Craig Berube, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach
Craig Berube, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach

After Wednesday’s practice, head coach Craig Berube discussed the second day of on-ice sessions following the break, Max Pacioretty leaving practice injured, managing the load for the players involved in the 4 Nations tournament, and Calle Jarnkrok’s potential return to the lineup.

Practice Lines – Feb. 19

How was the second day back at practice?

Berube: It was a good work day. We accomplished a lot of things. There was a lot of battle and a lot of pace. We did some scrimmaging at the end to get them acclimated [again], but I thought it was a good work day by our guys. They put in a good work day. I liked our day today.

When the 4 Nations wrap up, you’ll have some players who have had 10 days off, and then Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews will have had one. How difficult will it be to re-integrate those guys, and do you worry about rest?

Berube: I guess a little bit. They’ve played games, and they haven’t had a ton of rest, but there have been times when they have had rest, too, during this tournament. It is what it is. They are going to get back Friday, and we have to come out of the gate with a game on Saturday and Sunday. When they get here, I’ll have conversations with them and see how they feel and where they are at.

What kept Max Pacioretty off of the ice today?

Berube: He tweaked something right when he went out there. I don’t have any definite answers yet on him. I don’t think it is serious, but we will have to see.

Pacioretty aside, where does your team sit health-wise?

Berube: Not bad. I think we are in pretty good shape. It was unfortunate with Patch today. Hopefully, it is nothing serious.

Jarny is working his way back here and doing well. That is good to see. He is putting in full practices now.

With Hakanpaa, it is two days straight, so we will see where he gets to.

I think we are in pretty good shape health-wise right now, knock on wood. We have a pretty tough stretch coming up with a lot of hockey. It would be nice to stay healthy, but you can only control what you can control.

And I forgot about (Connor) Dewar. He was out there today. He couldn’t do everything, but he did a lot. He is making good progress, too. He will be in practice again coming up. We will see where he gets to. He is on the right way up.

Do you envision Calle Jarnkrok as someone who could play down the middle of the ice for the team?

Berube: I think he can do anything, personally. I don’t know him that well, but from what I’ve seen from him and what I’ve heard, he is a very intelligent player and very capable of playing all three positions up front. He is a reliable guy. He is a good penalty killer. He is out there at the end of games.

He can provide some offense, too. He does make plays. He has a good brain. He is kind of a Swiss army knife.

What was the thinking behind the drill the team was doing in the corner?

Berube: The battle dome! It is just getting back to competing and battling in the corners. You lose that when you go away for 10 days. It is such a big part of the game. It is important to work on it a little bit. Even yesterday, we did a little bit of it, as well as today. Maybe we’ll get a little bit more of it in on Friday.

Morgan Rielly appeared to be turning the corner heading into the break. How important is it for him to keep the momentum going coming out of it?

Berube: Very important. You could see the confidence in him more than anything. He was playing the game with anticipation a little bit more, jumping up in the play and doing things offensively that he is very good at. We need to keep pushing that with him.

The same goes for our other defensemen. We have to get more active.

Was the idea to give William Nylander another day to recover from the 4 Nations tournament? 

Berube: We talked yesterday about Willy taking another day. We are going to stay off the ice tomorrow as a team. Some guys might go out, but we will probably see Willy around here tomorrow.

Did you have to convince Nylander to stay off the ice? He likes to get out there.

Berube: I think it was a lot for him, going to [the tournament]. These tournaments are mentally challenging, too. There is a lot of stress. There is a lot packed into it with a lot of stress. You don’t get a break before you’re right back into it. It is probably more tiring on the brain than the body.

Is there a team plan to watch the 4 Nations final?

Berube: I don’t think so. I will probably watch it by myself. We’ll see, though. It is a good idea. Maybe we’ll talk to the boys about that.

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