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Toronto Maple Leafs: Monday Morning Leaf Points

By Jon Stamos |

Editors Note: Robb Ellis has moved on to another position so Jon Stamos will be taking over the weekly Monday ‘Morning Leaf Points’ post.

MONDAY MORNING LEAF POINTS…

On JJ Piccinich…

Maple Leafs prospect JJ Piccinich has made the decision to leave Boston University after playing in only one NCAA season with the Terriers, he has committed to play for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League for the remainder of his junior career.

This decision means that Piccinich will be forfeiting the remaining three years of his scholarship to travel north of the border and play in a very talented organization with a fellow Leafs prospect, who is arguably the Leafs top prospect Mitch Marner.

It’s believed that Piccinich, who in his draft year managed 27 goals and 58 points in 60 games playing for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL; felt that his development getting back on track required him to play more regular shifts as a top six forward in the OHL for a strong team where he could show off some of his offensive flair.

As opposed to the NCAA where he only suited up for 25 games and only managing to produce one goal and four points. He was mainly used as a bottom six forward playing a more “shutdown” role for the Terriers, something he wasn’t necessarily looking forward to repeating this season.

On Mitch Marner…

Mitch ‘the Magician’ put on a clinic last week during the World Junior Showcase for team Canada playing on a line with his good friend who was drafted one spot ahead of him in this year’s draft Dylan Strome.

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In two games played for Canada versus Russia, Marner managed three assists for his team. Although 3 points in 2 games is pretty good considering these games are in the dead of summer, it wasn’t really the points that stood out for me watching these games – it was all the different aspects of his game on both the offensive side and defensive side.

Starting with his puck control which was top notch as he would wheel throughout the offensive zone untouched while controlling the play and drawing in defenders towards him leaving his teammates wide open for easy passes.

His ability to do this every time he was in the offensive zone is what led to Canada’s second goal early in the second period during the first game versus Russia.

Marner stick handled over the blue line drawing in a couple of Russian players towards him than made an impressive pass to Hicketts, the Canadian defenseman who joined the play, and was left unchecked and wide open in the slot for an almost open net goal as everyone was focused on Marner.

Marner showed such poise through the neutral zone separating himself from the opposition while always making crisp passes to his teammates whether they were open or if he had to find them through traffic. Passing wasn’t his only strength, he also has a knack for shaking his cover and getting open in the offensive zone for his teammates.

Something I noticed throughout both games was how much the Canadian coaching staff trusted Marner in all situations, they had him playing on the wing with Strome at even strength, as well as on the power play where he played on the point as well as on the wing.

Marner was easily the best player on the ice for both teams during both games he played in, he stood out every time he was on the ice whether he had the puck on his stick or not. He was very aggressive on the fore check, made strong and safe plays in his own end and was the smoothest skater on the ice while possessing NHL caliber puck control while speeding through the neutral zone & into the offensive zone.

His skill was unmatched throughout the game as it was glaringly obvious who the most talented player on the ice was from the first shift up until the final buzzer.

On Travis Dermott…

Travis Dermott gave me the impression right from the start of this mini-series that he does not shy away from physicality nor was he afraid to defend himself during post whistle scrums. It seemed as though he liked taking the body every chance he got and showed that he has the ability to use his body to separate players from the puck upon entering his d-zone without putting himself out of position.

Dermott’s ability to stand up opposing players at the blue line is good to see since I was under the impression that Dermott was more of an offensive style d-man who are generally known to try and use their sticks more often than to throw a hit.

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Dermott seemed to always be in good position in the offensive zone, neutral zone and most importantly the defensive zone. He was never caught scrambling nor was he ever caught flat footed when the Russians would break out.

His play with the puck was what stood out the most for me in each game as he always looked calm with the puck, whether it was behind the net in the defensive zone trying to shake off a player, or controlling the puck on the point during the PP while being pressured by opposition as he waited for a teammate to get open for a pass.

Like every good defenseman with offensive upside I was pleased to see that Dermott looked comfortable starting the breakout from his own zone making crisp tape to tape first passes to his forwards more often than not, as well he had the ability on a couple of occasions to get shots on net through traffic. Dermott was used regularly on the PK which shows that he had the trust of his coach as well as his teammates to shut down the opposition which was nice to see.

Overall, I was impressed with his play during the showcase, he was quiet, yet very effective for Canada showing that he isn’t just a one dimensional offensive defenseman, he has more to offer in the future as he refines his game and works on his skating the next few seasons as he works towards playing for the big boys at the Air Canada Center in the future.

On The Toronto Maple Leafs Rookie Tournament…

The Maple Leafs Rookie Camp will take place in London at the Budweiser Gardens this year from Friday September 11th till Sunday September 13th.

The Leafs have invited 26 players and 2 goalies to this year’s tournament and below is the roster:

Forwards (16)

Dzierkals, Martins / Foster, TJ

Gauthier, Frederik / Hyman, Zachary

Joly, Michael / Kapanen, Kasperi

Korostelev, Nikita / Latour, Bradley

Marner, Mitchell / Nylander, William

Piccinich, J.J. / Rodewald, Jack

Soshnikov, Nikita / Timashov, Dmytro

Vail, Brady / Verhaeghe, Carter

Defencemen (10)

Brouillard, Nikolas / Dermott, Travis

Desrocher, Stephen / Donaghey, Cody

Finn, Matt / Jamieson, Aiden

Lizotte, Cameron / Miller, Brenden

Nielsen, Andrew / Valiev, Rinat

Goaltenders (2)

Nichols, Justin / Peressini, Lucas

Tweet of the Week…

This week our “Tweet of the Week” honors go to the Mike Babcock parody account @BabcockinTO for his gem of a tweet in response to the announcement of the Rookie Tournament news.

Reader Reactions…

I know this part is a personal favorite for the MMLP regular readers, unfortunately we’ve lost a great writer and a good friend in Robb Ellis who’s moved on to a new position. That means there will be no reader reaction for this week, but I do look forward to hearing some feedback about this weeks question as well as any feedback about anything and everything Leafs.

Question of the Week…

Continuing on the topic of the Rookie Tournament in London this September.

Who are you most excited to watch play at this years Rookie Tournament for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and why?

Send your responses to me at:

ystamos@gmail.com and I’ll post some of them in next week’s Monday Morning Leaf Points column. I also accept and appreciate comments, opinions, and ‘hate mail’ or throw me a message or follow on Twitter @ystamos94 

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Until next Monday… KEEP IT BLUE!

Next: Dion Phaneuf's Path In Toronto

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