Leafs’ future hits ice together
Matthews and Marner part of 41-player contingent at summer development camp
Auston Matthews, meet Mitch Marner. Mitch, this is Auston. The top two prospects for the Toronto Maple Leafs began their journey as teammates Monday when 41 hopefuls worked out together at the MasterCard Centre on the first day of the team’s summer development camp.
“He’s a great kid,” Marner said of Matthews. “He’s not cocky at all. If you didn’t know what had happened, you wouldn’t know he went first overall. He’s really calm. And when he steps on the ice, he’s got the confidence that he knows what he can do with the puck.”
And while name tags were de rigueur as strangers took steps toward becoming teammates, both Matthews and Marner were already keenly aware of each other. They have been rivals in international hockey and share a mutual friend in Matthew Tkachuk, who played with Marner on the London Knights and with Matthews through the U.S. national development program.
“He’s pretty well-known,” Matthews said of Marner. “I was watching their (Knights) playoffs and went up there for a game to meet him. He’s a special player.”
The idea that Matthews,18, and Marner, 19, could play together as early as October makes this an exciting time for Leaf watchers.
They are arguably the two most important teenagers in the team’s history, certainly since the Leafs drafted 18-year-old Wendel Clark first overall in 1985 a year after drafting defenceman Al Iafrate, then 18, fourth overall.
Matthews, the first overall pick in the summer draft, quickly ensconced himself as the team’s top prospect. He’s already played professionally, in Europe, and will be part of Team North America, the under-23 squad in September’s World Cup of Hockey.
“I just want to learn as much as possible,” Matthews said of the team’s week.
“Soak it all in. We have a lot of different seminars and meetings, nutritionists, trainers, sleep doctors. Then I want to go back home, work out with my trainer, skate, get better in all areas.”
Marner, the fourth overall pick last summer, still faces questions whether he’ll make the NHL next season.
He is eligible to play junior one more year — he is not eligible for the AHL — but given the way he dominated on the way to a Memorial Cup championship, there may not be much more for him to accomplish.
“You can always get better,” said Marner, whose goal is to make the Leafs this fall. “Obviously. It starts with Leafs camp here, make sure my mind is here. If I do that, then I can feel confident going in to main camp.
“No matter where I play, I’m going to be learning and getting better.”
Matthews is more of a lock for the Leafs, although — with an official status as a free agent from Europe, like William Nylan- der two years ago — he is eligible to play for the Marlies.
Marner could only play in Europe if all sides — Leafs, Marner, Knights, the CHL and a European team — agreed. Marner didn’t seem keen on the idea. “I love it in London,” said Marner. “I’ve developed a lot. I became the player I am because of that place. If anything happens, that’s a place I’d look forward to going back to. It will have a great team again next year.”
There is no question Marner is a better player now than he was a year ago when he came to his first development camp.
“I think I’ve grown in a number of ways,” he said. “Off the ice, I think I’ve grown as a leader in helping people out. On the ice, I’m trying to get better at skating, stickhandling, shooting. There are always situations that you can get better at.” The knock on Marner — a magician with the puck — is his size. He says he wants to play at 170 pounds; he’s at 163.
“I want to make sure I feel comfortable enough to go out against men and play hard, and make sure I can go out there and do the things that I like to do,” said Marner. “They want me at a weight where I can stay in the NHL. It depends on how hard I work this summer, and how much I eat. That’s my goal, put on weight and add strength.”
The camp moves Tuesday to Niagara-on-the-Lake for three days of onice and off-ice workouts and semi- nars. The highlight of the camp could well come Friday in Niagara and Saturday when it closes at the MasterCard Centre. Both days feature scrimmages, a chance to see what the youngsters can do in a pressure-free environment.
“It’s fun to get in a lineup,” Marner said. “It’s going to be fun to go out there and see everyone’s skill, and how good they are. It’s going to be a fun week here, and that’s going to top it off.”