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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – Of all the youthful stars populating the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup, no one appears to be having a better time than Mitch Marner.

In 45 games, the jocular rookie has chest-bumped and hockey-hugged his way to the top of the NHL’s rookie scoring leaderboard, maintaining a “calm and fun” attitude on the ice that infects even his most veteran teammates.

The 19-year-old winger secured his 39th point of the season with a first assist on Nazem Kadri’s power-play goal Monday, moving past teammate Auston Matthews to take hold of both the rookie scoring lead and Toronto's team lead in points. He also retains the lead in assists (28) in both places, as he has most of the season. 

While in many ways the first half of his rookie season has been an undeniable success on the offensive side, Marner says there is still plenty of room for improvement. As far back as development camp he has stressed the need to develop more of a shoot-first mentality.

“That’s still one of my bigger problems, feeling like I always need to make one more pass instead of shooting,” he said Tuesday. “I’m trying to get better at it. [James van Riemsdyk] and [Tyler] Bozak tell me to shoot it more. But it’s a habit that’s always been around me and I’m trying to break it.”

In the meantime, he’s helping the Maple Leafs climb the standings. After rounding up four victories in their last six games, Toronto moved into third place in the Atlantic Division on Monday. 

Marner has seven points in that stretch (one goals, six assists), and in Saturday’s loss to Ottawa, was the only player who scored in the shootout. In fact, he’s been Toronto’s most successful shootout scorer all season, with three of the team’s four goals.

A propensity to pass served him well in the OHL, where Marner tallied 205 assists and 96 goals in his three seasons with the London Knights. He became a Memorial Cup champion last season while sweeping every MVP category along the way.
But in the NHL, where secondary scoring chances are critical, the pretty pass or jaw-dropping dangle doesn’t always get the job done.

“I think Mitch can dominate more and more,” said coach Mike Babcock. “Sometimes we think coming from other leagues, because you can pass the puck and make all these cute plays…it just doesn’t happen enough in the National Hockey League. So simplifying his game and shooting the puck more is going to help him. When he gets more and more confidence in his shot, he’ll shoot the puck way more.”

Marner has been working on that shot a long time. These days he comes to practice early and stays late, huddling around the net fielding passes he can fire over and over again into the mesh.

Marner’s 9.7 per cent shooting percentage ranks ninth among Maple Leafs forwards and hovers around the team average of 9.49 per cent. Yet it’s well below both of his linemates, with van Riemsdyk at 12.7 per cent and Bozak at 15.2 per cent (in three fewer games). 
 
While Marner plays the fourth-most power-play minutes for Toronto, he’s scored only once on the man advantage, while pacing the team with 12 assists.

He’s fourth on the team overall in shot total (113), but is still working on being confident enough to let loose when the puck is on his stick in a quality scoring area. Over his last six games, he’s been credited with just five shots.

“[Shot criticism] has always been around me because my shot isn’t the hardest,” Marner said. “I’m getting better at it, but I have to make sure I’m focusing on putting myself in shooting lanes. That’s the problem I have going. I need to put myself in a shooting lane and make sure I’m actually getting a shot off.”

While Marner concedes he feels “maybe a little bit” of obligation to feed his seasoned linemates, he also credits van Riemsdyk and Bozak with building his confidence and helping him feel free to be himself.

“They trust me with the puck out there on the ice and as a young kid you don’t get that much from guys who have been in the league a long time,” he said. “They’re a big part of why I’ve been doing well. I’ve been lucky to have them with me.”

Ditto for Matthews, a close ally with whom he exchanges jokes about fashion sense and video-game skills, but not the scoring mantle.

“We haven’t joked around about it at all,” Marner said. “We try to stay off hockey when we’re together. We’re not really watching for points. We’re just focused on our team and trying to win.”