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

After Sunday’s practice, Craig Berube discussed the decision to place Easton Cowan on the top line RW, Calle Jarnkrok’s hot start to the season, and the areas for improvement after the 1-1-0 start. 

Practice Lines – October 12

How did you come to the decision to place Easton Cowan on the top line?

Berube: Just with him playing his game as he has been playing, he is a guy who is good down low in the offensive zone. We’re looking to get that line some more possession down there and some more plays. He does that stuff. He is a great hounder, too. He gets on top of things, is strong on pucks, and hangs onto pucks. That is why I made the switch.

What have you learned about Cowan’s personality that makes you believe he’ll be okay in his NHL debut?

Berube: He’s obviously a hungry guy. He has wanted to play; that is obvious. He works hard, is prepared, and has done a really good job of all of that stuff. He has stayed positive; he wanted to play, but we just didn’t get him into the first two games. Now, he has an opportunity. He has been really good in practice, worked really hard, and has been focused.

What does Cowan need to do to earn your trust on the defensive side of the puck?

Berube: When I watched him in camp and in the games, I thought he did a good job defensively. He is a smart player with a good IQ. You can see when watching him practice, seeing his reads, and where he is positioned in the defensive zone.

He is like anybody else, but he has a good hockey IQ. He reads plays well and anticipates well. That is one of the reasons why I put him there.

How does the group go about ironing out some of the bumps from the first few games?

Berube: It is all mental for me. I go back to last night, and we played a good first period with a lot of good stuff; we scored a couple of goals, and got the lead. In the second period, things were fine until about the nine or 10-minute mark. We started not to play direct and turned pucks over in our own zone. Now, we can’t get changes because we are just punting pucks out, and they’re coming back at us. They three-quarter-ice’d us really well.

It is a mental thing for me. We can’t go from period to period and change what we’re doing well. In the third period, we did a good job again. We gave up two chances in the third period, but we took two unnecessary penalties that set us back a little bit.

It is about 60 minutes of doing the right things and playing the right way. Right now, we aren’t there. In the Montreal game, in the second period, we weren’t very good, either. We got away with it.

Is it an early-season thing, or do you not accept it?

Berube: I don’t accept it. I don’t. We had a good, hard meeting today. I don’t care what time of year it is. We have to make sure we are all bought into playing the right way.

What are you seeing on the power play?

Berube: I liked the power play last night. When we took the penalty, it was going pretty well. The next power play was good, too. We were attacking and shooting.

Now, can we still pass it and shoot it quicker? Yep. I am always going to harp on that, but I liked the power play last night and its directness. I thought pucks were going to the net and we were looking to get after it. I want to stay with that.

What are you noticing about Calle Jarnkrok in the first few games?

Berube: Just what he does. He is healthy, for one thing. He has had a full training camp, and I thought he did a great job in camp. He came into it in great shape. He is a worker, he is doing the little things right, and he is getting rewarded for it. His line is getting rewarded for it. It is pretty simple, uncomplicated hockey. Simple works.

It’s only been two games, but what do you take away from Nic Roy and Dakota Joshua’s starts to the season?

Berube: I thought Nic was really good [in Detroit]. I thought he got better in the Montreal game as it went along. He is starting to really dial in on the kill. His faceoffs have been very good, and he scored a goal last night. Again, his line has been good; they were good in the Montreal game, shutting things down for us.

Dakota’s game was better last night than in the first game. He was more involved. He has to understand, and he does understand, what he is. He is a hounder, a forechecker, and a physical player who is going to provide energy for us and score some goals, as well as the PK stuff. I thought his game was better last night, too.

To me, both of them are improving after two games. Their better game was the second game. Hopefully, they keep it going.

It was a textbook tip goal out of Roy, right?

Berube: Yep. It is pretty simple. We scored two against Montreal the same way. We have to do more of it.

How will you split the goalies for the first back-to-back?

Berube: We have to chat about that still. Cayden Primeau has practiced well and looked good. We’ll see what happens.

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