Ahead of 2024 training camp, head coach Craig Berube talked about the style and systems changes he’s anticipating for the team this fall, starting William Nylander at the center position, the opportunity to coach Mitch Marner, if he will load up the power play or split the units, and the workload split in goal.
Opening Statement Ahead of Training Camp
We have a big camp with lots of players. We will have three groups: Group A, Group B, and a development group in Group C.
Hakanpaa will start in Group C to get him up to speed with his injury, get him acclimated, and get him skating. Eventually, we will work him into Group A and Group B.
It is a competitive camp. I feel there is a lot of competition upfront, on the backend, and in goal, which is great.
Q&A with Craig Berube ahead of camp
There has been a lot of talk about the structure and style you want to play. It seemed like you were successful in St. Louis when you played north-south and got into trouble when playing east-west. Is that more of a stereotype that this is your style, or is it a case that you do your best with your systems based on the players you have? What can we expect from this team?
Berube: We definitely want to be a north-south team, but there is some high-end skill here — more than we had in St. Louis. It is not that we didn’t have skilled players in St. Louis. I am not here to take the sticks out of these guys’ hands, but there has to be an identity of how we want to play, and we want to play a north-south game.
We want to be a hard team to play against. We want to check. At the same time, we have a bunch of players with the ability to score goals.
In the end, it is all about what is best for the team. That is the most important thing.
Many of the players from last season are returning in Toronto. Can you speak to any specific differences that fans will see with this team with you in charge this season?
Berube: They have had some real good success here with some great players scoring and things of that nature, but overall, it is going to be a different system and different style of play. You’ll notice the difference.
We upgraded our D core by adding three big defensemen back there. We are a lot bigger back there. I think it is really important to have big D who get in the way and check, be hard at your net, penalty kill, and all of those sorts of things.
Overall, we want to play a fast north-south game, get after it, and be aggressive.
What are you hoping for from Mitch Marner? How can you help regular-season Marner translate it to the playoffs?
Berube: That is in the past. I am new here, obviously. I have been around Mitch a bunch. He is a great person and a great two-way player. He has been up for a Selke. He puts up numbers every year.
Going into the playoffs, it is about building up to there. We are not there yet. I am not going to focus on that. I am going to focus on training camp and instilling the systems, work ethic, and battle that is needed in camp and to start the regular season.
Mitch is a huge part of this team. I am looking forward to coaching him.
How many times did you write down lines, tear them down, and start again this summer? Where do you see William Nylander and Max Domi playing?
Berube: There is a lot of that going on in the summer and before camp. Things change. We all know that.
I am going to start Willy in the middle in camp. Max is probably going to be on his wing right now to start. That is where we will start right now, and we will go from there.
Why do you want to start Nylander in the middle?
Berube: With his skill set, he can be a great transporter of the puck from our zone to the offensive zone. He is strong and big. He is skilled. Any time you can get anybody like that in the middle of the ice, I believe that is a really important piece.
Philosophically, do you like to load up one unit on the power play, or do you see merit in two balanced units?
Berube: It depends on your team. I have used two units in the past, for the most part, in St. Louis. But this power play has been very successful over a number of years.
I know you are going to bring up the playoffs last year. Well, you can go into dry spells. It happens to every team. It was just the wrong time for them, but that is a very good power-play unit.
We will figure that out in training camp.
Joseph Woll’s career high in starts is 23. Anthony Stolarz’s is 24. Do you have an inclination yet on how the workload might break down between those two?
Berube: They are both going to play more games than they have in the past. That is the best way I can answer that.
It is great competition. Matt Murray is here. There is good competition in net. It will play itself out in camp. Probably, we are going to see them play more game than they have in the past.
What does Easton Cowan have to show you to prove he is ready in camp?
Berube: He is a worker. He has produced in junior, obviously, and been very successful. Watching the rookie games, it’s clear this guy works. He is a competitor.
In the end, he has to be detailed. A lot of players coming out of junior hockey still have the junior habits. He needs to show us that he doesn’t have those junior habits anymore.
Do you think punitive treatment of players can be effective? There arguably hasn’t been a punitive element to the coaching here in the past.
Berube: Everyone has to be held accountable, including me. It starts with me, obviously.
You can control two things, in my opinion: your work and your compete as a player. When players aren’t working and aren’t competing, they are going to have an issue. That is unacceptable, in my opinion.
Mistakes happen. When you hold players accountable, it is all going to be subject to what happened at the time and things like that.
To me, the biggest thing is when the players really start holding each other accountable in the locker room. That is when you know you have something.
What sort of expectations do you set for training camp? What are you going to ask of these players specifically?
Berube: Competiton is number one. Also, as I said, we want to instill an identity here at camp. There is also getting the systems down. It is going to be different than the past. It is a new system here, and that is important.
I think identity is huge. We want to be a team that, when other teams play us, they know they are going to get this from the Maple Leafs tonight, no matter if it’s at home or on the road. That identity is really important, and I want to get after that in training camp. That is really important.
