Leafs’ future on display at rookie tournament
All eyes will be on Mitch Marner this weekend when the Maple Leafs’ top prospects suit up in blue and white for a game for the first time at the team’s rookie tournament in London, Ont., where Marner became a star with the OHL Knights.
Marner will play centre — as will William Nylander — in the threegame, four-team tournament.
“Trying to make the big team starts this weekend,” Marner said. “It’s the first look they get at you in a game. They see how much work you put in and the results you put up.
“The most important thing . . . go out there and do the best I can and play the game I know how to play.”
Nylander, coming to his second rookie tournament, seemed less brash and more humble than a year ago.
“I’m trying to learn and work hard,” Nylander said. “If I make the Leafs, I’ll be happy, and if I don’t I’ll work just as hard with the Marlies.”
Unlike in previous rookie tournaments — which have become a staple for all teams across the league over the past 10 years — the Leafs have a fair amount of high-end talent.
Twenty-nine players — 17 forwards, 10 defencemen and two goalies — reported to the MasterCard Centre on Thursday for practice before heading to London for the weekend. In that group are four former firstround picks — Marner, (fourth overall, 2015), Nylander (eighth, 2014), Kasperi Kapanen (22nd, 2014), and Frederik Gauthier (21st, 2013).
“There’s a lot of skill from this mostrecent draft,” said Sheldon Keefe, the Marlies coach who will be behind the bench for the rookies. “There’s a lot of reasons to be excited about that. As a coach, you want to be able to work with skill. We’ve got that.”
The Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators will also play in the tournament at Budweiser Gardens.
It’s not unusual for a player in rookie camp to crack the NHL the same season. In the Leafs’ case, they hope by having more high-end prospects, it will mean more competition for jobs, with each pushing the other to be better.
And as bad as the Leafs might be, cracking the Leafs lineup promises to be harder than in years past. The team loaded up with veterans through free agency and trades — adding Shawn Matthias, Mark Arcobello, P.A. Parenteau and Nick Spaling — and have extended training camp invitations to Brad Boyes and Curtis Glencross.
“Trying to take a spot on an NHL team will be tough,” Nylander said. “I’m just trying to do my best and whatever happens, happens.”
Nothing is for sure, but neither Nylander nor Marner is expected to make the Leafs this year. Nylander would return to the Marlies, where he had an impressive late-season finish.
Marner is most likely destined to return to the junior Knights and would appear to be a lock for a spot with Canada’s world junior team. That can be a very good thing for Marner, says Keefe.
“This is another experience for him,” said Keefe. “He’s been through a lot this summer, world junior camp, the draft. He’s been a prominent player in the OHL. We just want him to play.”