Former Bear Derian Plouffe Signs With Toronto Marlies

Marlies Sign Five Forwards

The Toronto Marlies announced today the signing of forwards Matt Bradley, Brady Ferguson, Josh Kestner, Derian Plouffe and Scott Pooley to American Hockey League contracts.

Bradley, 21, played for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL from 2013 to 2017 in 209 regular season games, recording 168 points (74 goals, 94 assists). The Surrey-native joined the Regina Pats for the 2017-18 season, registering 79 points (37 goals, 42 assists) in 72 games including seven postseason games where he had three points (1 goals, 2 assists). Bradley was drafted 131stoverall in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

Ferguson, 23, joined the Toronto Marlies for five games in 2017-18 season, recording four assists. He registered 167 points (66 goals, 101 assists) over 152 games at Robert Morris University and was twice NCAA (AHA) Regular Season Champions (2014-15, 2015-16). The Lewisville, Texas-native was named to the NCAA (AHA) First All-Star Team in 2016-17 and 2017-18 and the Scoring Champion in 2016-17 with 43 goals.

Kestner, 24, recorded 68 points (44 goals, 24 assists) over 132 games with the University of Alabama-Huntsville, including 24 goals in his 2017-18 season. The Huntsville, Alabama-native joined the Marlies for three games, registering a goal in his first game.

Plouffe, 23, played for Niagara University of the NCAA, recording 71 points (37 goals, 34 assists) over 117 regular season games. The Nepean, Ontario-native spent four years in the Central Canada Hockey League with the Kanata Stallions and Smith Falls Bears, registering 152 points (69 goals, 83 assists) over 149 games. Plouffe played 10 games for the Toronto Marlies in the 2017-18 season and had three assists.

Pooley, 24, recorded 98 points (51 goals, 47 assists) through 139 games with the College of the Holy Cross. The Granger, Indiana-native set a career-high in goals (18) and assists (16) in his last year in the NCAA. He joined the Marlies for five games in the 2017-18 season and registered a goal.

The Toronto Marlies are the 2017-18 Calder Cup Champions and the primary development program for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Toronto Maple Leafs roster at the end of their regular season featured 13 players who were developed by the Marlies (Tyler Bozak, Connor Brown, Connor Carrick, Travis Dermott, Jake Gardiner, Zach Hyman, Andreas Johnsson Nazem Kadri, Kasperi Kapanen, Leo Komarov, Josh Leivo, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly).