Mike Babcock joined News Talk 650 CKOM to discuss tonight’s preseason matchup with the Ottawa Senators, year two on the job as Leafs head coach, and the young talent on the Leafs roster.
Coming off the World Cup of Hockey business, now you’re into pre-season stuff, and a week tomorrow you have the season opener in Ottawa against these same Senators. Do you catch your breath along the way?
Mike Babcock: I got in the sheet early last night — there’s no question, the guy’s a little run-down – but we have four games in next five nights here, so that will keep us busy. But it’s a lot of fun. It’s an exciting time of year. We’ve brought about a half of a roster — lots of kids here tonight — and we get a chance to play the full Ottawa group, which is real positive for us. We’ll see how our kids match up against their veterans here tonight. She’ll be a lot of fun.
The Senators took on the Winnipeg Jets last night and lost 4-2; some of the Ottawa players now move over here to play in Saskatoon. A lot of people are asking about your lineup. Auston Matthews, your first overall pick in the June Draft — just give me the scouting report on how talented this guy is.
Babcock: Well, he’s really talented. We’ll have four unbelievably talented kids in the lineup tonight — Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Zaitsev. They’re all real high-end players, but they’re all kids. They go fast and they’re fun to watch. Sometimes they go in the right direction — they’re no different than your kids. So, we’ll get that all worked out. In saying that, they’re now playing in the National Hockey League and they’re playing against guys who have been playing in it for a long time. It’s going to take them some time, but we’re excited, obviously, about our future. At least now, when you go to the rink, you know whose sweater to buy. The other guy that local people would be familiar with from his junior days in Moose Jaw would be Morgan Rielly. He’s one of the best defencemen in the National Hockey League and he’s going to play here tonight.
One of the things you were mentioning about the young guys — great skills, great stickhandling — but they’ve got to get a little bit dirty. They’ve got to get the puck to the areas that generate points.
Babcock: I just think that, over time, they’re going to figure that out. They’re hungry to score. They’ve scored their whole life and they will figure out in our league, by staying on the outside, they’re not going to be very happy with their point totals. So, they’ll figure that out over time. Matthews played his first game as a Toronto Maple Leaf the other night, as far as an exhibition game goes, so it’s going to take him time. In the World Cup he played as a winger, and he’s going to play as a center for us. Nylander is going to play as a winger, but he’s going to play center here tonight. And that will be good for him because Turris, Brassard and Pageau — they’re three centers that are going to start the year. We don’t have Kadri and Bozak here, and those guys would take some heat off those guys (Matthews and Nylander), so obviously it’s a positive situation for me as a coach to see how they match up.
And one more for you as far as tonight goes… Frederik Andesen. Are we going to see him get a period in? He’s trying to bounce back from injury.
Babcock: Yeah, we’re going to start with him. Depending on what the shot totals are, if he gets too much rubber in period one, he’ll be done for the night. If he doesn’t, we’ll go with him, too, but we’ll go based on how he feels. We want to play him a few times here in the next few days, so we’ll just base it on that.
There was a lot of attention and a lot of focus last year when you took on this job with the Toronto Maple Leafs. How are you feeling heading into the season, and how is the Leaf fan base approaching you? Are they being kind to you heading into season number two here?
Babcock: Well, I mean, they’ve been kind the whole time. Obviously, I thought we made huge progress last year, you know, in tearing down the team as far as making it what it is now. We’ve made fantastic strides. We’re a lot younger — we’re probably too young to be in the league — but that’s all part of it, too. And we’re going in the right direction, so that’s real positive. I think it’s an exciting time for the people in Toronto. We have as much talent as the team’s probably had in years. Now, they’re little kids, so they need to grow up and will do that over time. There are going to be some tough nights, but I think there are going to be a lot of fun nights, too.
On tonight’s game…
Babcock: It’s an exhibition game and you’re getting your team ready. The people that come to the game — they get a chance to see NHL players and Ottawa did us a huge favour by bringing their whole team. Normally, they wouldn’t. Last night they played the guys that won’t play on the team and tonight they’re playing the guys that will. That’s a good opportunity. Normally these are kind of high-end American Hockey League games, so this one has a chance to be better tonight. Just from a personal standpoint, obviously I grew up in Saskatoon and still have a place at Emma Lake. I’ve spent a tonne of time in Saskatchewan, so it’s a thrill. Anytime I come back here, to be honest with you, I think about my folks.
