Preseason: Canadiens @ Leafs - Sept. 19th, 7:00pm - SN1

[YYZ]

I would guess you are right about Joshua. And in turn right about Blankenburg. Probably trying to free up a contract slot for him.

 

[herman]

I would guess you are right about Joshua. And in turn right about Blankenburg. Probably trying to free up a contract slot for him.

Koblar going back to Rogle does this too, but I’d like more slots for potential waiver pickups while our pick order is still high.

 

[Bender]

Just watched some highlights. McKenna looks like he's very smart on the puck - feels like he has high hockey IQ. Just needs time to gel with linemates and maybe be more aggressive getting to the inside. Is that fair?

 

[L K]

Just watched some highlights. McKenna looks like he's very smart on the puck - feels like he has high hockey IQ. Just needs time to gel with linemates and maybe be more aggressive getting to the inside. Is that fair?

That's definitely going to be part of his development curve. I think there were a few plays where he had a great set up and his teammates weren't expecting the puck to get there. That will come with chemistry. Where he seemed to struggle a bit was when he was closed off and didn't have the space to evade the defender. That's going to take a season or two to develop

 

[cw]

Missed most of the 1st period. I had both games on. Never tried that before. Can't say I would recommend it.

40% of the roster has changed along with the coaches. They've been together 48 hrs. So the chances of them playing well against a stronger team on paper who only added 1 player with no coaching change are probably slim.
It is going to take close to 20 games before we really know what we have.
On paper, before the game, my rough guess would be they're a bubble team with a number of factors that could swing that one way or the other.

Here are some impressions from what I saw:
Leafs NHL PP: 1 shot in 6 PPs obviously needs time and work. They looked lost. Raddysh's hard shot went in off breaking a stick & a Habs deflection. 2 for 4 in the other game - one by Marlies, one by NHLers
I had no big issues with the PK in either game

Nothing soft was given up by goalies in either game - in my opinion. Hlavaj made a great save in OT.

OEL - 2nd oldest Leafs dman - looked like OEL of last season - which is encouraging.
McCabe-Tanev seemed fine. No issues with what I saw of Raddysh.
I'm with Herman on Blankenburg v Stecher. Only 1 game but intriguing. Blankenburg played the most minutes of any Leaf in either game so the Leafs are sincerely interested. 8 blocked shots - not bad for a small, offensive puck mover. Played PK & PP.
I'm still not sure about Andrae.
Need to see more from all of them.

Matthews looked better than last season. I couldn't conclude he's Matthews of old - need to see more. Timing/rust/new lines/new system, etc was a factor, I'm sure.
McKenna demonstrated the skills folks touted when he was drafted. No question that he has top 6 skills. He seems a little green because he is. His size and strength and decision making obviously need some development/experience. I'm not sure about him on a line with Tavares & Nylander defensively.
Tavares showed some decent speed on a couple of plays - which is a relief to see at his age
Sissons was 90% on 10 faceoffs and a PP goal - saw too little of him and many others.
Cowan looked like Cowan of years past - big circles skating around in the o-zone and getting some chances
Lettieri looked like Calder Cup Lettieri - they gave him lots of ice time and PP time. He'll provide scoring depth if he clears waivers (which he's done many times)

 

[herman]

Just watched some highlights. McKenna looks like he's very smart on the puck - feels like he has high hockey IQ. Just needs time to gel with linemates and maybe be more aggressive getting to the inside. Is that fair?

That's definitely going to be part of his development curve. I think there were a few plays where he had a great set up and his teammates weren't expecting the puck to get there. That will come with chemistry. Where he seemed to struggle a bit was when he was closed off and didn't have the space to evade the defender. That's going to take a season or two to develop

Yes to all of this. McKenna had little trouble controlling pace of play (contrast to Koblar who is bigger and older sort of just following the play, linemate quality notwithstanding).

Inside the slot hockey might not be his game for awhile (took Willy 3+ seasons and several extra months of weight training), but I think he can do it off the rush and dart in on timing plays, rather than taking the puck in himself in the meantime.

If Chayka can swing a deal for a top line RW that is a big body two-way forechecker (the next Sam Reinhart?), things fall into place very nicely. Might cost Knies, or might not.

McKenna-Matthews-UnicornRW
Cowan-Tavares-Nylander
Knies-Paul-Sissons/Roslovic
Etc.

In-house, there are a good number of righties in the system now:
Brandon Buhr has the body and wheels but might not have the processing speed.
Harry Nansi fits the bill but is very raw and more than 2 years away (ELC soon I think).
Miroslav Holinka I really like but more from the middle of the ice than first on the forecheck.

Maybe the coaching staff goes off the board and puts Sissons on the top line.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2100648598010540280

 

[cw]

14:43
Media Question: "Dakota Joshua wasn't in any of these games. Is there an update on him or ?"
Hiller: "Yeah, I don't I don't have anything on him specifically. Um, but yeah, he's he's dealing with something."

 

[cw]

Gavin McKenna Makes His Maple Leafs Debut! EVERY SHIFT

 

[cw]

....
I'm with Herman on Blankenburg v Stecher. Only 1 game but intriguing. Blankenburg played the most minutes of any Leaf in either game so the Leafs are sincerely interested. 8 blocked shots - not bad for a small, offensive puck mover. Played PK & PP.
I'm still not sure about Andrae.
Need to see more from all of them.
...

Half of preseason is over.
We get one more pair of split squad games Wednesday and that is it.

So I reviewed some clips, etc
I lost some intrigue on Blankenburg and improved my outlook on Stecher
Blankenburg was playing with OEL. OEL had the role of crease-clearer (if you will). Blankenburg engaged in a puck battle on the left boards which was lost and then came across in front of OEL to attempt to engage on the right side but not in time. Left me wondering if that was due to his small size - he was sort of roving. Result was a goal against. I thought it was odd.
At start of OT, Blankenburg & OEL were paired with Blueger. They were dominated by Demidov, Slavkovsky & Carrier for nearly 2 mins until Hlavaj stopped the puck and held it.
I also saw some clips of Stecher I didn't mind.

My preference for #6 RD would be more of a stay at home dman to back up OEL or Rielly.
Danford fits that job description better but he's only got 16 pro games and he is waivers exempt. With older dmen more prone to injury, the Leafs are likely to need that waivers exempt depth. Then he's playing in either league - not sitting.

 

[rjd]

I think that the start of the season is going to be rough. If they win early on, it will be because Matthews, Nylander or Bobrovsky had a night. As the season progresses though, I think this team will get better and better as they adjust to the new coach and the new players. They could hit the playoffs on a role, if they make it.