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Toronto Maple Leafs: Battle For Jobs With Marlies

By Robb Ellis

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Depth is a word that is often used in the world of sports. In fact, it has been used quite frequently recently when referring to the Toronto Maple Leafs. How many times have you heard somebody say “this team lacks depth” in the past 10 years?

And how could you ever argue with them? A quick look at the list of some of the call ups over just the past five seasons includes names like Trevor Smith, Andrew McWilliam, Troy Bodie, Korbinian Holzer, Jerred Smithson, Carter Ashton, Ryan Hamilton, Philippe Dupuis, David Broll , and Jamie Devane. In other words, a list of proverbial career minor-leaguers which has shown just how thin Toronto Maple Leafs talent pool has become.

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Mark Hunter announces Mitchell Marner (not pictured) as the number four overall pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

So how did it get that way? A quick look at the 2012, 2013, and 2014 NHL Entry Drafts show that the Leafs made only 17 picks combined in those three years. It’s not a good combination when an organization is failing to make the playoffs on a regular basis while still trading their draft picks away!

Things have changed with the new regime though as they set out to turn “the NHL’s favourite joke” into something that the league’s largest fanbase can be proud of once again. The emphasis has been changed from “win immediately” to “let’s have some patience.”

The Leafs picked 9 times in the 2015 draft and Mark Hunter scooped up some gems in the process. They will pick another 11 times in 2016 and have the pieces in place (players on short-term, low money contracts) to add a few more. The new plan has resulted in an organization that is overflowing with talent at the minor league level.

The Leafs will once again have an affiliation with the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears and just may treat that option differently than in other years. The ECHL has traditionally been a league that gets the AHL’s “leftovers.” Players who have struggled to make the main farm team of their organization. Kyle Dubas has hinted that he may instead use the Solar Bears as an “introduction to pro hockey for the younger players to start out there.” Expect to see first year prospects in Orlando next season playing Top 6 minutes rather than languishing in the press box with the Marlies.

The NHL roster is as close to set as it can get. With 13 forwards, 7 defencemen, and 2 goalies (after Bernier signs) signed to NHL contracts, there is only one spot available at the big league level. That could change with the possibility of trades before training camp but, for the sake of this article, let’s look at it as is stands today.

A look at the AHL roster shows where the real battle for jobs will come. There will be a plethora of talent strutting their stuff for new coach Sheldon Keefe in September. Young and hungry talent that is eager to show Leafs’ new head coach Mike Babcock that they have what it takes to be a Maple Leaf. Babcock’s roster next year is clearly built for the short-term and jobs will be available as soon as next season.

That doesn’t mean the young prospects will be rushed into the NHL though. Kyle Dubas has repeatedly said that they will show patience with the young talent. He has also mentioned that “yoyoing” young players like Stuart Percy, Sam Carrick, and Josh Leivo up and down between the two leagues has actually hurt their development. Babcock is on board with that philosophy as well.

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“You don’t rush them,” said Babcock this month while attending the Leafs’ Prospects Camp. “You give them the time they need to enhance their opportunity to grow as people, as men and players. You do that over time, you end up with a pretty good team. It takes longer than we all want. That’s just the reality of the situation. You just plug away.” Toronto Star

It is expected that newly hired GM Lou Lamoriello will also share the same views when it comes to the Leafs’ youth movement. It’s hard to believe that Shanahan would have brought him in if he didn’t share the vision of the organization.

So, how will the young Marlies look next season?

Forwards

William Nylander, Kaspari Kapanen, Carter Verhaeghe, Frederik Gauthier, Connor Brown, Brandon Leipsic, Josh Leivo, Nikita Soshnikov, Ryan Rupert, Matt Rupert, Jack Rodewald, Brady Vail, Christopher Clapperton, Patrick Watling, Sam Carrick, Brett Findlay, Casey Bailey, Zach Hyman, T.J Foster, Byron Froese, Matt Frattin, Rich Clune, Zach Bell, Erik Bradford, Nikolai Skladnichenko

Up the middle, the top 3 center jobs are pretty much spoken for by Nylander, Froese, and Gauthier. The fourth is up for grabs but Sam Carrick is the likely choice if he doesn’t catch on with the parent club. Nylander has already been endorsed as a center by Kyle Dubas and will more than likely make up one-third of the first line.

Froese played well last season centering the Marlies’ top scoring line (with Nylander and Frattin) and that should be enough to grab the second spot. The expectations are high for Gauthier and he will be eased into his role next season. Regardless, he will get plenty of playing time in his first year as a pro.

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Expect the battle for the NHL forward job to come from recent college signings Zach Hyman and Casey Bailey, along with Brendan Leipsic, Sam Carrick, Josh Leivo, Nikita Soshnikov, Matt Frattin, and Rich Clune. Frattin (135 NHL games) and Clune (120 NHL games) have the most experience and will be hungry to impress Babcock and get back to the NHL level. The other five are all young with little or no NHL experience.

Will the Leafs want them to play a lot with the Marlies or spend time playing 4th-line minutes on the big club? My sense is that the Leafs will have them join Kaspari Kapanen, and Connor Brown as wingers on the Marlies. The rest will join new coach Anthony Noreen with the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears.

Defencemen

Rinat Valiev, Matt Finn, Stuart Percy, Scott Harrington, Viktor Loov, Tom Nilsson, Petter Granberg, T.J Brennan, Andrew Campbell, Brendan Miller, Justin Holl, Max Nicastro

T.J Brennan may see action with both the Leafs and Marlies next season. Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

The situation on the Marlies’ back end is a much clearer picture. Petter Granberg is out of the equation until at least mid-October after having surgery on a torn achilles. T.J Brennan will get a shot to win an NHL job, but with seven experienced defenceman on the Leafs’ roster already, seems destined to be back in the AHL once again barring a trade or injury.

It will be a huge year for both Percy and Harrington as they start their third season as pros. Both should log huge minutes in the Marlies top 4 along with Brennan and Viktor Loov. The latter had a great Prospects camp earlier this month and seems poised to make his mark next season. He’s big, mobile, and plays the body. What more could you ask for in a 22-year old European defenceman?

Valiev, Finn, and Nilsson will most likely share the other two spots at least until Granberg returns. Miller, Campbell, Holl, and Nicastro are depth guys and will be ECHL-bound until needed.

Goaltenders

Antoine Bibeau, Garret Sparks, Christopher Gibson, Rob Madore

Gibson is pretty much a lock to be with the Marlies next season and Madore was signed to play with the ECHL affilliate Orlando Solar Bears. The only goaltending decision the organization will likely have to make is between Bibeau and Sparks. The latter was outstanding with Orlando last season and in two spot starts with the Marlies. Bibeau struggled at times in his first pro season and may benefit from playing everyday in the ECHL. It will be interesting to see which way the Leafs lean with this one.

In the past, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ organization has clearly misused its AHL affiliate as a burial ground for its mistakes. There will be no Jeff Finger, Tim Connolly, Colton Orr, or Frazer McLaren on the roster next year. The emphasis with the Marlies has now been put on developing younger players to become everyday NHLers.

The oldest players to suit up for the club next season will be Frattin and Clune who are 27 and 28 respectively. Rookie coach Sheldon Keefe himself is only 34 and Dubas, who doubles as GM of the Marlies, is just 28. A true “youth movement” is in the works during the early stages of this “scorched-earth” rebuild.

Home games at the Ricoh Centre will be a hot ticket next season as the future of the Maple Leafs is put on display. Toronto Maple Leafs fans are excited about the new direction that this organization is taking and why shouldn’t they?

Regardless of what the roster looks like, this Marlies team will be a fun and exciting team to watch. It is quite clear that the players who wear “the other Maple Leaf” on their chest will have plenty of incentive as the possibility of an NHL job looms in their future.

Next: Roundtable: On Nylander Shifting To Center

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