His story has become well known in the Toronto Maple Leafs community, which has led to Bobby McMann becoming more and more of a fan favourite with each passing game.
After being overlooked a few times in the NHL Entry Draft, McMann joined Colgate University for four years before finally earning a professional contract in the ECHL which led to the Toronto Maple Leafs come calling at the age of 24.
One thing that has followed McMann through all levels of hockey has been his goal scoring which included 36 goals in Junior A hockey with the Bonnyville Pontiacs and 45 goals over a 91 game stretch in the American Hockey League with the Toronto Marlies. After griding his way through pretty near every level of hockey he could, the Waingwright, Alberta native made his NHL debut in 2022-23 but was miscast as he was relegated to the fourth line during a ten game span where he failed to record a goal.
Despite scoring 21 goals in 30 AHL games during that same season, McMann was unable to crack the Opening Night line-up last year and was placed on waivers where he went unclaimed. He was finally recalled in November of 2023, however, Sheldon Keefe gave him just over nine minutes a night which led to just two goals and seven points over 26 games.
All things changed that night on February 13 where he was initially scheduled to be a healthy scratch and likely again placed on waivers within a day or two. Fortunately for him, a last minute illness to Mitch Marner got him back in the line-up in a top nine role where he famously collected a hattrick that propelled his career.
McMann Looks Like a Top Six Scorer
Since that night, McMann has dressed in 61 games scoring 25 goals which puts him on pace for 34 tallies over an 82 game schedule.
This past Thursday night, McMann continued his scoring prowess collecting both Maple Leafs goals to lead the team to a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders. It was his third multi-goal game of the season and he now sits fourth on the team in goals (12) while trailing just William Nylander and John Tavares in even strength goals.
Through the Core Four era the Maple Leafs have struggled to get any secondary scoring, but now, McMann is finally giving that depth the organization has sorely missed. The one area that has hampered him over his career is his ability to stay healthy and he has already missed over a half dozen games with an undisclosed injury. However, since getting back in the line-up ten games ago in mid-December he is averaging a point per game with six goals and ten points in that time frame.
Signed for one more season after this year, McMann carries a cap hit of just $1.35 million and has quickly become a very valuable piece to the organization.