Here are five takeaways from the Maple Leafs' 1-0 exhibition shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres Thursday at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ont.:

Sparks sharp to start. Goalie Garret Sparks got the call in net for the Leafs, and the 23-year-old made a number of excellent stops while turning aside all 11 Sabres shots he faced in the first period and all 17 shots he saw on the night. It was a nice showing from Sparks, who had an uneven NHL stint in 17 games with Toronto last year, but put in solid work at the American Hockey League level with the Marlies. If he can continue reading the play and anticipating correctly, Sparks can be a consistent contributor.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Tuesday that the hockey club has trimmed their training camp roster by 23 players. The Leafs now have 53 players (32 forwards, 16 defencemen and five goaltenders) remaining in camp and will be back on the ice for practice tomorrow at MasterCard Centre in split groups at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Please see below for an updated training camp roster.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today the club's 2016-17 regular season broadcast schedule. All Maple Leafs' games will be televised live on Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada (56 games) and TSN (26 games), while Sportsnet 590 The FAN and TSN Radio 1050 will once again divide games evenly between the two radio networks.

On New Year's Day 2017, the Maple Leafs will take on the Red Wings in the first-ever NHL Centennial Classic™. Fans can watch the game on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada, while viewers south of the border can see the outdoor game on NBC. Sportsnet 590 The FAN will carry the game live on Jan. 1 from BMO Field in Toronto.

Calling the action for all games on both Sportsnet 590 The FAN and TSN Radio 1050 Toronto are the longtime Maple Leafs radio duo of play-by-play commentator Joe Bowen and radio analyst Jim Ralph.

At the conclusion of last season, Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock told a media throng that, when the campaign began, the organization felt as if it had more on-ice opportunities available than players who were able to claim them. But a lot has changed in a year, and although Babcock wasn't on hand for the kickoff of training camp Thursday - his duties coaching Team Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey take priority in the short-term - the sense from both Toronto's management team and Leafs players themselves is that competition for jobs and ice time will be especially fierce this time around.

After opening training camp on the Toronto Maple Leafs' injured reserve list, forward Joffrey Lupul issued the following statement:

As the Toronto Maple Leafs begin preparations this week for the official start to the team's Centennial Anniversary, a collection of distinguished Leafs Alumni will play an exhibition game against the Halifax Mariners at Scotiabank Centre on Sunday, September 25 at 7 p.m. The game is one of several activities the team is participating in during training camp from September 23-26 in Halifax.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will open training camp at the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence in Etobicoke on Thursday, Sept. 22. Player media availability will begin at 10 a.m., while the club will hold an 11 a.m. press conference with General Manager Lou Lamoriello in the D.K. (Doc) Seaman Hockey Resource Centre before travelling to Halifax, N.S., in the afternoon.

When Sheldon Keefe took the reins for the Maple Leafs as head coach at the organization's rookie tournament in London, Ont., last fall, he himself was a rookie - at least, in terms of working for the franchise. But he's back this year with a great deal of success under his belt - a record-setting season as bench boss of the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies will do that for a head coach's resume - and Keefe sees things unfolding very similarly in London with a new crop of young talent.

"I think it will be very similar as it was to last year," Keefe told MapleLeafs.com prior to the rookie tournament, which kicks off Friday night and extends through Sunday. "I don't think I need to adjust anything or deal with anything differently. There's a lot of different things in place within the organization to help players, and my job is to focus on their development, and lots of other people help keep the players focused on what they need to focus on.

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Friday their 31-player roster that will participate in a Rookie Tournament hosted by the Maple Leafs in London, Ontario. The players will compete in three games against prospect teams from the Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators beginning on Friday, September 16.