Post by Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec 16, 2021 9:56:50 GMT -6
When the drafted ended there was a quiet confidence in the Toronto Maples Leafs dressing room that hadn’t been seen in decades. Not since the age of Doug Gilour and Mats Sundin have the Leafs had a one, two center punch like they have today in the PFHL. There is solid depth on the wings with the likes of Nikolaj Ehlers, Nino Niederreiter, and Ryan Strome, with up and comer’s like Michael Bunting and the emerging Andrew Mangiapane establishing themselves in the top 6 the team has another core component that hasn’t been seen in decades… Balance. Each player that has played more than one game has already contributed at least a point with many players in the bottom six chipping in quite regularly to start the season.
When this line up goes out on a nightly basis every player up front seems to be slotted into a position that they can handle, contribute in and provides them an opportunity to succeed. This is turn has led to some early team success. The “buds” after 8 games are tied at the top of the league standings with 12 points and are sporting a very promising 6-2-0 record out of the gate. Home and road splits are the same both at 3-1 and after each loss this season the team has come back with a solid structured victory against a tough opponent. Last nights 4-2 victory against a strong Detroit team was impressive for a number of reasons. Firstly it was only the second game of the season in which superstar Leon Draisaitl was held pointless. He is amongst the league leaders in goals and points keeping him off the scoresheet is a accomplishment even early in the season, doing so with your back up goaltender starting the game is even a nice accomplishment. The giant Finn Mikko Koskinen has shown himself to be a strong back up and an excellent back up this season going 2-1 early with a .915 Sv% and a 2.33 GAA. Koskinen provides another piece that the Leafs traditionally lack in terms of roster make up, an effective and competent back up to an elite starter.
Of course successful goalies are directly related to successful team defense and Barry Trotz has implemented a solid foundation that this team is building on daily. Currently 7th in the league in goals against at 19, this team is stifling opponents on a nightly basis. 7th is a bit misleading as they have played 8 games while everyone with few goals against have played either 6 or 7 games. Leading the way on the blue line is an impressive top pair that is able to transition the puck well, contribute offensively and manage a shut down role. Rielly and Pesce have been very strong in the early going both averaging over 21 minutes per game. The second pairing of Zub and Edler was thought to be more of a shut down pairing but they to have shown the ability to chip in offensively with Edler at 5 points in his first 9 games tied to tops on the team’s blueline. Young player Jake Bean has chipped in a couple of goals early as well while learning what it takes to compete every night paired up with a young Brad Menell on the 3rd pairing.
Up front Trotz has been rolling out a pretty consistent set of lines to start the season
1A- Nik Ehlers Elias Pettersson Andrew Mangiapane
1B Michael Bunting Nick Backstrom Ryan Strome
3 JT Co![]()
mpher Alex Kerfoot Nino Niederreiter
4 Pierre Engvall Carl Soderberg Josh Archibald
Group 1A has provided 6 goals and 21 points through the first 8 games. Mang provides the forecheck and retrieval skills while Pettersson and Ehlers are both lethal set up men. This group plays a lot of minutes and have to take care of their own zone first. Once that happens Trotz is letting them be creative in the offensive zone and they are making the most of the opportunity.
Group 1B have contributed 7 goals and 20 points through the first 8 games. With the experienced Backstrom leading this line he has dragged Strome and Bunting traditionally underachiever’s up to his level and the team has surely benefited from that. Bunting has been unluck with his 4.55% shooting percentage which should improve as the season rolls along. If this group is able to maintain their current pace the team will be in great shape offensively.
Group 3 has contributed 5 goals and 9 points which is solid for a team that gets hard defensive match ups. This group can be put out in any situation and even if they don’t score they are often the line that turns the momentum. This group gets a lot of defensive zone starts and are charged with ending in the offensive zone. They are hard to play against and have been chipping in nicely along the way early.
Group 4 don’t get a ton of minutes but they are really charged with keeping the puck out of their own net. They are asked to play a physical game without taking penalties and winning a few key draws. Soderberg has been the top faceoff man for this team and knows his role on the ice and contributes on the PK. This group has only mustered 1 goal and 4 points between them but are doing everything the coaching staff has asked.
Overall the pro roster is competitive and has a good blend of youth and experience that are buying into to Trotz’s defense first system. Down on the farm it is a bit of a different story with just one win in their first 7 games. It was to be expected though with the youth and inexperienced group that was sent down. What we are pleased about is the development of a couple of players particularly Timothy Liljergren who is showing that his development is really starting to take off. Next year the farm should have a big influx of players with Fedor Svechkov, Marco Rossi, Matthew Coronato, and Rodion Amirov joining the ranks and starting to build that next wave of talent that could make this organization sustainable through the next decade of the PFHL.
When this line up goes out on a nightly basis every player up front seems to be slotted into a position that they can handle, contribute in and provides them an opportunity to succeed. This is turn has led to some early team success. The “buds” after 8 games are tied at the top of the league standings with 12 points and are sporting a very promising 6-2-0 record out of the gate. Home and road splits are the same both at 3-1 and after each loss this season the team has come back with a solid structured victory against a tough opponent. Last nights 4-2 victory against a strong Detroit team was impressive for a number of reasons. Firstly it was only the second game of the season in which superstar Leon Draisaitl was held pointless. He is amongst the league leaders in goals and points keeping him off the scoresheet is a accomplishment even early in the season, doing so with your back up goaltender starting the game is even a nice accomplishment. The giant Finn Mikko Koskinen has shown himself to be a strong back up and an excellent back up this season going 2-1 early with a .915 Sv% and a 2.33 GAA. Koskinen provides another piece that the Leafs traditionally lack in terms of roster make up, an effective and competent back up to an elite starter.
Of course successful goalies are directly related to successful team defense and Barry Trotz has implemented a solid foundation that this team is building on daily. Currently 7th in the league in goals against at 19, this team is stifling opponents on a nightly basis. 7th is a bit misleading as they have played 8 games while everyone with few goals against have played either 6 or 7 games. Leading the way on the blue line is an impressive top pair that is able to transition the puck well, contribute offensively and manage a shut down role. Rielly and Pesce have been very strong in the early going both averaging over 21 minutes per game. The second pairing of Zub and Edler was thought to be more of a shut down pairing but they to have shown the ability to chip in offensively with Edler at 5 points in his first 9 games tied to tops on the team’s blueline. Young player Jake Bean has chipped in a couple of goals early as well while learning what it takes to compete every night paired up with a young Brad Menell on the 3rd pairing.
Up front Trotz has been rolling out a pretty consistent set of lines to start the season
1A- Nik Ehlers Elias Pettersson Andrew Mangiapane
1B Michael Bunting Nick Backstrom Ryan Strome
3 JT Co
4 Pierre Engvall Carl Soderberg Josh Archibald
Group 1A has provided 6 goals and 21 points through the first 8 games. Mang provides the forecheck and retrieval skills while Pettersson and Ehlers are both lethal set up men. This group plays a lot of minutes and have to take care of their own zone first. Once that happens Trotz is letting them be creative in the offensive zone and they are making the most of the opportunity.
Group 1B have contributed 7 goals and 20 points through the first 8 games. With the experienced Backstrom leading this line he has dragged Strome and Bunting traditionally underachiever’s up to his level and the team has surely benefited from that. Bunting has been unluck with his 4.55% shooting percentage which should improve as the season rolls along. If this group is able to maintain their current pace the team will be in great shape offensively.
Group 3 has contributed 5 goals and 9 points which is solid for a team that gets hard defensive match ups. This group can be put out in any situation and even if they don’t score they are often the line that turns the momentum. This group gets a lot of defensive zone starts and are charged with ending in the offensive zone. They are hard to play against and have been chipping in nicely along the way early.
Group 4 don’t get a ton of minutes but they are really charged with keeping the puck out of their own net. They are asked to play a physical game without taking penalties and winning a few key draws. Soderberg has been the top faceoff man for this team and knows his role on the ice and contributes on the PK. This group has only mustered 1 goal and 4 points between them but are doing everything the coaching staff has asked.
Overall the pro roster is competitive and has a good blend of youth and experience that are buying into to Trotz’s defense first system. Down on the farm it is a bit of a different story with just one win in their first 7 games. It was to be expected though with the youth and inexperienced group that was sent down. What we are pleased about is the development of a couple of players particularly Timothy Liljergren who is showing that his development is really starting to take off. Next year the farm should have a big influx of players with Fedor Svechkov, Marco Rossi, Matthew Coronato, and Rodion Amirov joining the ranks and starting to build that next wave of talent that could make this organization sustainable through the next decade of the PFHL.
