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Marshall Rifai

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Marshall Rifai
Born (1998-03-16) March 16, 1998 (age 26)
Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Marlies (AHL)
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2022–present

Marshall Rifai (born March 16, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing with the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

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Growing up in the Montreal area, Rifai played junior hockey in the Quebec youth systems. Although Rifai had hoped to enter the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League when he reached the 16-year old eligibility requirement, he recognized that he was unlikely to be drafted as an undersized 5-foot-7-inch (1.70 m) tall player, and instead opted to enroll in Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, where he continued to play hockey.[1] Playing two years at Hotchkiss, Rafai experienced a growth spurt; in light of this, he went undrafted in his debut class of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s 2016 draft.[1][2] He then played one season in the United States Hockey League, split across the Omaha Lancers and the Des Moines Buccaneers, before enrolling at Harvard University. He is of Syrian descent.

In his rookie season with the Harvard Crimson, Rifai only appeared in six games, going scoreless. He became a mainstay on the team in his sophomore season, appearing in 30 games with the club and winning the Donald Angier Hockey Trophy for the Crimson player showing the greatest improvement from their previous season.[3] The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of winter athletics at Ivy League universities, including Harvard, but Rifai returned to the team in his final season, again a mainstay on the school's blueline as the team won the ECAC Championship.[4] Upon graduation, Rifai was courted with NHL offers from several teams, but ultimately decided to sign a one-year contract with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL), owing to the parent club Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL detailed development plan they had prepared for his success.[1][5]

In his debut professional season, Rifai appeared in 69 games with the Marlies, recording 16 points in the regular season before appearing in 5 playoff games with the team. At the conclusion of his season with the Marlies, the Maple Leafs signed Rifai to a two-year, entry-level NHL contract on July 1, 2023.[6] He again began his sophomore season on the Marlies, playing with the team until February. On February 18, 2024, Rifai was recalled by the Maple Leafs on an emergency basis, after a suspension to Morgan Rielly and the absence of three other team defencemen in the preceding days (Mark Giordano from the recent death of his father, and Conor Timmins and William Lagesson to injury).[7] He made his NHL debut the following afternoon, recording 11:33 of ice time and 1 shot on the bottom defence pairing in a 4–2 win over the St. Louis Blues.[8] After appearing in one more game with the Maple Leafs, Rifai was returned to the Marlies.[9]

On September 5, 2024, Rifai signed a two-year, $1.5 million contract extension with the Maple Leafs.[10]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2014–15 Hotchkiss School HS Prep 24 2 8 10 — — — — — —
2015–16 Hotchkiss School HS Prep 19 3 16 19 — — — — — —
2016–17 Hotchkiss School HS Prep 21 9 19 28 — — — — — —
2017–18 Omaha Lancers USHL 13 1 5 6 10 — — — — —
2017–18 Des Moines Buccaneers USHL 37 4 14 18 48 — — — — —
2018–19 Harvard University ECAC 6 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Harvard University ECAC 30 1 7 8 20 — — — — —
2021–22 Harvard University ECAC 35 5 8 13 20 — — — — —
2022–23 Toronto Marlies AHL 69 4 12 16 118 5 0 1 1 4
2023–24 Toronto Marlies AHL 57 2 17 19 71 3 3 1 4 2
2023–24 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
NHL totals 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kloke, Joshua (October 26, 2022). "Meet Marshall Rifai: The Maple Leafs' next diamond in the rough?". The Athletic. The New York Times Company. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  2. ^ "Hockey Operations Guidelines – NHL.com – NHL Headquarters". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Honors Seniors, Announces Team Awards at Annual Banquet". Harvard University. March 20, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  4. ^ Borzello, Jeff (November 12, 2020). "Ivy League cancels winter sports season, delays spring play". ESPN. ESPN Inc. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "Toronto Marlies Sign Defenceman Marshall Rifai". Toronto Marlies. Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. March 29, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  6. ^ "Maple Leafs Sign Four Players". Toronto Maple Leafs. July 1, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  7. ^ Kloke, Joshua (February 18, 2024). "Why the Maple Leafs are turning to Marshall Rifai to help their ailing blue line". The Athletic. The New York Times Company. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  8. ^ "Maple Leafs' Rifai makes NHL debut against Blues". TSN. Bell Media. February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  9. ^ Barden, Nick (February 28, 2024). "'When Nobody's Watching, He's Still Working': How Marshall Rifai Turned an AHL Contract into a NHL Debut with the Maple Leafs". The Hockey News. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  10. ^ "Maple Leafs sign defenceman Marshall Rifai to two-year contract extension". Sportsnet. September 5, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
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