Before I get into the glory that took place over the weekend, I am happy to announce that I have a brand spanking new (blue) Maple Leafs jersey thanks to my wife. It’s blank, waiting for one of Matthews, Nylander or Marner to win my heart. Don’t tell the boys, but I think Matthews has already greased my wheel.

Hopefully all of my Leafs Nation readers and friends were able to catch some of the Rookie Tournament that took place in London, Ontario over the weekend. Each game was exciting and kept you on the edge of your seat as Toronto edged each of their opponents by just a single goal.

A quick recap:

Leafs vs Sens – 2-1 (OT)
Leafs vs Habs – 4-3
Leafs vs Pens – 5-4 (OT)

The only thing missing from the rookie tournament for the Maple Leafs was first pick overall Auston Matthews.

Thankfully, he was playing in better competition at the World Cup and looks to be poised for an excellent rookie season. It’s early, but Matthews hitting 50 points in his first season of NHL hockey seems quite possible. Starting as the 13th forward for team North America, he’s now playing wing with on McDavid’s line, need I say more?

The rookies just won three games straight and did it without their best rookie in Matthews. No major injuries took place, but a lot of progress was shown by a variety of different prospects. A few prospects I mentioned to keep an eye on excelled in the rookie tournament, chipping in goals or assists, but notably playing quality two way hockey.

Marner, who only had one assists in two games for the Leafs played a phenomenal two way game, it seems as if he is working very hard at improving his 200 foot game. You know this is something that Babcock is pushing his young forwards to work on, as he knows they can put the puck in the net. Marner especially is known for his production and creativity on the ice, so being able to help out his defensemen, and have a quality outlet from the defensive zone is a key to success at the NHL level.

Keefe who is the Marlies coach thoroughly enjoyed coaching Marner for the two games he played for the rookies over the weekend. He may not get another chance to coach the youngster as he’s either going back to London or staying up with the big club come October. Marner’s preseason performance will be a huge factor in the decision for Maple Leafs management team. This was a good start for Mitch as he knows the higher ups are keeping an eye on him, and especially Hunter who was responsible for drafting him last summer. Both Keefe and Hunter were pleased with Marner’s performance in the two games he played for the young Buds.

“At different times, there were really, really elite plays that he made,” Keefe noted. “You think there’s nothing there and he finds a way to make a play. It really gets your attention in the rink, on both benches and certainly with the fans. More importantly, he worked really hard, he played fast and kept his shifts short. He was positive on the bench. We used him in all different situations. I thought he dealt with everything well.”

It’s great they used Marner in so many situations and all of the feedback is positive, but we all know Mitch wanted to bury a goal! He’s a scoring machine, so you know that should keep him hungry for a productive pre-season.
How about Jeremy Bracco?

Ohhh baby, I love when a good prospect ripens into a high quality prospect, poof right before your eyes. It’s a thing of beauty is what it is. It may take some more time for Bracco to fully develop and get a chance with the big club, but some huge strides have been made from the start of last season, to where Jeremy is now with his game.

The Leafs overcame a three to nothing score versus the young Penguins and Bracco was a stand out in my eyes. Toronto was resting/sitting a few of the young guns in Marner, Smith, Lindberg, Moore and Timashov, and that’s when Bracco turned it up a notch. Bracco buried two goals for the Maple Leafs rookies including the game winner (3 on 3) in overtime.

Bracco really was a man in the spotlight at camp, getting stiches on his face, scoring goals, getting an assist and impressing all of his coaching staff and teammates. One thing that made me chuckle was Bracco saying to the media that he’s never been stitched up on his face and muttered, “I don’t know if my mom will like it.”

Gotta love it, bleeding, living the dream playing hockey and still thinking about what mom is going to think.

Bracco and other teammates praised Barb Underhill, and how training with her has increased their skating skills and flow. When you get to this level of hockey, any little bit of information or technique that you can improve, is worth it. Every player coming up is so good these days, any jump, step or hurdle you can get in front of before someone else could be making or breaking that play, let alone your ride into the NHL.

These guys are primed and prepared for whatever’s next in the hockey world.

It’s great to see such competitive and skilled players working hard to impress the Toronto brass. Today the Leafs management team is discussing who is coming to the main camp, which starts this Thursday. I hope you are ready for the ride, here we go.

Thanks for reading; I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and some hockey as well!

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