Craig Berube on Brandon Carlo’s impact on the Leafs so far: “He’s like a vacuum around our net, eating things up with his stick details and size”

After Friday’s practice, head coach Craig Berube discussed the status of Jake McCabe and David Kampf, Philippe Myers re-entering the lineup, the Rielly-Carlo pairing, and OEL’s ability to shift around within the defense group as needed.

Practice Lines – Apr. 4

Lines at Leafs practice

Knies – Matthews – Marner
McMann – Tavares – Nylander
Laughton – Domi – Jarnkrok
Lorentz – Holmberg – Robertson
Pacioretty

Ekman-Larsson – Tanev
Rielly – Carlo
Benoit – Myers
Hakanpää

Stolarz & Woll

v CBJ tomorrow@TSN_Sports

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 4, 2025

 What can you tell us about Jake McCabe and David Kampf’s status?

Berube: Both are out tomorrow.

Right now, I would say it’s day-to-day. I can’t really comment on it too much as to how long it is going to be.

What has made McCabe hard to replace? The team’s record is 4-5 without him this season.

Berube: He does a lot for us in terms of a shutdown defenseman with Tanev, and he has had different partners. He brings a lot: defensive play, physical play, leadership, the PK. It is hard to sit here and say, “Oh, we can replace him.” It is pretty tough.

Myers will go in tomorrow. We just have to step up with him out.

What are you hoping to see from Myers in his first game since March 10?

Berube: The same thing he brought before. He is simple, plays aggressively, is big, and kills plays. He is physical back there. Make the simple play with the puck, be good at your net front, and penalty kill. That is really his role. He has done a good job for us when he has played and when he had to step in. I don’t think anything changes.

Is the Morgan Rielly-Brandon Carlo taking the strides you want to see?

Berube: Yeah, I feel like Carlo is a lot more comfortable understanding his partner a little bit more. He is like a vacuum out there around our net, eating things up with his stick details and size. It is getting a lot more continuity to it.

How does Carlo’s skill set help Rielly’s game?

Berube: You have [Rielly], who is a really good puck mover, really joins the rush well, and gets up in the play. It frees him up a little bit to know his thing. Brando knows that; he’ll stay home. It is just a good pairing, in my opinion, that way. It frees Mo up a little bit and gets him jumping a little bit more on his toes.

[Carlo] does a great job at the net front. That is important, being around the net, cleaning things up around there, and doing a really good job of it.

How have you liked how Oliver Ekman-Larsson has stepped up onto the top shutdown role when needed this season?

Berube: He is very good at it. He can jump from playing the right side back to the left side and onto different pairs. He has done it all year. I don’t think it bothers him or affects his game, to be honest with you.

You mentioned that speaking to John Tavares is like talking to another coach. What are his coach-like characteristics?

Berube: He looks at what is going on with the team, the players, and around the room. It is a little bit of everything. He is pretty dialed in with the feel of things. He is always a good guy to talk to about what he is feeling, thinking, and seeing.

Out of curiosity, what is the biggest adjustment going from being a player in the league to a coach?

Berube: You focus on yourself as a player, your play, and what you need to do to improve in the moment. What can I do better now? What didn’t I do well enough in the last game? Your focus is on yourself.

As a coach, you have to worry about everything. You have to worry about every player on the team. It is probably worse than having kids. You can have two or three kids, but you have to worry about 23; plus, there are the trainers and so on. It is a lot of stuff.

The other side of it is the hours. You are here a lot working. It’s non-stop. There is a lot of thinking. A lot is going through your mind. You have to take care of a lot of things.

It is rewarding. I have never looked back on it and said, “I shouldn’t have done this.” I love it.

What kind of challenge are you anticipating from the Blue Jackets on Saturday? They’ve given your team some troubles this season.

Berube: They can score goals. They’re good at it. They have a lot of talent — big guys with talent.

Werenski is one of the top defensemen in the league, in my opinion, at transporting the puck, skating the puck, and getting involved offensively in the play. He’s very good.

We have to do a better job of defending and checking this team. They can put the puck in the net.