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Impressing At Rookie Tournament A Necessary First Step For Marner

August 27, 2016, 6:47 PM ET [167 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
While 2016 top overall pick Auston Matthews will be matching up against the likes of Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and Anze Kopitar at the World Cup of Hockey in Toronto next month, the bulk of Toronto Maple Leafs prospects will be trying to impress management with their skills at the annual Rookie Tournament in London, Ontario.

The three-day tournament from September 16 – 18 will be important for first-year pros Travis Dermott, Andrew Nielsen, Andreas Johnson and Dmytro Timashov in establishing a baseline to determine how far they are from being handling the rigors of the NHL, but the stakes are even higher for 19-year-old Mitch Marner.

Last September, the 2015 fourth overall pick was not dominating against stronger and more experienced players and took some time to adjust. That was pretty much the story for Marner during the pre-season, who went scoreless and was sent back to the OHL's London Knights halfway through the exhibition schedule.





Coming off a year in which the speedy winger played well for Canada at the 2016 IIHF World Junior in Helsinki, won the Memorial Cup with the Knights and every attainable most valuable player award, the expectation is for Marner to stand out during his second training camp and make the Leafs opening night roster.

For that to be the case, an impressive showing at Budweiser Gardens would be getting off on the right foot.

The challenge that Marner is facing is similar to what fellow Knights alum Nazem Kadri faced six years ago, entering his second training camp.

Kadri made what some observers thought was a legitimate case of making the Leafs with an impressive training camp in his draft year, but GM Brian Burke and head coach Ron Wilson decided that the 18-year-old center needed to round out his game and sent him back to the OHL.

The following September, after scoring 93 points with the Knights and 27 points during the OHL Playoffs, Kadri was eager to make his case for cracking the NHL lineup.

At the 2010 Rookie Tournament, the 19-year-old still showed a lot of flaws in his game, taking needless penalties and exercising bad judgment by making high-risk offensive plays. After a subpar pre-season, Kadri was sent to the AHL and spent the majority of the next two seasons with the Toronto Marlies.

Learning the ropes in the AHL is not an option available to Toronto with Marner (since he does not turn 20 until next May), which makes his performance in London three weeks from now even more critical.

If the 19-year-old stands out and shows off his remarkable passing ability and offensive skills, that will be the first indicator that Marner could stick with Toronto past the magic nine-game mark.

If that is not the case, it will put more pressure on the youngster to stand out during the exhibition schedule and be a Leaf on October 12th when the regular season begins in Kanata, ON against the Senators.

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