Toronto Maple Leafs: Travis Dermott Debut Review
By James Tanner
The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a come from behind victory.
Travis Dermott, one of the Toronto Maple Leafs top prospects, made his NHL debut.
Dermott is a 21 year old left-shooting defenseman from Newmarket Ontario – which essentially means he’s playing for his home-town team (along with Kadri, and Brown, who are also both from the general Toronto area if you are liberal with the word ‘general’). Dermott was drafted in the second round of the 2015 draft, 34th overall.
This year, playing for the Marlies, he got into 26 games, scored two goals and added 15 assists for 17 total points, putting him just outside the top 20 in defenseman scoring in the AHL. By pretty much all accounts,he was the Marlies best defenseman.
NHL Debut
Last night Travis Dermott made his NHL debut. It was a fantastic debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect.
Dermott played 12:03 seconds, partnered with Roman Polak, and was used almost exclusively at even-strength. Not a ton of ice-time, but for a rookie making his NHL debut, about as much as you could expect. He was the Leafs least used defenseman, but he looked great for the most part when he did get out there.
Dermott scored his first NHL assist (5v5) by assisting on the game-tying Tyler Bozak goal in the third period. Based on his play last night, it won’t be his last.
Overall, 59% CF and one assist in your NHL debut is pretty damn good. Going forward, it will be interesting to see how the Leafs manage their defense – Borgan came out for Dermott, but he doesn’t really deserve to be benched; he’s had a solid rookie season.
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Ron Hainsey is a left handed shot playing the right side, while Rielly, Borgman, Gardiner and Dermott are all also leftys. With Zaitsev out, only Carrick and Polak are right handed.
While Dermott has lined up on the right-side with the Marlies on occasion, it’s a lot to ask a rookie to step into the NHL and play his off side. This means that, at least for now, the Leafs are going to have to choose between Borgman and Dermott.
While having too many good players is a great problem to have, it kind of sucks for Borgman because he has done nothing to lose his job. In fact, his play despite being paired with Polak, is a testament to his skill and potential.
With that in mind, it’s going to be pretty hard to keep Dermott off the ice if he continues to play like he did last night. I would expect Borgman might soon find himself with the Marlies – despite how unfair that is.
Then again, given the premium teams will pay for defenseman, perhaps if Dermott continues to develop, Jake Gardiner can be traded for a right-handed option.
Next: Will Nielson Ever Make the Leafs?
Either way it was a debut to remember.