Sheldon Keefe Post Game Comments: Leafs Rookies 4 vs. Canadiens Rookies 3

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Overall impressions of the game:

Sheldon Keefe: We were happy with the result. More importantly, I thought we did a lot of good things; a lot of things we wanted to do structurally in terms of the system. Guys were better today than they were yesterday; both those who played last night and the guys who were watching last night. Our team effort, in terms of what we wanted to see, was better structurally. When we did that, we were really good in different parts of the game. It’s not going to be perfect this time of year – certainly you know it – but it’s good to see more of what we wanted to look like. The players rose to the level. It was a much faster and more competitive game today than it was yesterday, so the players had to elevate a little bit. That’s even more of a challenge for the guys who didn’t play last night.

The second and third period seemed to be polar opposites of each other. How did you see it from the bench?

Keefe: I’d have to watch that back. Obviously, the penalty kills – where they did the damage – if we don’t take those penalties it’s probably a little bit different in that period. A little different flow, and the game wouldn’t have been as tight. We would’ve been a little bit looser, perhaps; when I say loose, I mean relaxed and playing like we were in the second. The dynamic of the game changed a bit with the penalty kills and the goals they scored certainly, but good to see our guys come back and find a way to get another one and make sure there wasn’t a whole lot happening after that in terms of them threatening again.

Nielsen and Dermott talked this morning about their chemistry. Is that something you guys hope to build with them as time goes on?

Keefe: Yeah. You’ve got two young guys who came into the organization at the same time. That’s positive. I don’t know how much, down the line, we’ll see them paired together, but they get along. They know each other well. Even with the Marlies, we had them hanging around each other quite a bit. They’re both in pretty similar situations. It’s good when you get drafted the same time as guys, and you come in at the same time. You develop those bonds. That’s what you hope for in an organization, that you can build something that is lasting, whether it’s through these camps — these training camps and development camps — or the Marlies, or the Leafs themselves. All positive stuff with those two.

Is the organization getting quicker, Sheldon? I know you’ve only been here a little more than a year, but do you see it in that year span?

Keefe: I think so. I think we saw a little bit of that last year in my first year coming in. You look at that draft class with Dermott and Nielsen and Marner, but even you look down the line at guys like Dzierkals that really stand out. Bracco can really skate. Timashov of course. I’m sure I’m forgetting guys, but I thought that class was really impressive, working with the first at development camp and then here. Same again this year – they’ve added good pieces, it was a well-rounded draft, and you’re seeing the depth that we have here in this camp. There are a lot of players, certainly, challenging to make an impression in the organization, but I think they’re doing a nice job here thus far.

Can you assess Marner’s two games?

Keefe: I thought, at different times, there were really, really elite plays that he made. You think there’s nothing there and he finds a way to make a play that really kind of gets your attention for everybody in the rink, for both teams and both benches, and the fans certainly. He has that ability. I’m not sure what he ended up with in terms of points in these two games, but I thought he made a lot of plays, [did] a lot offensive things. More importantly, I thought he worked really hard, he was competitive, he played fast, he kept his shifts short. He was really positive on the bench. We used him in all different situations and I thought he dealt with it well.

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