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The Toronto Maple Leafs have summoned Korbinian Holzer three times from the American Hockey League this season and each time he has spent the game in the press box as a seventh defenceman.

But Toronto Marlies head coach Dallas Eakins believes that when the time is right, Holzer will get his opportunity to play in the NHL.

"I think he's definitely ready for a good audition," said Eakins. "He's been our best defenceman since Matt Lashoff left the lineup nine games into the season."

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Being so close to playing in the NHL and not getting any game time could be discouraging for someone who's been part of the Leafs organization since 2006, but Holzer see it as all part of the learning process.

"Getting called up is always one of the greatest feelings you can have," said Holzer. "Just practising with the guys up there, all the guys help you out. It's always nice to be part of that. Practice is a huge thing up there. You try to get used to the speed and get better where you can."

It's been a patient process for the 23-year-old German, who along with Leafs Nikolai Kulemin and James Reimer are the only three left from Toronto's 2006 draft class.

After being drafted in the fourth round, the six-foot-three 205-pounder spent three seasons in Germany with the DEG Metro Stars.

There, Holzer was given plenty of minutes as a young, raw talent. It kept him from having to fight for playing time at the AHL level with the rest of the Leafs prospects. Despite the urge to come to North America, Holzer continued his development overseas and honoured the contract he had with his German club.

"I just played my first year pro in Germany and after the first season I was considering to come over but I was young and had a contract over there," said Holzer. "The second and third season helped me over there because of the playing time. It was a good thing I stayed a little longer because when I came over I was a little bit more ready."

Holzer finally joined the Marlies for the 2010-11 season, blending successfully into the AHL.

He led all Marlies players with a plus-10 rating and was one of 12 Marlies called up to the Leafs. He dressed in two games in early November, playing just over six minutes in each but there were obvious parts to his game that still needed work.

"The biggest thing when he came over from Germany was his ability to protect himself," said Eakins. "He always left himself wide open when playing the puck. But now he protects the puck, retrieves the puck so well and he also protects himself from getting hit."

This season, Holzer has moved himself into a top pairing on the Marlies blue-line. He plays the most minutes of any Marlies defenceman, spending significant time on the league's second-best penalty-killing unit.

"I play a lot of minutes down here which is huge," said Holzer. "Coaches have a lot of faith in me which is also huge."

The German knows his strengths — and role.

"His bread and butter is to shut down other teams top lines and he is rarely going to hurt you defensively," said Eakins.

"I would say I am more defensive," added Holzer. "If there's a chance to chip in points I like to take the chance but I take care of my back end first. I think I'm a pretty good penalty killer too. My job is to keep the puck out of my team's net. I'm a defenceman."

With his role continuously evolving with the Marlies, and four call-ups in less than two seasons, Holzer has been heading in the right direction.

"I feel I'm ready to make the next step," said Holzer, a restricted free agent at the end of this season. "If I'm NHL-ready we'll see as soon as I get a couple games. I kind of don't like that expression (NHL ready) because I only played two games so far and it's hard to judge."

But with the Leafs being the healthiest they've been all season, there have been few opportunities to make his case.

With the trade deadline approaching, things could change.

The Western Hockey League announced today that Kamloops Blazers’ forward Brendan Ranford is the WHL Player of the Week.

Ranford collected eight points, scoring three goals and five assists to go with a +3 rating, in three games over the past week helping the Blazers to a 3-0-0-0 record.

On Wednesday, February 8, the Blazers hosted the high flying Tri-City Americans at the Interior Savings Centre in Kamloops. Ranford scored 2 goals and added an assist in the Blazers 5-1 triumph over the Ams’. On Friday, February 10 the Rockets were in Kamloops to face the Blazers. Ranford netted one goal, added two assists and was named the games 1st Star in the Blazers come-from-behind 5-4 overt-time win over the Rockets. The Rockets hosted the Blazers on Saturday, February 11, in the back half of their home-and-home series. Ranford gathered a pair of assists in the Blazers 3-2 victory.

Ranford currently ranks 10th among all WHL scorers with 72 points (32 goals, 50 assists) in 53 games played thus far this season. The Kamloops Blazers have won seven of their last 10 games and currently sit 1st in the WHL Western Conference and entire League with a 40-12-1-3 record for 84 points.

A 19-year-old from Edmonton, AB, Ranford is in his fourth full season with the Kamloops Blazers. He was a 15th overall selection in the 2007 WHL Draft and was a 7th round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 NHL Draft.

It didn't take long to notice that Andy McDonald was back in a Blues' uniform Sunday.

Playing for the first time since Oct. 13, when he suffered a concussion for the second time in 10½ months, McDonald brought speed and more skill to the lineup in the club's 3-0 victory over San Jose.

In the first period, McDonald hustled to a puck in the offensive zone, prevented Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic from clearing it and then set up teammate Jamie Langenbrunner for a scoring chance. The Blues didn't convert, but Langenbrunner was hooked on the play.

The Blues went on a power play that ended without a goal but nonetheless created momentum.

"He makes you real nervous," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "If you're a defending player, he's on you so fast. He creates one-man turnovers. Touch wood that he can stay healthy and keep going. That's a huge boost for us to have that type of speed.

"When you have a player that plays with that puck patience and that type of skill level, I think over time, it wears off on other people. I think more than anything, his patience with the puck and his determination with the puck will have a real positive impact on his linemates and the rest of the team."

In his first night back after missing 51 games, McDonald played 16 minutes, 13 seconds, assisting on Alex Pietrangelo's power-play goal and adding three shots on net.

"It felt great," McDonald said. "A little bit of nerves before the game, but once you get out there and start playing, the guys around me did a great job of helping me.

"It's nice to be back, it's been so long. A long road of recovery, but nice to be back, especially when you win."

McDonald, who played on a line with Patrik Berglund and Langenbrunner, only had one issue with his performance.

"Tonight, my decision-making was a little slower than it should be," he said.

But that went unnoticed by his teammates, who gave rave reviews.

"I don't even know where to start," defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "'Mac' is such an influence on the ice ... We can stand here all day and talk about how great 'Mac' is. Certainly (it is) important to have him back.

"He's just another threat (on the power play). You guys know how dangerous he is. He's been like that his whole career. Tonight's a prime example. He hasn't played in four months. I don't think he missed a beat."

David Perron said McDonald is "probably our best player on the team in terms of skill and speed and we're certainly used to it. I think it was great to see the ovation the crowd gave him, and he certainly deserved everything he got. For a first game, it was a very good game."

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The American Hockey League announced today that St. John’s IceCaps goaltender Eddie Pasquale has been selected as the Reebok/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 12, 2012.

Pasquale made three starts last week and stopped 83 of 87 shots, earning three wins and helping the IceCaps into first place in the overall AHL standings.

Pasquale began the week by leading St. John’s to a two-game sweep of Providence on Feb. 7-8, making 29 saves in a 2-0 shutout win and then turning aside 36 of 37 shots in a 2-1 overtime victory. Pasquale then registered 18 saves to preserve a 4-3 IceCaps win over Binghamton on Feb. 11, extending his personal winning streak to six games. Pasquale finished the week with a 3-0-0 record, a 1.32 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage.

A 21-year-old native of Toronto, Pasquale is in his second professional season after being drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009 (fourth round). He owns a record of 14-6-0 with two shutouts in 20 appearances for St. John’s this season, along with a 2.59 GAA and a .907 save percentage.

Saint John Sea Dogs left-winger Jonathan Huberdeau is the second star. He was the hero in both of his team’s games, collecting the game-winner.Moreover, Huberdeau was a constant threat as 9 of his 10 shots on goal were qualified as scoring opportunities. Saturday, in a 5-0 win against the PEI Rocket, he recorded a hat-trick and added an assist while registering a +3 rating. He was also named the first star. The next day, in a 7-2 victory against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, he scored a goal and added an assist.

The Western Hockey League announced today that Portland Winterhawks’ forward Sven Bartschi is the WHL Player of the Week.

Bartschi collected 10 points, scoring eight goals and two assists to go with a +4 rating, in four games over the past week helping the Winterhawks to a 3-1-0-0 record.

On Tuesday, February 28, Bartschi collected one goal, two assists and was named the games 3rd Star in the ‘Hawks 5-2 win over the visiting Kamloops Blazers. On Friday, March 2, in Tri-City, Bartschi scored one goal in the Winterhawks 6-4 victory over the Americans. On Saturday, March 3, Bartschi scored four goals and was named the games 1st Star in the Winterhawks 7-3 triumph over the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds. On Sunday, March 4, the Tri-City Americans were in Portland to face the ‘Hawks. Bartschi scored two goals and was named the games 2nd Star in a hard fought game the Ams’ won 4-3 over the Winterhawks.

Bartschi currently leads all WHL players averaging 2 points per game and ranks 9th among all scorers with 94 points (33 goals, 61 assists) in just 47 games played. The Winterhawks have won eight of their last 10 games and currently sit first in the WHL Western Conference and entire League with a 46-16-3-1 record for 96 points.

A 19-year-old from Langenthal, SUI, Bartschi is playing his second full season with the Portland Winterhawks after being a 7th overall selection in the 2010 CHL Import Draft. The Calgary Flames made Bartschi the 13th overall selection in the recent 2011 NHL Draft and signed the WHL Star to an entry-level contract this past summer. This is his third career WHL Player of the Week Award.