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Mike Babcock Prospect Camp Media Address:
Leafs prospects working with Darryl Belfry:
Smile for both cameras. #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/wtpUZf7YET
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 8, 2015
William Nylander Shooting Practice
William Nylander (@snizzbone) uses the crossbar for some target practice outside at prospect camp. #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/EhJftyfDyn
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 8, 2015
Wednesday Links:
- Todd Cordell: On Kasperi Kapanen And How The World Juniors Shaped The Perception Of Him (toddcordell.com)
Few prospects have been talked about as often as Kasperi Kapanen since he was acquired by Toronto – perhaps as the key piece – in a blockbuster trade that landed Pittsburgh all-star winger Phil Kessel. Kapanen’s name has been dragged through the mud quite a bit over the last little while and there’s this running narrative that he’s a regressing prospect, which is simply not true.
I - Jonas Siegel: The sneaky, rising Maple Leafs prospect (TSN.ca)
Unlike the Leafs’ top Swedish prospect William Nylander, a shifty, puck-holding creator, Johnson describes himself as a finisher, a shooter who finished third amongst all Swedish League players, with 153 shots last season.
I - Chris Lund: Babcock on day two of Prospect Camp (MapleLeafs.com)
On Kapanen: Right now he’s just a kid, he played in the American League as a kid last year. I’m a big believer that you shouldn’t rush these guys, you should give them an opportunity to get their confidence and if you’re a scorer just score before you move to the next level. He’s got to develop his body, but obviously he has a skillset that’s elite. He’s bigger than I expected, he’s got a lot of work to do on his body but he’s got the talent base that’s going to lead him to, I believe, being a top-six forward in the NHL one day — at least that’s his skillset. Now, what’s his determination? What’s his work ethic off the ice? We’re going to find all of these things out over time just like you guys are.
I - Chris Lund: Dubas on Prospect Camp (MapleLeafs.com)
On Kapanen: We saw him in the rookie tournament, we saw him at the World Juniors, we’ve seen him a lot. We saw him in Wilkes-Barre. I get a kick out of when people call him small. He’s not a 5-foot-9 guy even though that’s what people would report. He’s a 6-foot kid who’s going to put a lot of weight on, he’s got great explosiveness, great skill level, works hard at both ends of the ice. Like I said last week when we stood here, we wouldn’t have done the deal without him and we’re really excited about him.
I - Mike Brophy: Maple Leafs dedicated to patience with young talent (MapleLeafs.com)
“They know what to do and how to make a player better,” Marner said. “Mike has coached a lot of excellent talent in Detroit, guys like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, and whatever he does with me, I’ll be happy to do it. I just want to get better and make sure when I come to this league that I’m ready to play my best.”
I - Anthony Petrielli: State of the Toronto Maple Leafs: Part 1 – The Draft (MLHS)
The Leafs strategy was simple, and we’re going to explore it by the numbers right now: Draft productive players, regardless of size or the knocks against them (effort, consistency, etc.), and then develop.
I - Quinn MacKeen: Phil In The Pits (MLHS)
Let’s set the arguments about Phil aside. Because while there can always be debate about any one individual player, I don’t think there’s a single fan left in Toronto who doesn’t think our hockey media has a problem. It’s not just that they’re bad hockey minds. And that they don’t understand or respect real Leaf history. It’s that mostly – and I really mean that – mostly, they just seem to want to tear people down.
I - Domenic Galamini: Maple Leafs Sign Shawn Matthias: Modern Stats-Focused Breakdown (MLHS)
Options among the team’s center depth now feature the likes of Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak (for now), Mark Arcobello, Shawn Matthias*, Peter Holland and Nick Spaling. While sporting mediocre possession numbers, Matthias found the back of the net 16 times last season at even strength which was good enough to rank 1st among Vancouver Canucks skaters and 38th league-wide. Here is how he has scored at 5v5 relative to his teammates throughout his career.
I - Mike Brophy: Gauthier determined to make Maple Leafs roster (NHL.com)
“With Frederik, he’s been on two Team Canadas, he has been to the Memorial Cup, he has won a (Quebec League) championship,” Maple Leafs assistant general manager Kyle Dubas said. “He’s a guy that coaches really like. They play him a lot and use him on every defensive-zone faceoff. For every important faceoff he is on the ice. He’s the guy you go and watch and you may not find him as visually appeasing as you would a high-end skilled guy like Nylander, Kapanen or Marner, but boy, he is extremely effective.”
I - Michael Traikos: Leafs have added to their prospect pool: William Nylander, Mitch Marner and other players to watch (National Post)
“You look at the depth of the pool, especially at forward, it’s a very, very deep pool of prospects with high-end skill,” said Leafs interim general manager Kyle Dubas. “So we’re happy with that. We realize we have to make some improvements on D and that’s what we’ll continue to do as we move on here. But we’re happy with where the prospects pool is at forward.
