Toronto Maple Leafs: Marlies Practice Report

As Toronto Maple Leafs find themselves in the thick of a hotly contested playoff series, the Toronto Marlies have begun preparation for one of their own.

Fresh off their second most successful regular season in franchise history, punctuated by an eye-popping 54 wins in 76 games, the Marlies now focus their attention squarely on their first-round opponent, the Utica Comets.

One could assume that most lineup decisions of the AHL’s top-seeded team have already been set in stone. Well, not so fast.

For Sheldon Keefe & Co., the tinkering never stops. Here’s my report from the Marlies first pre-playoff practice.

Playoff Roster

As the Marlies took the ice Tuesday morning, the team officially announced their postseason roster.

There are few surprises here.

Blessed with unparalleled blueline depth, the Marlies have chosen to ride into the playoffs with a group of eight defencemen. The most notable inclusion being 20-year-old Jesper Lindgren.

The former 2015 fourth-round pick has played just four games with the Marlies this season, coming over to Toronto from Finland’s Liiga via an ATO on March 14th. As is the case with most European defencemen debuting on North American ice, his adjustment has been rocky.

To recap, halfway through his first period as a Marlie, Lindgren attempted a cross-ice pass from the corner of his own zone. This, my friends, is what we call a “no-no” play. His pass was promptly intercepted, finding the back of the net mere seconds later.

For the following two weeks, Lindgren watched as a scratch.

And yet, incremental improvements have come more frequently as Lindgren continues to adjust. In fact, he earned his first North American point on April 7th versus the Rochester Americans, flashing his potential in the process.

Beginning the play, Lindgren executes an intelligent pinch in the offensive zone. He then circles the net, receiving the puck back at the point where he subsequently fires it to a wide-open Chris Mueller for the tap-in.

Such mobility and awareness are what the Marlies look for in their young RHD.

While he won’t crack the starting lineup once the playoffs begin, his inclusion on their postseason roster is a vote of confidence nonetheless.

Pierre Engvall

Pierre Engvall, another late-season addition, has made quite the positive impression early on. Racking up eight points in nine games, Engvall has completely revitalized a struggling Marlies power play, arguably the team’s lone Achilles heel.

What did that water bottle ever do to you, Pierre?

Despite his success, Engvall found himself rotating in and out of the third line’s left wing position with Kyle Baun in yesterday’s practice. Baun, he of 22 points in 71 games, may not appear to initially threaten Engvall’s lineup security.

Although, Baun happens to be one of the few Marlies wingers with a right-handed shot. And, considering the thought process of this organization’s other head coach, that’s not a small detail.

Handedness

When it comes to handedness, Mike Babcock lives and dies by the direction from which his players shoot. Ron Hainsey aside, Babcock has proven himself notoriously hesitant in playing his players, be it defencemen or forwards, on their off side.

I assumed Keefe would share a similar sentiment.

He’d previously noted a desire to avoid forming a line comprised of three left shots earlier this season. With this important decision looming, I asked Keefe the degree to which handedness factors into the rotation.

His answer took me by surprise.

"We like the fact that Bauner (Kyle Baun) is a right shot because that gives us options there. But we have guys, whether it’s Greening or Engvall himself – Trevor Moore, Timashov – who have played their off side this year. So, we’re less concerned about that at this stage."

During the regular season, the aforementioned players were forced to their off sides by necessity. Largely stemming from personnel losses up front, both Kasperi Kapanen and Nikita Soshnikov were right shooting wingers who each left the team mid-season.

Now heading into the playoffs, the level of which Keefe’s tune has changed illuminates the thought process of an NHL-calibre head coach.

In the postseason, handedness, lessons, and all related minutiae are cast aside. The best coaches win by icing their best possible lineups.

And that’s exactly what Keefe appears to be doing.

Goaltending

Describing the Marlies goaltending this season as elite would be a gross understatement.

Both Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard were simply dominant in net. Last week, the pair were announced as co-winners of the “Harry ‘Hap’ Holmes Award”, given to the AHL’s best goaltending duo.

Making his week even sweeter, Sparks was then announced as the recipient of the “Aldege ‘Baz’ Bastien Memorial Award”, awarded to the AHL’s most outstanding goaltender.

After the season Sparks put forth, it was the definition of a no-brainer.

Posting 31 wins to go with a .936 save percentage across 41 starts, Sparks set a number of Marlies franchise records along the way.

In both career and regular season contexts, the 25-year-old now tops the franchise list in wins and shutouts. Highlight reel saves became such a common occurrence for Sparks that, as the season progressed, I came to expect them.

So, it came as no surprise for Keefe to confirm Sparks as his starter for Game One, further indicating that he’d evaluate his goaltending situation on a game-by-game basis.

The decision, while rooted in Sparks’ success, may have drawn some influence from Pickard’s lack of playoff experience. In the same breath, Keefe mentioned how, prior to this year, Pickard has never played in a professional postseason game.

As hard to believe as that is, Keefe’s telling the truth. Dating back to his professional debut in 2011, Pickard has missed reaching the playoffs at either level, be it AHL or NHL.

Sparks is unquestionably the better option. But, it would be nice for Pickard to get his first taste of postseason action.

Liljegren Absence

All members of the Marlies playoff roster were present for Tuesday’s practice, barring one notable absentee.

Timothy Liljegren, fresh off establishing the highest point-per-game average of any 18-year-old defenceman in AHL history, was nowhere to be found. Having battled a number of ailments throughout his rookie season, his absence led those in attendance (specifically me) to worry about his Game One availability.

Keefe promptly put to bed any concerns surrounding his teenaged phenom. Liljegren was simply taking a maintenance day. Most likely recovering from the goon fest put on by Belleville the Sunday prior.

And once again, all was right in the world.

Fortnite

Like most hockey players, and young adults for that matter, the Marlies are dedicated disciples of Fortnite. This new-found obsession has forced a number of the team’s veterans into trying their hand at the hugely popular game, to largely unfavourable results.

“I’ll admit I played one game,” laughed captain Ben Smith. “I dropped in, walked around for 15 minutes, didn’t see anyone and I finished 13th out of 100.”

“What’s your favourite drop zone?” I asked.

Smith’s answer: “I could not tell you.13th out of 100 is not bad, though!”

Next: Marlies Forward Report Cards Part Three

Puck drop for Game One is Saturday at 4:00 PM at Ricoh Coliseum.