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Maple Leafs Training Camp 2024-25 Thread

Toronto Sun: First Maple Leafs camp practice under Craig Berube gets intense early with plenty of contact
The key was a few weeks ago when Pacioretty quietly came to town to go through a medical and state-of-the-art on-ice testing of strength and power that he aced with scores as good as his pre-injury days.
Click to expand...

With test results like that, it is easy to see why they gave him a PTO with an expectation that he'll crack the roster.

Hard to be very sure from the clips of him at practice but Pacioretty didn't look out of place.

Berube had them doing a lot of 1 on 1 puck battles. With so many adding weight, it seems this is a direction they're shifting their style towards.

These could be their left wingers:
Knies 6'3" 227
Pacioretty 6'2" 217
McMann 6'2" 215
Lorentz 6'4 216
Is that enough size and meat?

Ignoring Tanev at 199 because he plays like he's 225 and other possible transactions, these could be the only players on the roster below 200 lbs
Jarnkrok 191
Kampf 193
Marner 180
Oliver Ekman-Larson 192

Wonder what the team speed will be like ..
 
princedpw said:
If Domi is on the wing, playing him with Matthews appears to elevate his value enormously, at no apparent cost to Matthews production, but pushing Marner and Nylander down to other lines whose productivity can be enhanced.  Overall the team gain seems high.

On the other hand Nylander-Domi seems like defensive trainwreck no one could outscore.
Click to expand...

It's worth noting that when Matthews and Domi played together late last season the top line saw it's usage change pretty significantly. Matthews' defensive zone starts dropped about 35% and he stopped playing head to head against the other teams top line as much. And that obviously makes sense: Domi needs more sheltering than Marner or even Nylander would at wing on that line.

So I get why Berube would want to keep Matthews and Marner together right now. It'll allow Nylander to start the season at C with much easier deployment. Maybe once/if Willy gets comfortable and established at C the coaching staff will try new wing pairings then.
 
From yesterday's opening practice:

Knies - Matthews - Marner
Domi - W. Nylander - J?rnkrok
McMann - Tavares - Robertson
Lorentz - K?mpf - Reaves

Rielly - Tanev
Ekman-Larsson - McCabe
Webber - Liljegren

Benoit on paternity leave. I am excited about this lineup and the distribution of talent.
 
https://x.com/markhmasters/status/1837139149888913903
Working on expectations of the details of the centre position; I can't hear or read what he's saying, but body position-wise, it looks like Berube is emphasizing Nylander will need to do the hard stuff: stopping on top of the puck, rather than keeping momentum in a loop to poach for offense

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5780073/2024/09/19/maple-leafs-centre-william-nylander/
 
herman said:
https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1837139149888913903
Working on expectations of the details of the centre position; I can't hear or read what he's saying, but body position-wise, it looks like Berube is emphasizing Nylander will need to do the hard stuff: stopping on top of the puck, rather than keeping momentum in a loop to poach for offense

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5780073/2024/09/19/maple-leafs-centre-william-nylander/
Click to expand...
Nylander is powerful and a beautiful skater I think backchecking/D can be taught. I think this will work.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
princedpw said:
If Domi is on the wing, playing him with Matthews appears to elevate his value enormously, at no apparent cost to Matthews production, but pushing Marner and Nylander down to other lines whose productivity can be enhanced.  Overall the team gain seems high.

On the other hand Nylander-Domi seems like defensive trainwreck no one could outscore.
Click to expand...

It's worth noting that when Matthews and Domi played together late last season the top line saw it's usage change pretty significantly. Matthews' defensive zone starts dropped about 35% and he stopped playing head to head against the other teams top line as much. And that obviously makes sense: Domi needs more sheltering than Marner or even Nylander would at wing on that line.

So I get why Berube would want to keep Matthews and Marner together right now. It'll allow Nylander to start the season at C with much easier deployment. Maybe once/if Willy gets comfortable and established at C the coaching staff will try new wing pairings then.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting insight.  Thanks!
 
L K said:
I'm going to petition that we lower the temperature on the burn Marner at the stake narratives.  Every time someone makes a face or Marner says something in a press conference that isn't 100% what we want to hear.

He's a Leaf right now.  He's easily one of the best in franchise history.  He's either gone within the next 9 months or comes back.  Enjoy him while he's here
Click to expand...

Yup. I'm rooting for Marner big time this year.
 
princedpw said:
L K said:
I'm going to petition that we lower the temperature on the burn Marner at the stake narratives.  Every time someone makes a face or Marner says something in a press conference that isn't 100% what we want to hear.

He's a Leaf right now.  He's easily one of the best in franchise history.  He's either gone within the next 9 months or comes back.  Enjoy him while he's here
Click to expand...

Yup. I'm rooting for Marner big time this year.
Click to expand...
Winning fixes everything.

I wish they would say we want Mitch here and he wants to be here but we've agreed not to discuss an extension until after the season. Whether it's true or not, who cares, just say it and shelf all the unnecessary speculation.
 
cabber24 said:
herman said:
https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1837139149888913903
Working on expectations of the details of the centre position; I can't hear or read what he's saying, but body position-wise, it looks like Berube is emphasizing Nylander will need to do the hard stuff: stopping on top of the puck, rather than keeping momentum in a loop to poach for offense

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5780073/2024/09/19/maple-leafs-centre-william-nylander/
Click to expand...
Nylander is powerful and a beautiful skater I think backchecking/D can be taught. I think this will work.
Click to expand...
His issue isn't backchecking... D zone positioning is def not good. He will have a lot more D responsibilities playing C and I think he can do it. He's a very intelligent hockey player and like you said, D can be taught.
 
Guilt Trip said:
cabber24 said:
Nylander is powerful and a beautiful skater I think backchecking/D can be taught. I think this will work.
Click to expand...
His issue isn't backchecking... D zone positioning is def not good. He will have a lot more D responsibilities playing C and I think he can do it. He's a very intelligent hockey player and like you said, D can be taught.
Click to expand...

A lot of it is the appearance of engagement with the play. He is a very intelligent player, but very obviously lets up when he knows he can't make a difference on a play (vs a 'hard worker' who chases everything and is late anyway); makes him look lazy or lackadaisical. He's also been relied upon as the offensive driver for every line he's ever played on from the time he laced up skates, so there is some wiring there that won't come as naturally as it does for... Kampf (or Minten).

Matthews added the defensive elements in his second/third year; he was similar to Nylander in defensive coverage coming up through the USNTDP and his rookie season. For Matthews it was a matter of stopping up at the right parts of the DZ when tracking back to cover the space and provide an outlet for his defensemen to chain a breakout. He still missed assignments from time to time but they're relatively rare.
[youtube]S_olCHA271s[/youtube]
54:00

This is a great article on Matthews' improvement: https://hockeysarsenal.substack.com/p/auston-matthews-defensive-improvement

Nylander hasn't had nearly as much defensive responsibility being on the wing and on the 2nd line mostly, but the physical skills are there to make this work. Best skater on the team, one of the harder players to take the puck off of in the league, and is elite+ in dangling, shooting, and playmaking. It's just a matter of turning those skills on defensively and working with him to willingly spend the requisite energy up front on making those stops. It feels like it will cost him (personal) offense at first, but in the aggregate, having the puck in his team's hands leads to more offensive opportunity over the long haul (defense leads to offense). We saw glimpses of this last season on the PK; when he was just focusing on getting the puck back or out, a bit of offense sparked from that.
 
[youtube]RoVEB4XwzEQ[/youtube]
These are great (esp Knies --> Matthews towards the back half)
 
herman said:
Guilt Trip said:
cabber24 said:
Nylander is powerful and a beautiful skater I think backchecking/D can be taught. I think this will work.
Click to expand...
His issue isn't backchecking... D zone positioning is def not good. He will have a lot more D responsibilities playing C and I think he can do it. He's a very intelligent hockey player and like you said, D can be taught.
Click to expand...

A lot of it is the appearance of engagement with the play. He is a very intelligent player, but very obviously lets up when he knows he can't make a difference on a play (vs a 'hard worker' who chases everything and is late anyway); makes him look lazy or lackadaisical. He's also been relied upon as the offensive driver for every line he's ever played on from the time he laced up skates, so there is some wiring there that won't come as naturally as it does for... Kampf (or Minten).

Matthews added the defensive elements in his second/third year; he was similar to Nylander in defensive coverage coming up through the USNTDP and his rookie season. For Matthews it was a matter of stopping up at the right parts of the DZ when tracking back to cover the space and provide an outlet for his defensemen to chain a breakout. He still missed assignments from time to time but they're relatively rare.
[youtube]S_olCHA271s[/youtube]
54:00

This is a great article on Matthews' improvement: https://hockeysarsenal.substack.com/p/auston-matthews-defensive-improvement

Nylander hasn't had nearly as much defensive responsibility being on the wing and on the 2nd line mostly, but the physical skills are there to make this work. Best skater on the team, one of the harder players to take the puck off of in the league, and is elite+ in dangling, shooting, and playmaking. It's just a matter of turning those skills on defensively and working with him to willingly spend the requisite energy up front on making those stops. It feels like it will cost him (personal) offense at first, but in the aggregate, having the puck in his team's hands leads to more offensive opportunity over the long haul (defense leads to offense). We saw glimpses of this last season on the PK; when he was just focusing on getting the puck back or out, a bit of offense sparked from that.
Click to expand...

It's a lot easier for Nylander to try this with his long term deal in place.  It was never going to work last season given he was in a contract year...I can see him wanting to take on a new challenge now, and so i hope Chief gives him the rope needed to give it a good go.
 
Frank E said:
herman said:
Guilt Trip said:
cabber24 said:
Nylander is powerful and a beautiful skater I think backchecking/D can be taught. I think this will work.
Click to expand...
His issue isn't backchecking... D zone positioning is def not good. He will have a lot more D responsibilities playing C and I think he can do it. He's a very intelligent hockey player and like you said, D can be taught.
Click to expand...

A lot of it is the appearance of engagement with the play. He is a very intelligent player, but very obviously lets up when he knows he can't make a difference on a play (vs a 'hard worker' who chases everything and is late anyway); makes him look lazy or lackadaisical. He's also been relied upon as the offensive driver for every line he's ever played on from the time he laced up skates, so there is some wiring there that won't come as naturally as it does for... Kampf (or Minten).

Matthews added the defensive elements in his second/third year; he was similar to Nylander in defensive coverage coming up through the USNTDP and his rookie season. For Matthews it was a matter of stopping up at the right parts of the DZ when tracking back to cover the space and provide an outlet for his defensemen to chain a breakout. He still missed assignments from time to time but they're relatively rare.
[youtube]S_olCHA271s[/youtube]

54:00

This is a great article on Matthews' improvement: https://hockeysarsenal.substack.com/p/auston-matthews-defensive-improvement

Nylander hasn't had nearly as much defensive responsibility being on the wing and on the 2nd line mostly, but the physical skills are there to make this work. Best skater on the team, one of the harder players to take the puck off of in the league, and is elite+ in dangling, shooting, and playmaking. It's just a matter of turning those skills on defensively and working with him to willingly spend the requisite energy up front on making those stops. It feels like it will cost him (personal) offense at first, but in the aggregate, having the puck in his team's hands leads to more offensive opportunity over the long haul (defense leads to offense). We saw glimpses of this last season on the PK; when he was just focusing on getting the puck back or out, a bit of offense sparked from that.
Click to expand...

It's a lot easier for Nylander to try this with his long term deal in place.  It was never going to work last season given he was in a contract year...I can see him wanting to take on a new challenge now, and so i hope Chief gives him the rope needed to give it a good go.
Click to expand...


Nylander and Berube had a long talk about doing this over the summer. Nylander got some guidance from Berube on his expectations, etc.

Berube "But it's the details of the defensive part of the game, the breakouts and things like that. That takes a little bit longer."

He has the physical tools. It is down to whether he can do it with what is between his ears and whether they have the patience for him to develop after the season starts. It will probably be fairly bumpy the first 10-20 games.

If he can do it, that would be big. They probably have the other pieces to fill out the lines pretty well.

Other notes:
Lorentz is day to day with an upper body injury. Might be tough for PTO player to overcome.

Berube seemed impressed with Grebenkin
"He's a strong guy. He's a big guy, strong. I was impressed with him today. It was a tough practice but his pace didn't drop off. Big, strong kid. Strong skater. Some real good stuff there. You know I love his size."
https://x.com/nickbarden/status/1837126267373535571

That's the part where it will be tougher for Cowan & Robertson
Between additions and off season training, the team has beefed up.

Berube's Cup winning playoff roster in St. Louis only had a few guys under 200 lbs
 
INJURIES

NHL Roster Hopefuls
Lorentz (upper body) day to day
Hakanpaa (knee) not skating with any group yet
Dewar (recovering from summer shoulder surgery) maybe returns by start of season
Minten (high ankle sprain) "probably talking weeks"

Likely AHL or lower leagues
Clifford (was reported as foot/leg, now reported as upper body)
Danford (concussion) on ice but not in practices
Tverberg (shoulder surgery) not too far from return
Mastrosimone (shoulder)
Bengtsson (groin)
 
As of this morning?s practice, Ryan Tverberg has been cleared to practice and has taken Clifford?s spot in Group 1
 
Working on the new PK system today with Lane Lambert

Woll-Murray shutout team Blue vs Stolarz-Hildeby
Cedric Pare, Matthew Knies & Mitch Marner with goals for team White
 
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