Toronto Marlies Notebook: We’re Going Streaking
It’s Toronto Marlies Notebook time!
With the Toronto Maple Leafs stashing some valuable wins, it’s important to not forget just how dominant the boys over at Ricoh are as well.
On a personal note, I apologize for the lack of notebook last week. I had three final exams in a span of four days, which subsequently caused me to fall into a deep coma upon their completion.
Regardless, The Marlies have been playing some great hockey lately, and we certainly need to talk about it.
The team is flying high, having beaten Hartford once and Laval twice over the last week and a half, and currently sporting a three-game winning streak. Let’s jump in.
No Quit
The Marlies victory over the Hartford Wolfpack on December 2nd was very much a game they should not have won.
Their special teams were atrocious, their defensive play was miserable, and their on-ice discipline was severely lacking.
Trailing 3-1 in the third period with five minutes remaining, Andreas Johnsson went absolutely clobbered a Wolfpack player from behind, earning himself a five minute major and a game misconduct.
The Marlies would now be saddled with playing the final five minutes of the game on the penalty kill. All hope was lost.
Well, that was until Trevor Moore entered God-mode.
Down a man, Moore immediately stormed Hartford’s zone, tying the game with a great shot from in close, pulling the Marlies within one.
But Moore was far from finished.
With under a minute left in regulation, he received a terrific pass from Jeremy Bracco (we’ll get to him later) and buried it under the bar, tying the game at three.
A few minutes later, in overtime, Dmytro Timashov took the puck coast to coast and potted it to give the Marlies a stunning victory. It truly was a stunning comeback.
After the game, I asked Moore if there was a sense in the Marlies locker room that no deficit is insurmountable. His response said it all:
For sure. We have a talented group, and it’s just a matter of how hard we work in the system that we want to play. We have a good enough team to come back from any deficit.
This team has no quit.
I’ve always held the belief that good teams find a way to win games they otherwise shouldn’t have. Well, The Marlies happen to be a very good team, and against Hartford, they did just that.
Trevor Moore
If you happen to be a Leaf fan, you really need to start paying attention to Trevor Moore.
Moore’s stats from this season don’t immediately jump off the page. Putting up just 7 points in 22 games is respectable, but certainly nothing to write home about.
However, in all facets of the game, Moore has been on fire as of late.
This newfound confidence can be attributed to a change in how Sheldon Keefe has chosen to deploy him. Keefe has begun trusting Moore in a penalty-killing role, and that trust has been rewarded on a nightly basis.
What impresses me the most about Moore’s game is his sheer tenacity on the puck. He’s the first man in on the forecheck 99% of the time, and more times than not he seems to emerge from puck battles victorious.
Combined with his intensity, Moore also possesses a fair amount of natural skill as well. His shot is sneaky-good, as he can fire off a quick and harder wrister in the blink of an eye. As The Marlies special teams struggled to start the season, Moore has now endowed upon them a sense of stability.
Moore won’t burn up any stat sheets in the NHL, but he is an undoubtedly intriguing player. With centre being a position lacking depth in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, Moore is slowly turning himself into a dark horse candidate for a promotion.
The Good and Bad of Travis Dermott
Personally, I am incredibly excited about Travis Dermott‘s future as a member of the Leafs D corps.
He is a skilled, defensively responsible player who, as The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler recently wrote, is constantly adapting his playing style.
Currently, Dermott is on a four-game point streak, while simultaneously leading the entire Marlies blueline in scoring. Furthermore, he FINALLY snapped a 21-game goalless drought on December 2nd.
However, all is not sunny in Dermott-Ville. If there happens to be one thing limiting Dermott’s NHL potential, it’s his on-ice discipline.
Travis Dermott has now taken five more minor penalties than anyone else on the Marlies.
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) November 26, 2017
As a player who plays a vital penalty killing role, that is simply unacceptable. It’s pretty hard to kill a penalty while sitting in the penalty box, and Dermott has been doing just that far too often lately.
He’s far too skilled, and frankly, far too important to be stooping to this level. A few badly timed penalties are more than enough to land a player in Mike Babcock‘s doghouse. Dermott needs to cut down on the penalties, or risk hurting his team in crucial instances down the road.
The future is bright for him. Let’s hope he gets this under control.
Goalie Depth Being Tested
It’s been well publicized that Garret Sparks has been a monster this season. Such a fact makes watching this all the more painful.
Yes, that’s Sparks skating off the ice after allowing a goal versus Laval, voluntarily pulling himself from the game.
Now, unless he’s channelling Patrick Roy and demanding a trade, which is unlikely, he seemed to have injured himself on the play.
Sheldon Keefe confirmed as much, reporting that Sparks had tweaked something on the play, prompting his removal from the game. In a corresponding move, Cal Heeter was called up from the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears.
Now, a tweak usually isn’t too serious, but goalies are fickle beings. The smallest change in their body’s overall operation can work to throw their entire game off. Such a thing would undoubtedly be bad news, as The Marlies lean heavily on Sparks to steal them some games.
Luckily, Calvin Pickard is here to save them.
Pickard has been excellent in 2017-18, putting up 8 wins to go along with his sparkling .935 save percentage. Were Sparks to miss an extended period out long-term, Pickard will be given the starter’s reigns.
This is the chance Pickard’s been waiting for to prove he’s an NHL goalie again. Let’s see if he makes the most of it.
A Weekend of Firsts
On December 2nd, Travis Dermott finally scored his first goal of the 2017-18 season. And on December 9th, Jeremy Bracco scored his long-awaited first professional hockey goal.
And boy, was it a beauty.
Jeremy Bracco's first career AHL goal is a beauty. pic.twitter.com/DawiLr8ol8
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) December 9, 2017
I don’t want to get everyone too excited here, but I think the Leafs drafted a gem in Bracco. He still has a long way to go in his development, but he is not lacking in the skill department.
I mean, how many players can say they scored their first pro goal in such spectacular fashion?
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Earlier in the year, it was no secret that Bracco struggled to earn playing time, as he was still working his way back into game-shape from a Memorial Cup shortened summer.
Now, however, he seems healthy and is playing like it too.
His 6 points in 13 games are distinctly unrepresentative of how well he’s played. Bracco’s been buzzing around the ice, regularly creating chances, and showing some uniquely impressive patience with the puck.
His offensive prowess has also worked to add another lethal dimension to a once-struggling Marlies powerplay. As he continues to navigate the pro game, Bracco’s only going to get better.
We got a good one here, folks.
Quick Thoughts
The Marlies next game is on December 16th against the powerhouse Manitoba Moose. What makes this particular game special, however, is that it’s the Teddy Bear Toss game! If you’ve never witnessed a teddy bear toss, I suggest you YouTube it immediately. Like always, I’ll be there covering the game, so stop by and say hi!