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Corey Pronman with more high praise of the Leafs’ prospect pool, Mark Hunter and Jacques Lemaire interviews from the past couple days, and more in today’s link roundup.


Tuesday Links:

  • Corey Pronman: Marner, Nylander an elite 1-2 prospect punch for Maple Leafs (ESPN)
    Both Mitch Marner and William Nylander will get looks at camp. If you’d asked me a few months ago, I’d have said I expected Marner to go down for a season to the OHL, but after how dominant he was at the Canadian under-20 camp — where his strength seems to have gotten better — he could be a candidate to stick.
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  • MLHS: Mark Hunter on Mitch Marner: “He’s a player that can push in training camp here” (Audio+Transcript)
    He’s high-end skill. I saw him out at the U20s in Calgary, and the way he put a show on the one game. He’s very creative. He’s a guy — I always sum up Mitch Marner as a hockey player – he makes other people better.
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  • MLHS: Jacques Lemaire on role with the Toronto Maple Leafs: “The thing you have to do is respect the coach” (Audio+Transcript)
    Lemaire: First of all, Mike is the head coach and will make all decisions about how the team plays and who is going to go on the ice, who is going to play on the powerplay. My role is, first of all, I will be watching all the games and giving him my input on the players on everything that goes on, just so that he gets more information. I worked like that in the past with people and it works well. It just gives you another idea, another different opinion on people, and, like I said, all the decisions will come from Mike.
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  • Adam Gretz: Mike Babcock won’t save Maple Leafs in Year 1, and that’s just fine (CBS Sports)
    As those players develop, start to make an impact and reach a point where the team is ready to compete for a playoff spot a couple of years down the line, the Maple Leafs will already have their coach in place. It’s the type of advantage a team like Toronto has over most of the other teams in the league. They have the deep pockets to pounce on a coach like Babcock on the rare occasion that he becomes available and pay him $50 million over eight years.
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  • Charlotte’s Webster: Top 25 Under 25: #19 Frederik Gauthier (PPP)
    From a (basic) statistical point of view, Gauthier’s progression has been troubling. His offense has never really developed past the scoring rate he posted in his draft year, as he’s hovered slightly below 1 point per game in each of the past two seasons (both of which have been cut short by injury). As such, it’s no surprise that a list of comparable players with similar statistical resumes to his is very mediocre.
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  • Kyle Cicerella: Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul, excited for fresh start under Mike Babcock (Kyle The Reporter)
    Lupul, who was training with skating consultant Barb Underhill at the Leafs practice facility in early August, is optimistic about what Babcock adds to the organization and believes his presence alone will bring positive change after such a long and grueling season in Toronto.