FEELING THE PINCH
The competition for jobs gets tighter as the Leafs’ list of prospects grows,
ST. CATHARINES, ONT.— They have missed Mike Babcock.
As the Toronto Maple Leafs headed on the road for their second exhibition game, they said they had done their best while their head coach was guiding Canada at the World Cup of Hockey.
“Camp has been intense, but it’s even more intense when he’s on the ice,” said defenceman Viktor Loov.
“I think we’ve done a very good job at policing ourselves at camp so far,” goalie Garret Sparks said. “Guys have brought a competition level every day they would have brought if he was standing right behind them . . . we’re pretty focused over here.”
The Leafs lost their second straight exhibition game, this one 1-0 in a shootout to the Buffalo Sabres at the Meridian Centre, home of the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs.
The best Leafs were the goalies.
Garret Sparks didn’t allow a goal, facing 17 shots in a period-and-a-half of play while backup Kasimir Kaskisuo stopped all 21 in the final half of the game and the three-on-three shootout.
Babcock will be behind the Leafs bench soon enough, barking his orders at the assembled veterans, prospects, hopefuls and wannabes.
Until then, it’s been their job to impress Jim Hiller, the assistant coach running the show in Babcock’s absence, and the rest of the assembled brass that watch pretty much every practice and game.
“Mike’s not here, but there are a heck of a lot of guys watching each player daily, giving reports to Mike,” Hiller said. “He’ll want to have a look at them too.
“But if you’re a player, you’ve got to be good every single day. If you’re waiting until Babs shows up, you’re probably making a mistake.”
It’s the best the second tier of prospects — perhaps best called the forgotten prospects — can hope for.
While the likes of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have garnered the most interest from fans and media, there are others hoping for a permanent spot at the NHL level.
It’s an odd reality, given the Leafs were a last-place team last year, but the competition for jobs seems a bit more intense this year. There are openings. But there’s a stable of young players — each with an extra year of experience and some NHL time on their resume — gunning for those jobs.
“Guys are older, guys are closer to pushing for jobs,” forward Brendan Leipsic said. “Every year it seems like it’s more competitive. As you get older, I wouldn’t say the window closes (faster) or anything, but the time is now for guys to make that next step.”
Leipsic is one of those guys. Highly trumped when he was acqiured in a trade two seasons ago for Cody Franson, Leipsic got into six NHL games last season, scoring once and adding two assists. He had a solid year with the Marlies, with 20 goals and 34 assists in 65 games.
“There are a lot of skilled guys,” Leipsic said. “I’m going to play an energy-type role. I’m playing the penalty kill. Just trying to be an energy guy, create momentum, play solid defensively.”
But he’s one of those guys in the second tier of prospects, playing a game similar to that of Zach Hyman and Nikita Soshnikov
And there are plenty of energy-type players, a group that is led by Leo Komarov and Matt Martin and includes the likes of veterans Brooks Laich, Colin Greening, Brandon Prust and Rich Clune.
Kerby Rychel, a 21-year-old who played 32 games with Columbus last season, is hoping to be considered among that group too.
Rychel made an impression in his first shift in Halifax in the first exhibition game. After Nazem Kadri was waylaid by a hit from Andreas Englund, Rychel went straight for the rookie Swede and was ejected for fighting.
“I woudn’t say I’m a fighter, but sticking up for your teammates is part of the game and part of the culture the Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to grow here,” said Rychel. “As far as the depth chart, and making the team, my play in exhibition is going to have a lot to do with that, if not everything.”