Editor In Leaf
Fansided

Maple Leafs Roundtable: Where Should Mitch Marner Play?

ByTim Chiasson|
Sep 25, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs player Mitch Marner (84) brings down Buffalo Sabres player Daniel Catenacci (43) during the second period of game against Buffalo Sabres at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs player Mitch Marner (84) brings down Buffalo Sabres player Daniel Catenacci (43) during the second period of game against Buffalo Sabres at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports
5 of 6
Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Mitchell Marner puts on a team cap after being selected 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
Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Mitchell Marner puts on a team cap after being selected 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

Wesley Smith

Where should Mitchell Marner play in the 2016-2017 season has been a question that’s been asked by Leafs fans throughout the year, almost non-stop.

Mitchell Marner should play the 2016-2017 season with the London Knights of the OHL.

This is not because he isn’t skilled enough to compete for a spot with the Maple Leafs. There’s no doubt in my mind he will be with the club until the end of training camp, maybe even play the nine game allowance before burning the first year of his entry level contract.

More from Editor In Leaf

However I personally feel that Mitchell Marner is just not physically ready for the NHL game yet, at least not the full year. There’s no doubting his talent level, he’s arguably already the most talented player in the Maple Leafs organization. However, he is still only five-foot-eleven – which isn’t all that short – but it is the fact that he weighs just over 160 pounds that concerns me.

Some NHL players are capable of overcoming size issues, currently there’s Johnny Gaudreau and even Leafs own William Nylander isn’t all that much bigger than Marner. The biggest difference I see in the two players I just named is that they use their head exceptionally well during the game.

Not to say that Marner doesn’t think the game well, he does. but he also has lapses in judgement that could get him rocked at the next level. Looking back to the quarter final game against Finland at the world juniors he played spectacular, no question.

There’s one play I keyed on, and it was the move he made through four Finish players at their blue line. Yes it resulted in an unbelievable scoring opportunity and a pretty highlight, but in the NHL if he wants to do something like that there are plenty of players who will light him up ten out of ten times.

I am a big fan of Marner, and think he will be a very good NHL player, however I just don’t think that next season is the season.

Next: Tim Chiasson's Take

Home/Editorials