in awhile, we have to go off-script to report different news that might be of interest to fans from Toronto. In this case, the post is about the new Toronto team in the National Women’s Hockey League. It strikes me that a hockey fan might just be a hockey fan and a fan who cares about the Toronto Maple Leafs might just care about other Toronto hockey.
Related: Three Reasons the Toronto Maple Leafs Will Beat the Columbus Blue Jackets
Thus, in Canadian Women’s Hockey League news, Syracuse Orange defender (interesting not to write defense-man) Lindsay Eastwood just signed a contract with the Toronto Six. By doing so, she’ll be able to extend her NCAA university career at the professional level.
For hockey fans who don’t know, the Toronto Six is a professional ice hockey expansion team that will begin play in the 2020–21 National Women’s Hockey League season. The team was formed in 2020 after the collapse of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. By signing Eastwood, the Toronto team – nicknamed the Six – have added a prominent player in the former Syracuse captain.
Eastwood was named College Hockey America’s the nation’s top defender. A Kanata, Ontario, native, Eastwood finished a four-season college career with 28 points in 36 games. She was the team’s captain two seasons. Last season, Eastwood helped lead Syracuse to its first CHA Tournament title in the program’s history.
In the words of her Syracuse head coach Paul Flanagan, “Lindsay leaves Syracuse as one of its all-time most accomplished players. She is an exceptional leader who made her presence known at both ends of the ice. She not only was one of the CHA’s best defenders, but a prolific scorer from the blue line. We wish Lindsay and the Toronto Six all the best this season.”
Interestingly, Lindsay’s uncle Mike Eastwood was drafted by the Maple Leafs in the fifth round (91st overall) in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft and played the first four of his 17-season NHL career with the Maple Leafs.
Related: Maple Leafs Prospect Nick Robertson Named CHL Sportsman of the Year
The Syracuse Daily Orange’s article reporting Eastwood’s signing noted that
“The two-time Orange captain almost had her career ended by a rare autoimmune disease before her freshman year but came back to eventually lead Syracuse to its first-ever College Hockey America championship in 2019.
A two-way defender, Eastwood earned minutes on the Orange’s first defensive pairing, and the power play and penalty kill unite. She recorded her first career hat trick in the 2019 CHA tournament semifinals against over Mercyhurst, a win that propelled the Orange to the finals and eventually their first NCAA tournament appearance.”
Hockey fans who care to know more about the new Toronto Six team can read about the team by clicking on this link.
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