Toronto Marlies Notebook: Blame it on the Bye Week

Welcome back to another instalment of Toronto Marlies Notebook!

Due to circumstances outside of my control, this week’s notebook is going to be shorter than usual. The Marlies schedule has been on the decidedly lighter side lately, leaving us very little game-action to break down. Yet, as the Toronto Maple Leafs enjoy their bye week, fans continue to hunger for some fresh Leafs content.

Who am I to deny them of it?

So, with a multitude of returning players, personnel moves and organizational buzz coming in hot, there remains a bounty of topics to discuss regarding this team. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.

Allow me to quell your appetite.

Michael PaliGONEa

Prior to yesterdays morning skate, the Marlies announced they had traded defenceman Michael Paliotta to the Texas Stars in exchange for “future considerations”.

If you haven’t been following the Marlies this season, and therefore have no idea who this player is, I don’t blame you. Allow me to describe him in terms you may understand.

Paliotta was the Marlies version of Josh Leivo. He’s an effective, right-handed defenceman who simply fell victim to a rationing of ice time. In fact, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler sums his conundrum up best:

Like Leivo, Paliotta is undoubtedly good enough to crack his team’s lineup. The only thing working against him, unfortunately, was that his team happened to boast one of the most talented AHL bluelines we’ve seen in years.

Stuck behind the likes of Travis Dermott, Andrew Nielsen, Vincent LoVerde, Rinat Valiev, Calle Rosen, Timothy Liljegren, Justin Holl, and Martin Marincin, there simply weren’t enough minutes to go around.

Why Sign Him?

Which begs the question; if their blueline was so deep, why did the Marlies even sign him in the first place?

And that’s a fair point to raise. In my opinion, prior to the season’s commencement, I doubt even the Marlies knew just how deep their D corps would eventually be.

Nobody could have predicted that Liljegren would adapt to the North American ice so quickly, or that Marincin and Rosen, two NHL hopefuls, would spend this much time in the AHL. In hockey, plans change and roster decisions must follow suit.

So, as his tenure in Toronto comes to an end, Paliotta is left with a measly 8 games played, and precisely zero points to show for it. Frankly, the talented 24-year-old deserves better.

When asked to give his thoughts on his recently dealt defenceman, Sheldon Keefe had this to say:

He’s been excellent, he’s been a good teammate, he’s been great to work with from a coaching perspective. He’s been very patient. Obviously, we’re getting to the point here now, for his benefit, he needs to get playing. So, Kyle (Dubas) was able to find an opportunity for him and we wish him all the best.

To quote Nicholas Cage: that’s some high praise. 

By all accounts, Paliotta handled his reduced role with nothing but class and professionalism. Athletes are inherently driven to perform, so one can only imagine how maddening it must have been for him to sit by, game after game, watching his team succeed without him.

When all is said and done, it seems as if the Texas Stars are not only receiving a useful piece for their blueline but a fantastic individual as well.

Best of luck in Texas, Michael.

The Rise of Prairie Jesus

Adam Brooks has always been a late bloomer.

Across his first two WHL seasons with the Regina Pats, Brooks put up just 12 and 11 points, respectively. In fact, the latter campaign occurred during the 2013-14 season, his draft year. The “draft year” is generally regarded as the year where draft-eligible prospects turn their games up a notch in order to get noticed by NHL scouts.

Unfortunately for Brooks, nobody was going to notice 11 points.

So, as an undersized centreman coming off an impotent season, his hockey playing future looked bleak. So bleak, that he was passed over in the draft not only in 2014 but in 2015 as well.

Then, in a miraculous turn of events detailed in this wonderful Sportsnet article, an ownership change in Regina set Brooks along the path to posting a record-shattering 250 points across the next two years, along with a new lease on his career.

As a reward, the Leafs seemingly saw enough in Brooks to use their 4th round pick of the 2016 draft on him.

New Year, New Me

This brings us to this year, his first AHL season.

Much like it was in the WHL, Brooks’ AHL debut started out decidedly slow, with just two points in his first 23 games. As the games wore on, it became increasingly apparent that he was indeed struggling to adjust to the rigours of the professional game.

And then came New Year’s Eve.

I was waiting for the post-game scrums outside the Marlies dressing room following this game. Believe me when I say, this team could not have been happier for Brooks to score his first professional goal.

In fact, I witnessed Jeremy Bracco, who had been scratched that evening, run and proceed to jump into Brooks’ arms at full speed, as soon as he got close enough to do it. It was hilarious.

Like the ownership change in Regina, Brooks’ first pro goal has seemingly functioned as a turning point in his career. In the 4 games since, he’s put up 4 points, including 3 goals, while also exhibiting a hunger for the puck that had gone unseen earlier in the year.

The skill is there for Brooks, and he’s now starting to put it together. If his ascension continues, nothing is standing between him and the NHL.