Maple Leafs call up Henry Thrun on emergency basis

The Toronto Maple Leafs have called up defenceman Henry Thrun on an emergency basis, the team announced Sunday. This is due to the fact that Oliver Ekman-Larsson had to return to Toronto for the birth of his second child.

D Oliver Ekman-Larsson has returned to Toronto for the birth of his child and will not be available for tonight’s game vs. Minnesota.

D Henry Thrun has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an emergency basis.

Ekman-Larsson had been mired in trade rumours in the lead-up to the trade deadline, including being a healthy scratch for two straight games for roster management reasons along with Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton. While the other two players did find themselves on the move on March 6, Ekman-Larsson did not in large part due to the fact that the Leafs did not receive their asking price despite plenty of teams being interested.

He admitted to reporters on March 7 that part of why Ekman-Larsson was stressed on deadline day was due to his second baby being near their due date.

“Obviously, a relief. I was happy and saying ‘Thank god,’” he said. ”From day one when that talk came out, I think I made it pretty clear what I wanted to do and that I still believe in this team and wanted to be here. It’s a tough day, it’s a weird day.”

Thrun will join the Leafs for their upcoming game against the Minnesota Wild, though it is unclear at the time of filing if he will be inserted into the lineup. This marks his second stint with the team after having previously been called up in December to fill in during a stretch where they were dealing with injuries on the back end.

The Maple Leafs originally acquired Thrun this past summer after getting him in a 1-for-1 trade with the San Jose Sharks in exchange for veteran enforcer Ryan Reaves. He was originally a fourth-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in the 2019 NHL Draft, but was traded to the Sharks before he appeared in a game for them.

Thrun went scoreless in four games, with his debut appearance being on December 11 against his former team. Despite the Leafs falling short that night, Thrun admitted he had extra motivation going up against the Sharks for the first time since the trade.

“ Never done that before. That was obviously a unique thing,” Thrun said. “ Just fired up. You want to compete against anyone, but especially against those guys, a lot of familiar faces. Just trying to help the team win. It was obviously not the result we wanted, but personally, it was a little bit extra gear playing those guys.”

He has appeared in 42 games with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and is second among team defencemen in scoring with 20 points (four goals and 16 assists) behind only William Villeneuve.

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