Justin Holl had one last opportunity to make the Toronto Maple Leafs, and after a strong training camp; he has now solidified his spot in the lineup.
Twenty-seven year old defenseman Justin Holl was scratched seventy-one times last season by head coach Mike Babcock, and if you weren’t keeping track at home; nine of the total eleven games Holl played last season for the Toronto Maple Leafs were in between game number sixty-four and game number eighty-two.
Justin played his first game of the 2018/2018 season on November 1st 2018, game thirteen of the Maple Leafs regular season. It wasn’t until game thirty-seven of the season, Mike Babcock decided to give him another game against the Detroit Red Wings.
Bumped down in the depth chart by Martin Marincin and Igor Ozhiganov, Holl was leaned on late in the 2018/2019 season; only due to Jake Gardiner and Travis Dermott getting injured at the same time. By the time Holl got out of the doghouse, there was nothing in the tank for the 26 year old to show for.
A Holl Lotta Nothin’
Holl went months in between games last season, spending most of his time eating popcorn in the pressbox and as an extra body during team practice. If you thought William Nylander was a few steps behind due to his hold out, well Justin Holl rot for 71 games. If being healthy scratched 71 total times wasn’t punishment enough, Holl went twenty-three and twenty six consecutive games respectively between NHL action.
Sidney Crosby is well known for reinventing himself every off-season, bringing a new trick to the table the following year to unleash onto the league. Justin Holl went the Crosby route, and during the off-season he reinvented the way he plays. Holl worked on becoming more of a bare-boned steady defensive player, who could also be relied on to kill penalties.
Despite a relatively solid training camp and pre-season where you hardy ever realized Holl was on the ice, a lot of people expected Justin to be put on waivers at the start of the season. With rookie Rasmus Sandin’s spectacular emergence, it was a shock to find out Holl survived the final roster cuts along with Martin Marincin…again.
Holl missed games one and three while rotating early this season with Martin Marincin, but has since managed to play in eight consecutive games; grabbing a stranglehold on the final dman roster spot. In nine total games, Holl has arguably been the Leafs most steady defenseman not named Jake Muzzin. Holl doesn’t play a whole lot, but he is consistently a positive for the Maple Leafs every second he steps on the ice. Averaging around 12:54 of ice-time a night, there are very few instances where he puts himself or the team at risk or danger. Quick and smart plays, along with his smooth skating ability has allowed Holl to play a simple, solid, and effective game.
chart by David Scala. Statistics provided by: Natural Stat Trick and Corsica Hockey Analytics
The Holl Picture
Mike Babcock has mainly utilized Justin Holl on the penalty kill, and so far Holl has been up to the task. In nine games played, the Justin Holl penalty kill unit has only surrendered three goals against. For reference: Morgan Rielly (25:12, 5GA), Jake Muzzin (36:19, 3GA), Cody Ceci (40:43, 3GA) via Corsica. Not only has Holl been solid on the penalty kill, his 5v5 play has been rock solid. Holl is a +16 in SOG 5v5, outscored the opponent 7-4, and his individual shot attempt rate per 60 leads the entire Toronto Maple Leafs defense with 14.48.
Right now, Justin Holl has found his niche for Mike Babcock and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Solid defensive play, and full-time penalty killing. If Holl wants to remain on this roster for eighty games, he has to consistently put in the effort of making sure he can be relied on in those specific areas Babcock requests of him.
With each game Justin Holl plays this season, his confidence keeps growing. At this time last season, Justin Holl could only dream of playing a hockey game. Now Holl is a regular, and he’s making it quite clear he deserves to play every single night.