Marlies on a Run: Shedding Light on Future Leafs

If you haven’t been to Ricoh Coliseum to catch a Toronto Marlies game, Its not to late. Fresh off sweeping The Heat in their own building they have earned themselves a birth Calder Cup Conference finals. The Marlies seem to be playing with a drive that says to Leaf Nation “stand up and take note, were bringing you PLAYOFF HOCKEY”.

In a city that has had its fair share playoff drought the Marlies are serving you at least a light beer to help quench your thirst. You know, its not quite the real thing but its pretty close and the more you have of it the more your want. This brings me to my next point; there is talent on this team and you will see several of these Marlies players don the Maple Leaf sweater in the not so distant future.

Now before you go crazy and say that this is nothing like NHL Playoff hockey, your right and I agree. However the best part about a league of guys who will mostly never see lengthy NHL careers, is that when someone in this league has talent, it easier to pick them out and man, is their skill fun to watch.

Anyone interested in watching Jake Gardiner break out of his own zone with grace and ease? Walk the offensive line and have 2 opposing players collaps on him just so he can’t completely dominate in one-on-one coverage? I can only imagine how much Gardiner would have dominate this league if he spent a full season in the minors. Gardiner has done a an amazing job in the playoff games I have taken in giving the Marlies transition game a shot in the arm. After seeing this team play several forwards on the point during the powerplay throughout the regular season they look dangerous and structured with Gardiner manning the point the entire 2 minutes. Just a pure talent to watch, he must be loving the extra time and space the AHL provides.

Holzer will play shutdown in the NHL mark those words, he’s tough, positionally sound to go with a good reach and he’s physical, not overly tough but can certainly hold his own and lean the way he needs too. Tough to say more about him, he’s hard to notice at times buts that because he’s not out of position much, Aulie became expendable because of Holzer’s development.

I can’t sit here and tell you Jerry D’amigo is gonna be a full time NHLer, if I could, I wouldn’t be sitting here writing a blog. He has been a leader these playoffs and really taken his game to another level. I know its a steep comparison but D’amigo is starting to remind me a little of Marty St.Louis. His speed and authority going to the net have been driven up gear and looks like he can dominate the competition in the AHL when he desires. He posses and heavy shot and is getting it to the net in good scoring positions, and thus has been rewarded with 6 G, 9 Pts and a +10 in 8 games this season. I’ve seen Jerry up close and he’s certainly not the biggest man, but he has a low center of gravity and thick shoulders. Those assets bode well for him furthering his career, If he can keep his speed up while he continues to get stronger I think he could take a regular shift in the NHL sooner than later. Not to mention he’s proving he can step up when it matters, remember why he signed for 1st round money? Because he scored 7G, 12 Pts in 7 World Jr Championship games after he was picked in the 6th round. Lets hope he carries this over to the conference finals and training camp in September.

What can we say about Nazem Kadri that hasn’t already been said by everyone with access to a media outlet. I don’t care if you love him or hate him, his skill is very clear and he’s learning to harness it, all the while being damn fun to watch. He seems to disregard his body in the mold of Grabovski and makes moves to finish plays regardless of the outcome. Their have been whispers that Kadri will be a regular under Randy Carlyle next season, he will be given every chance to succeed with the new coach, something Wilson seemed to have little patients for. There are nights as recently as the this second round that Kadri has been clear and away the best forward on the ice. I don’t know why I’ve never heard it before, but Kadri reminds me of Patick Kane the way he slips checks but with slightly lesser hands (and less blood alcohol level). I want Kadri to succeed because his skill says he should, the pieces have to fall into place soon or I truly believe he will be trade bait next year. Going into maybe the most important offseason of his career, he is doing his best to put it off with a very solid Calder Cup run.

I feel really bad Carter Ashton, gets a extended call up with the Leafs goes goalless and then in a move to end the season on a high note he is slated for top 6 minutes with the Marlies again and only manages 2 playoff games before suffering a concussion. Brutal luck for Ashton but he’s back next year so lets hope he’s good for camp.

This is one is not fun to be writing about but what has happened to Joe Colborne? I started writing this blog before it came out that he was scratched with a real troublesome cut on his hand that has required freezing and multiple stitch jobs. Something has to be up other than this cut, his second half drop off is becoming hard to explain and I feel like we wont be hearing much else until the season is over. He doesn’t look right, injury or not, thats all I know because its what I see.

I mention the injury situation amid the Marlies success because when publications like The Hockey News have Colborne and Ashton at 18 and 37 respectively in their Future Watch rankings its exciting that this young team is getting it done WITHOUT them. This Calder run highlights the depth in young talent that this team has and gives some credit to our current management regime who are on a course to finally build from within.

Instead of the Leafs letting Dallas Eakins speak with other clubs this offseason they should just make Carlyle show him the ropes as an assistant coach. Give Randy 2 others of his choice but an assistant coach with extensive knowledge of the farm team could never be a bad thing. Reports of Eakins being an exceptional communicator shouldn’t go over looked, staying the course and maintaining the relationships he has built up is a win/win for the entire organization going forward. Do we want to be the Habs?  A team with no Coach and 2 former prime candidates (Guy Boucher & Kirk Muller) working for other teams? I think not. Eakins’ deserves close to head coach money to help finish what he started with the Marlies, but on the big club.

You sprinkle in some leadership from the likes of Mike Zigomanis, a physical scoring presence in Matt Farttin (5G, 7Pts in 8 GP) and extremely good netminding from Ben Scrivens (7-1 with .944 Sv% 1.61 GAA). The Marlies are the whole package, they are rolling 4 lines and growing the experience of the Leafs organizations with every game they play in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Do yourself a favor and get out to a Marlies game, there is a lot to be learned about where the Leafs are heading.

Thanks for Reading.

@AndyLevang

thehockeyuniverse@gmail.com

 

Everyday I’m shuffling: Breaking down the Leafs lineup options

With Grabovski and MacAuthur going down last night against the Coyotes the Maple Leafs start to look thin in the top 6. Tim Connelly looks like he’s ready to return for the Nashville game on Thursday so it looks as though he will draw into Grabovski’s spot and Bozak will continue to center his BFF’s line.

The Easy Call:

Lupul-Bozak-Kessel

Frattin-Connolly-Kulemin

Brown-Lombardi-Steckel

Callup-Dupuis-Crabb

Maybe Frattin can actually burry one of his many chances if he finds himself on a line with Connolly, He just better be ready to shoot, that puck might appear on stick when he least expects it, Connolly is shifty. It appears the Leafs are undecided about a call up yet, Burke Stated on the Fan590 morning show he doesn’t like putting call ups into the line up unless their 100% healthy. I would tend to agree, might as well give them the best chance of success. Wilson Stated post practice that he will dress 7 D-men thursday (@Nashville), that gives Joe Colborne a chance to get in a game Friday night with the Marlies before a potential call up. It will be interesting to see if Jake Gardiner gets any shifts at forward on thursday, its where he played until sometime in high school. Kadri deserves a shot at the Top 6 with 2 guys going down and Frattin’s lack of production with his ample opportunities. Heres how I think Saturday night Vs Capitals should look.

Give the People what they want:

Lupul-Connolly-Kessel

Kadri-Colborne-Kulemin

Frattin-Bozak-Lombardi

Brown-Steckel-Crabb

You have 3 lines that have the potential to generate offense, as bad as the Goalies have been since Reimer went down the team isn’t scoring enough, Kadri & Colborne could help with that and Kulemin keeps them honest. I would be interested to see what those kids can do if they develop some chemistry, both offensively   gifted. I would even consider an in game swap of Connolly and Colborne, why not? It’s what the kid is being groomed for, right?

Bozak and Connolly are pretty close in Face-off % (50.2% & 48.1% respectively) I would expect Connolly to get better on the dot with more games played, his last 5 games he averaged 52.8%, which would be higher without a 29.4% blip against The Sens on Oct 30th. So hopefully that allows Lupul and Kessel to keep up their strong possession play going when rushing in with speed. They looked fine with Connolly earlier this year.

Although I haven’t been thrilled with Lombardi on the wing this year (IMO he should sit a game and do some thinking when some bodies return) I don’t see Bozak faring any better on the wall and a second option in the face-off circle is good on a 3rd line. Frattin finishes checks and this line should be able to put pressure on and work against other teams top guys.

Any line with Mike Brown is great, although Kessel has been the team’s clear cut best this year, Brown has played his role perfectly, guy never takes a shift off and should round out a solid 4th line with Stecks and Crabb.. Never see them not checking hard and making life difficult for others.

Note* Grabovski or MacAuthur with need to go on IR for second line up to fly.

As always, Comments feedback, banter always welcome

E-mail: thehockeyuniverse@gmail.com

Twitter: @AndyLevang