Tomas Kaberle
Tomas Kaberle was drafted 204th in the 8th round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by Toronto, and saw limited playing time in the 1998-99 NHL season. After being eased into the Leafs lineup, he saw a significant increase in playing time in order to help fill in the gap on the Leafs after an injury to Bryan Berard in the 1999-2000 NHL season. By the 2001-02 campaign, Kaberle had improved enough to be selected to the World team at the 2002 NHL All-Star game. Later that year, he was named to the Czech national ice hockey team for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Kaberle started the 2003-04 campaign as a restricted free agent without a contract, and ended up playing in the Czech Extraliga for HC Rabat Kladno while a new contract was negotiated. Ultimately, he signed a contract with the Leafs securing his services through 2005-06. Kaberle was signed to a new contract in February of 2006 that would lock him up for the Leafs until the 2010-2011 season.
Kaberle's best season has been the 2005-2006 season. He scored 67 points, including 9 goals and 58 assists. Kaberle's 2006-2007 season was also very good, as he scored 58 points in 94 regular season games.
Kaberle is the ultimate set-up man for his partner in crime, Bryan McCabe. While Kaberle is more of a playmaking defenseman with first instincts telling him to pass the puck, he has started to prove that he has a decent shot in his own right. He'll probably lead Toronto in assists again, always putting points on the board from the blueline.
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