Leafs’ Kapanen to play at worlds, Dermott and Johnsson to Marlies

Watch as Kasperi Kapanen beats Brad Marchand to the puck shorthanded and scores a beautiful goal to put the Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of the Boston Bruins in the second period of Game 7.

Fresh off an impressive post-season run that ended in a Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, a number of the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ young stars are heading off to keep their competitive juices flowing over the off-season.

Kasperi Kapanen, who potted arguably the goal of the Maple Leafs’ playoffs, will head to the 2018 World Championship for his native Finland, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Kapanen’s last international foray concluded with a tournament-winning overtime goal at the 2016 World Junior Championship, claiming the gold medal for his countrymen.

Joining Kapanen at the World Championship will be Frederik Andersen (Denmark), Nikita Zaitsev (Russia), and Curtis McElhinney (Canada).

Defenceman Travis Dermott will head to the AHL to join up with the Toronto Marlies’ playoff run — the Marlies are up 2-1 on the Utica Comets in the first round — as will young winger Andreas Johnsson.

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