Deep run good for Leafs, too
Pierre Engvall has been a nice surprise. Frederik Gauthier and Justin Holl are knocking on the door.
“Rather than ‘he’s got to go back to the Marlies next year,’ you start to say ‘you know what, we have to give him a bigger look in training camp and give him more exhibition games,’ ” said Dubas. “That’s what these guys have earned. What it’s done is broadened our horizon and our depth and how we look at how we’re going to filter the organization through to training camp.”
Winning is the thing, though, and both Dubas and Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe believe success at this level will bubble up to the next.
“Being here, playing in June, is a massive experience for the young players on our team and getting them conditioned for that exercise,” said Dubas. “That’s what we want to do with the Maple Leafs. Starting here, now they have that experience they can draw on. That only helps each individual player.”
Keefe said the goal when he arrived as coach three years ago was to develop a program built for deep playoff runs.
“The first thing is to play into June,” said Keefe. “It’s pretty nice to be playing hockey this time of year. You want to condition your players that that’s what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to have short summers. You’re supposed to play a long time. So you want to condition your players to want that and enjoy that process.
“The next thing is to have the experience of the long playoffs, and then the reward at the end. The more you can breed that at this level, for any players that advance, it’s going to be a great experience for them.”
Being a cost-conscious operation, the American Hockey League offers some quirks. One of them is that Marlies and Stars didn’t play each other at all during the regular season.
It’s June and the Marlies are still playing hockey. That in itself is an accomplishment for a Toronto-based pro hockey team.
And whether they win or lose the second Calder Cup final in this city’s history, many players have already earned a long look for possible NHL employment by the Maple Leafs come September.
So says Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas, who took in the Marlies’ practice at Ricoh Coliseum Friday on the eve of Game 1 against the Texas Stars.
“It’s hard to predict the way things are going to go during the summer, the different transactions, but a lot of players have opened up a lot of eyes in the organization through the run,” Dubas said.
He didn’t name names, but Andreas Johnsson and Travis Dermott have already made an impact wth the Maple Leafs. Goalie Garret Sparks has had an all-star season. Carl Grundstrom seems ready for prime time.
>TODAY GAME 1 STARS at MARLIES FACEOFF: 4 p.m. TV: TSN2