Toronto Maple Leafs: Where Do the Marlies Go From Here?

Being the AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs is a tough gig.

Of course, there are benefits.

In an organization loaded with young talent, the Marlies are guaranteed to open their season with arguably the AHL’s most skilled roster.

Although, as those players thrive on the farm, they become more likely to be plucked at a moments notice by the big club. The threat of losing your best players looms large. Beginning the season, Kasperi Kapanen, Nikita Soshnikov and Andreas Johnsson occupy half of your top-six forward group.

Four months later, and they’re all gone.

The Marlies entered 2017-18 with a roster laden with eye-popping talent. And ever since then, their lineup has gone through radical changes.

On opening night, the Marlies’ line rushes looked something like this:

While their defence pairings looked like this:

Six months later and that lineup is practically unrecognizable. As the Marlies took on the Laval Rocket this past Monday, the group hitting the ice took this form:

Such is life in the AHL.

So, as the Marlies meet with Laval (again) this evening, they’ll do so without key contributors in Soshnikov, Kapanen, Johnsson, Kerby Rychel, Rinat Valiev, Travis Dermott and Calle Rosen.

All of whom have left the team since opening night via trade or NHL promotion. Losses of such magnitude certainly don’t go unnoticed.

Which begs the question: where do the Marlies go from here?

Increased Responsibility

Well, it’s not all doom and gloom.

A number of names absent from the October 8th line rushes have since taken on important roles for the Marlies as the season progressed.

Specifically, Jeremy Bracco and Andreas Borgman.

Jeremy Bracco

Bracco sat out the season’s first handful of games while recovering from a bout with mononucleosis.

Since being phased back in the lineup, the 20-year-old has taken significant strides in his development, both offensively and, more crucially, defensively.

Occupying a spot on the Marlies’ second PP unit, Bracco has demonstrated and improved his phenomenal playmaking ability, seemingly finding open teammates on a whim.

Sheldon Keefe has acknowledged Bracco’s improvement, rewarding the youngster by placing him on an all-rookie line. Suiting up alongside Adam Brooks and Mason Marchment, the trio has been given the standard heavily sheltered minutes so far, performing surprisingly well.

Following Tuesday’s roster moves, that’s about to change.

With Johnsson gone, the kids will now be forced into shouldering the bulk of the offensive load he once carried. How each player handles this increased responsibility will go a long way in illuminating just how far along they are in their development.

Andreas Borgman

Remember him?

Borgman’s play following his demotion in early February has been relatively erratic. On some nights, he’s throwing his body around in typical fashion, all while contributing as an offensive threat.

Other nights, he just looks…fine? Never bad, but certainly not as good as most expected.

Putting aside all Roman Polak-related reasons, Borgman was sent to the Marlies to undergo a developmental process which has now become routine in the Leafs organization.

Essentially, they want to turn him into a penalty killer.

The exact same course of action was taken with Kapanen and Johnsson. Both were relegated to the Marlies in order to add another dimension to their game. Were they to lack proficiency as penalty killers, there’s simply no room for either player in Mike Babcock‘s lineup.

And the same goes for Borgman.

In his NHL stint, he performed adequately for a 22-year-old rookie defenceman. Although, he logged practically no time on the PK, therefore limiting his potential. On the Marlies, he’s now a staple on their top PK unit, one which ranks as the AHL’s best by a sizeable margin.

If Rosen’s promotion is long-term, Borgman would then become the Marlies number one defenceman. While certainly not an ideal situation for the team to be in, it would perhaps serve as the best thing for him, and his partner Timothy Liljegren, developmentally.

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The stretch drive will certainly be one to keep an eye on.