Toronto Marlies sign Matthew Barbolini to professional tryout

Originally signed by the Marlies to a two-year contract on March 23, 2024, following four seasons at Miami University, Barbolini appeared in nine games with the club on a professional tryout to close out the 2023-24 season and picked up one assist. 

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds, Barbolini brings a size element to the Marlies’ roster that has helped him produce in his first couple of seasons with the club. His size and skating ability helped him post 25 points across 31 games in his senior year with the RedHawks and earned him a nomination for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. 

Barbolini joins Reese Johnson, Timofei Obvintsev, and Jackson Kunz as players the Marlies signed to contracts this week. Johnson signed a two-year contract after appearing in 47 games with the Marlies this past season and recorded six goals and nine assists. The 28-year-old skated in 15 playoff games and chipped in one goal. 

The Maple Leafs selected Obvintsev in the fifth round of the 2024 National Hockey League Draft. The 21-year-old goaltender spent the past season playing for Gornak-UGMK in the VHL and went 1-3-0 with a 2.86 goals-against average and a 0.899 save percentage across six games played. 

With Dennis Hildeby being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning this offseason, Obvintsev has the opportunity to work as Artur Akhtyamov’s backup with the Marlies. 

Kunz, a former fourth-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2020, spent the 2025-26 season playing with the Kalamazoo Wings in the ECHL. The 24-year-old brings 23 games worth of AHL experience to the Marlies, in which he has recorded four assists and a minus-six rating.