The Leafs are now two games into the preseason and as such everything should all be established from a roster perspective, right?
Okay, no one actually thinks that but with two preseason games down giving looks to everyone in games is no longer a necessity and it is now about moving the Leafs in the direction of putting together the optimal roster. The new practice groups on Wednesday reflect the shift towards finality and there is a notable drop in NHL experience as you move from Group One to Two to Three. As Craig Berube put it: “It’s about time we get our team together, (get some) chemistry.”
Maple Leafs new training camp groups: pic.twitter.com/fT6Y2RjnkJ
— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) September 25, 2024
Ignoring Group Three which seems to exist solely for the rehabilitation of Jani Hakanpaa and Connor Dewar, the reworked Groups One and Two show a clear shift towards a veteran-laden Group One that looks like they would have to play themselves out of jobs vs. a Group Two that will have to hustle their way onto the NHL roster or find themselves Marlies-bound, or in Easton Cowan’s case, returning to the London Knights.
Through the first two games of training camp, the Leafs have used 32 skaters with Jacob Quillan, Nikita Grebenkin, Cowan, and Matthew Knies being the only players to find their way into both games. Notably from Group One, only Steven Lorentz (who was injured) hasn’t found his way into either game, and Mikko Kokkonen, Ryan Tverberg, Nick Abruzzese, and most notably, Topi Niemela highlight the Group 2 players that have yet to participate in a preseason game.
From the Quillan, Grebenkin, and Cowan group, the multiple game looks haven’t allowed them to establish themselves as NHL ready. All three players have shown their promise, but that some warts remain in their games. Given the asset management angle and the waivers exempt status of players like Grebenkin and Quillan, it would be hard to imagine that they wouldn’t be starting in the AHL and the rest of the camp will be more focused on giving them what they need to position themselves as desirable callups and successful Marlies. There should still be an appetite to push Cowan towards the NHL as another year of junior is a far less appealing path for both the team and the player.
As for Knies, it is interesting that so far this preseason that no Leaf has played more hockey than he has and given his two very different assignments in each game, it seems like Berube is quickly trying to understand what he has in the young power forward. It’s a slightly different situation but Knies will still have to establish himself as the right choice on the Matthews line.
Taking a further look at the Group One players who have something to win or lose in the preseason, it certainly looks like Max Pacioretty and Pontus Holmberg are making strong cases for their spot in the lineup. Pacioretty dominating the scoresheet in a “show me” situation during the preseason is more of an expectation than a case for penciling him in for 30 goals. There have been plenty of preseason standouts who fell flat pretty quickly when the games started to count, but Pacioretty’s earning his look.
The same can be said of Holmberg but in a different way. His Tuesday night preseason debut gave a glimpse into a side of Pontus that hasn’t really been tapped into before. He might find himself receiving a call from the Department of Player Safety for his run-in with Ridly Greig, but his willingness to engage there and then fight later in the game shows that he’s ready to embrace the physical side of the game that Berube and Treliving might be calling for. With the rest of game looking solid last season it would take a drastic change to see him fall out of the Leafs roster, which seemed like it could have been a possibility when examining the Leafs depth.
Also on the positive side of Group One is Marshall Rifai. Rifai is likely doing some placeholding for Hakanpaa here but knowing how defensive depth will be tested over an 82 game season, Rifai playing his way up Group One in camp bodes well for his potential to be a frequent call-up for the Leafs in 2024-25.
On the flipside, both Calle Jarnkrok and Ryan Reaves didn’t make strong cases for being able to bring anything special to the Leafs this year and as was the case most of last season, the Leafs were much worse with Reaves on the ice. Jarnkrok is also hurt now, and after an injury plagued 2023-24 campaign, this isn’t ideal for him or the Leafs.
Nick Robertson’s first preseason game came with the Leafs “B” roster and while lower expectations for offence come when you are playing with David Kampf, the fact that Robertson was one of the few Leafs in the lineup that should be able to produce offensively, and he didn’t likely puts him a bit further down the depth chart than he’d like. I’d imagine Craig Berube will get Robertson into the next couple of preseason games to see if there is a fit in other situations.
The Group Two crew might be very clearly placed behind the eight ball in the Leafs training camp but there are still opportunities there. Alex Steeves is an example of a player that continues to live up to what he did in his one game with the Leafs last season. He is still constantly hitting everyone and while his goal was anything but spectacular, he was battling in the offensive zone and got the puck to the net. It isn’t unreasonable to draw Trevor Moore comparisons when looking at him, but for now keep it as style of player comparisons rather than dreaming of 30-goals.
Players like Grebenkin and Cowan may have shown their warts in their game, but given that this is Grebenkin’s first North American camp and Cowan is in a Leafs or bust situation, it’s hard to rule out either from making roster pushes at this point either. Grebenkin’s speed and physical play, and Cowan’s agitating style both offer something of value while the Leafs wait to see if their offence arrives and ensure their lack of defensive acumen doesn’t hinder the team too much.
Philippe Myers and Roni Hirvonen are a couple of other Group Two-ers who seem to have earned further looks in the preseason, Nicolas Mattinen has established himself as a project and Alex Nylander found himself in a similar situation to Robertson and failed to deliver on offence on Tuesday when playing with the “B” team. A further look will occur there but it wasn’t a strong start.
It is painful to define players based on a few weeks of practices and a handful of preseason games. Taking a look so early and seeing the restructuring of the groups does emphasize that time won’t be wasted and these opportunities matter. No matter how you feel about Reaves, Lorentz, Jarnkrok, or David Kampf, their bodies of work at the NHL level will still be valued by Hockey Operations Departments more than some good shifts from Alex Steeves and you can’t really blame Berube for spelling it out clearly while also putting the group that is likely to stick together in sessions together as soon as possible.
With preseason games on Thursday and Saturday before a break until next Thursday, it is likely that there will still be plenty of opportunities for the Group Two crew before they are impacted by cuts. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a number of them get a look on Thursday to see who might be earning an extra look on the weekend.
