Babe, Wake Up: We've Got A Hockey Fight In Early July

It may be the middle of summer, which you'd think would be the "Dark Times" for hockey fans, especially after the NHL Draft and the start of free agency, but — what do you know — we've got some fresh fisticuffs in July!

Less than a week after the draft, teams hold development camps, which allow prospects, including those who were drafted days earlier, some ice time with the organization.

That's what the Toronto Maple Leafs were doing when prospects Rhett Parsons and Matthew Hlacar got into it after a prolonged battle along the boards during a 5-on-5 drill, per TSN.

First of all, how great is it to see that in July? It's like when you get an unseasonably warm day in November and can break out the shorts. 

Refreshing.

Secondly, I like to give the Toronto Maple Leafs guff as much as the next guy, but they and their fans have to like seeing this intensity, considering the team has had a reputation for apathy at times.

This seemed like an organic tilt that came out of two guys battling for the puck, but you see this kind of thing at development camps as players try to make a name for themselves within the organization.

I'm not sure if he was there for this, but I guarantee head coach Craig Berube liked what he saw.

However, both players took the high road and didn't put too much stock into their exchange of knuckle sandwich recipes.

"Just two guys going hard & tempers flared and it happens. It’s all good. I talked to him and we’re fine," Hlacar, a seventh-round pick in this year's draft who spent the season with the OHL's Kitchener Rangers, said.

"Love the guy. Love every teammate here," Parsons — who played in the ECHL last season with the Cincinnati Cyclones — said. "But when you’re in a battle drill, stuff like that happens. Total respect for him and no hard feeling off the ice." 

That's what you like to hear, but as I said, still great to see those fellas leaving everything out on the ice, especially in July!