The Toronto Maple Leafs may have seen a bunch of players play their final World Cup games, but there are some great takeaways from the tournament heading into the season.
Of the remaining Toronto Maple Leafs representatives, only Nikita Zaitsev will play a significant role on the ice and he’s already made a good impression.
So with the Toronto Maple Leafs significant interest essentially over at the World Cup of Hockey, here are three takeaways from the round robin portion of the tournament.
1. Auston Matthews Is The Real Deal
The hype was there and the expectations were high, even if you don’t want to admit it. Had Matthews failed to leave a dent on the tournament the trolls would have come out in droves and Leafs Nation would be silent.
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Instead, everything we hoped for happened.
Auston Matthews was not only as advertised – he was dominant. Matthews showed the hockey world what they were missing while he was playing in Switzerland last season, far from the microscope of North American junior-level hockey.
Leafs Nation finally got a glimpse at the savior and the face of the franchise for the next decade+, and it was more than satisfying.
What separates elite players from star players is the ability to take over a shift and the desire to dominate at every single moment. Matthews is that player and he showed it during the pre-tournament and round robin games
2. Morgan Rielly Is Ready For More
The Leafs face of the blueline had a great World Championship tournament running the back-end for Team Canada and followed it up with an excellent World Cup showing.
He was a leader and he was leaned on by Todd McLellan, giving Leafs fans a reason to believe he will, at worst, be wearing an ‘A’ in the near future – with a case to be made for the ‘C’.
On a blueline filled with players who the rest of the league would have you believe are better, Rielly stood out. He’s going to be a few steps ahead of the opposition, like all World Cup players, after playing a high intensity tournament.
In the lock-out shortened season the players who excelled the most above projections were the ones in the AHL because they were already in high gear for the season. Rielly is set to come flying out of the gate for Toronto.
3. Nikita Zaitsev Is Going To Translate Fine
Zaitsev, through all the hype, was still an unknown. YouTube clips don’t do the 24 year old defender justice, but that’s all we had to go on until this tournament.
He’s been Russia’s best defender and left Leafs fans with the taste of optimism for the blueline moving forward.
He skates well, makes good decisions and plays at both ends of the ice. The biggest need for the Leafs on defense was a top four, right shot defender.
After watching Zaitsev in the World Cup, it looks like the Leafs may have successfully found an important piece of the rebuilding puzzle.
Next: Player Preview: Frederik Gauthier
The three most interesting players for the Leafs in the tournament cashed in on their opportunity to impress. Matthews, Rielly and Zaitsev painted a nice picture for the future of this team and now it’s time to set them loose on the regular season and enjoy what happens.