By TRT Staff with notes from nhl.com
TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs welcome their newest member of their team after they acquired Connor Dewar in a trade with the Minnesota Wild. They acquired Dewar in exchange for forward Dmitry Ovchinnikov and a 2026 fourth-round draft pick last Friday.
Dewar has 10 goals, 14 points, 20 PIM and 94 hits in 57 appearances with Minnesota this season. The 24-year-old is likely to serve in a bottom-six capacity with the Maple Leafs.
Dewar is considered a penalty kill specialist who can get in on the forecheck and disrupt the opposition. He also brings speed, versatility and aggression to the Maple Leafs lineup. Toronto needed help with their penalty kill, which has been struggling, and sits 22nd in the league with a 77.5%.
Dewar hails from The Pas, Manitoba, Canada, and will be the second player of Métis descent to play for the Maple Leafs since Darcy Tucker. Tucker is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played most of his National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Toronto Maple Leafs. A sixth round draft choice, Tucker began his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens. Throughout his NHL career he also played for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche. Tucker was born in Castor, Alberta, but grew up in Endiang, Alberta. Tucker is of Métis descent.
Last November, it was reported that Dewar explained that pride in his Red River Métis heritage knows no bounds.
In fact, Dewar invited the makers of Becoming Wild, the YouTube Series on young Wild players, to come to his hometown in The Pas, to meet his family and friends. This visit included the opportunity to spend time with his father, Jade, who has a serious grasp on Métis history and the Dewar family’s place in it.
According to The Hockey Writers, Dewar started his junior career by spending four seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Everett Silvertips. During his time in the WHL, he was a productive player as in the first two seasons, he had 18 points and 30 points before taking off in his third. He had 68 points in 68 games and kept that momentum going into his fourth and final year, where he scored 81 points in 59 games and was drafted by the Wild in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft.
