Rachel Halliwell
Mitch Marner is an exceptional talent. He scored 116 points for the London Knights this season, and has 9 points in 2 playoff games. His countless highlight-reel goals show his offensive abilities and potential. However, there is much more to being a great NHL hockey player than just scoring goals.
The bottom line is that Marner is just not ready to compete in the NHL next season. Not even close. He is in no way too good for the OHL. He has so much more to learn and so much room for improvement. He is also not physically ready to compete in a league with men.
There is so much more to the game than just getting points. It is so important for a player like that to be consistent, be a leader, be just as good without the puck as they are with the puck etc. Mike Babcock is all over the kids this season telling them that they need to focus more on their game when they don’t have the puck, and to be quite frank, Marner doesn’t have much of a game without the puck.
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Max Domi (former London Knight) was sent back to the Knights after his first training camp with the Coyotes. Coach Dave Tippett told him, in a nutshell, are you going to go back and just play, or are you going to go and dominate the game. Domi lead that team, he commanded the game and made a difference when it mattered. He dominated in the OHL and at the World Juniors last year. He plays in the NHL this season, and he looks pretty darn good.
Mitch Marner can put plenty of points on the board… against other kids in the OHL. He was less than impressive at the World Junior tournament, where everyone expected him to dominate.
On Leafs Lunch, TSN’s Craig Button talked about throwing Mitch Marner into the NHL or AHL when he’s not ready. He said, “If I wanted to teach you to swim, would it make sense that I just drop you in the deepest part of the water in the middle of the ocean?”
Mike Babcock wants the Maple Leafs to be a very sound team offensively, but especially defensively. It is very much a defense first mentality going forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Mitch Marner needs to find that dominant aspect of his game. He’s going to have to become a real solid two-way player. He needs to dominate and control the game, be a leader, and make a difference when it matters. If Marner can’t dominate at the junior level, can anyone really expect him to at the NHL level?
Next: Wesley Smith's Take