Game Day: Mike Babcock
You have the Swedish rookies paired up here tonight. What are your expectations with these guys?
Babcock: Well, they’re good players and we’re going to watch them play. We’re still in that process, obviously, to figure out who is going to be on the team and who is not going to be on the team. This is part of it. The Red Wings are icing an NHL lineup tonight and we are as well, so it should be an NHL-type game. That’ll be a good player evaluation.
Is it good to bring guys over who already have pro hockey experience?
Babcock: Well, obviously, they’re more ready. We’re not at the stage with the development of our team where we can’t have as many kids anymore just because we won’t have the ice time anymore. Those kids that played on the team played 16 minutes a night whether they’d earned it or not. We can’t give that out anymore, so you’ve got to be a better player and you’re probably going to have to have more experience.
Do you prefer one of Rosen or Borgman on the right side if you had to choose?
Babcock: I wrote it on the board the opposite way they decided to play. But that’s normally what happens. Whether you’re a left winger or whatever, I always say on the bench to the guys going over, “Play where you’re most comfortable.” What I do like is normally the guy with most skill I like on his forehand because he’s making the most plays. I used to do it the opposite and make sure both guys couldn’t make any plays, and then I finally figured it out over time.
With the Kadri group, what are you looking for in terms of chemistry? What can they do well that finally shows you it’s clicking?
Babcock: I think I dealt with that enough yesterday so we’ll leave that alone today.
Mitch Marner was saying he hasn’t played exactly the way he wants to play so far this preseason. What would you like to see from him tonight?
Babcock: It’s no different than the other group there. You’ve got to go to work. Let’s just all go to work. If you go to work, you’re going to have more success, so don’t wait for the season. Go to work. We’ve got to get everyone to work.
Connor Carrick was saying he’d like to work on his consistency this year. What sort of areas of growth do you see for him this season?
Babcock: I think Connor has done a good job since he got here, to tell you the truth. Confidence-wise, he got injured last year and never got it back. Confidence is something where you are in control of yourself. You don’t want to show at any time that you’re losing it. It’s hard to keep. It’s hard to feel good every day. And yet that’s the battle in the NHL. Once you lose your confidence, it’s hard to get it back. That’s the battle he’s in. If you work hard every single day and you do good things, you tend to be feeling pretty good.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Hyman – Matthews – Nylander
JvR – Bozak – Marner
Marleau – Kadri – Komarov
Martin – Moore – Brown
Defencemen
Rielly – Hainsey
Gardiner – Zaitsev
Borgman – Rosen
Marincin – Holl
Goalies
Andersen
McElhinney
Detroit Red Wings Projected Lines
Forwards
Tatar – Zetterberg – Nyquist
Mantha – Larkin – Frk
Helm – Nielsen – Sheahan
Booth – Street – Glendening
Defencemen
Ericsson – Green
Dekeyser – Daley
Ouellet – Hicketts
Goalies
Howard
McCollum
