Igor Ozhiganov had dinner with Mike Babcock and then-Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello last fall. By November, he was telling the Leafs that if he was ever going to leave the KHL for North America it would be to Toronto and only Toronto.



The 25-year-old right-shooting defenceman made that commitment official on Thursday afternoon, signing a one-year entry-level deal on the same day that Par Lindholm (one year), Pierre Engvall (two years), and Jesper Lindgren (three years) all signed entry-level pacts with the Leafs in what represent the first official moves from Kyle Dubas as Toronto’s general manager.



But it was Babcock who evidently played the biggest role in selling Ozhiganov on the Leafs.



The head coach, who’s been overseas scouting the World Championship in Denmark and meeting with players like Auston Matthews, Frederik Andersen and Nikita Zaitsev, was influential in getting the Russian defender to commit to the Leafs from the start,...