As important as the future success of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander is to the Toronto Maple Leafs, they will need some of their lower picks from recent drafts to achieve a level of success for the club to become a contender.
In a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens at the Rookie Tournament in London, ON on Saturday, four prospects selected at the 2015 Draft made favorable impressions.
Wingers Martins Dzierkals and Nikita Korostelev registered two assists on goals from defenseman Keaton Middleton and Tony Cameranesi, while the defensive duo of Travis Dermott and Andrew Nielsen impressed with their steady play and poise and tallied the game-winning goal late in the third.
Largely an unknown prior to being selected in the 3rd round by Toronto in Sunrise, FL in June 2015, Dzierkals (who played in the QMJHL for Rouyn-Noranda) was the best Leafs forward on the night, showing speed and the ability to create offensive opportunities, while also keeping the Montreal blueline on their toes with a couple solid hits on the forecheck.
“My first North American season was good, I was real happy that I played in the CHL.” Dzierkals said after the game. “It’s a great experience because the CHL is a step (below) the NHL and one day I want to make the NHL.
The Leafs squandered a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes, as Habs forward Michael McCarron scored a pair of power play goals to tie the game, but Nielsen’s shot along the boards got past Montreal goaltender Zach Fucale with 1:36 remaining in regulation to give Toronto their second win of the weekend.
Highlight of the night for Antoine Bibeau, who allowed three goals, but refused to get pushed around by Montreal rookie Will Bitten
Dermott and Nielsen have become friends after being selected in the second and third round in 2015 and are admittedly cut from the same cloth.
Both put up good offensive numbers in their final year of junior (Nielsen with Lethbridge of the WHL, Dermott with OHL’s Erie Otters) and got a taste of the American Hockey League at the end of last season, but know that they have to mature mentally and physically if they are going to make the jump to the NHL.
“Playing those four or five games with the Marlies at the end of the year, I really saw how big (the players) you are playing against.” Nielsen said. “I went to back to Red Deer this summer and got stronger and bigger, but tried to maintain my speed.”
Dermott was caught out of position on McCarron’s tying power play goal, but otherwise put forth a solid performance. Nielsen seemed to be concentrating on making the right decisions in his own end and not making mistakes.
Last season, defenseman Rinat Valiev appeared to be more conservative in his own end as a first-year pro and did not start to take more forays into the offensive zone until later in the season. Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe says that he wants Dermott and Nielsen to be responsible but not at the cost of their offensive instincts.
“There is 200 feet of ice they’ve got to worry about, you really (don’t) want them to focus on one area or the other.” Keefe said on Friday. “It’s learning how to be effective in all areas of the game. (Dermott and Nielsen) are both guys that have shown the ability to produce offensively, but they are defensemen and they have responsibilities that come with that.”
*******
Notes
- Toronto plays Pittsburgh in the final game of the tournament on Sunday afternoon. After playing in both night games vs. Ottawa and Montreal, it is likely that Mitch Marner will not play against the Penguins at Budwieser Gardens.
- Of the 31 players who traveled to London, the only Leaf to not play in the first two games was free agent Tyler Wong, who was a teammate of Nielsen with Lethbridge and played well at the rookie development camp in July.
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or Follow @mikeinbuffalo on Twitter
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information click here.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»