Fraser Minten is coming back to the Kamloops Blazers.

The Toronto Maple Leafs assigned the 19-year-old forward to the Western Hockey League this morning. He won’t be in the lineup in Tri-City tonight and likely won’t be all weekend as he finishes up in Toronto.

A second round pick in the 2022 NHL draft, Minten went scoreless in four games as the Maple Leafs’ third-line centre. He was a healthy scratch the last three games after Toronto recalled the more experienced Pontus Holmberg from the American Hockey League.

The move back to junior comes after Minten was a surprise inclusion on the team’s opening-right roster following an impressive training camp.

The Vancouver native put up 67 points (31 goals and 36 assists) in 57 regular season games with the Blazers last season. He followed that up with four points (two goals and two assists) in 10 playoff games, and with one goal in four games at the 2023 Memorial Cup.

Minten is expected to assume first-line centre duties with the Blazers and be one of the team’s top offensive contributors this season. He joins a Blazers team that is in last place in the WHL with a 1-9-2 record.

He is also expected to play for Team Canada at the 2024 World Juniors in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Fraser is on his way back to #Kamloops https://t.co/SDlWrJZPd5

— Jon Keen (@JonKeenNLSports) October 27, 2023