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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – Auston Matthews needed all of 47 seconds to score the opening goal in Monday’s preseason tilt between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, and when he did, the play immediately felt familiar.

Matthews was able to use Montreal defenceman Shea Weber as a screen above the faceoff circle, firing a shot around him that fooled Al Montoya before the goaltender was even set. Matthews worked on a nearly identical sequence earlier in the week, with the role of Weber being played by the Leafs’ practice mannequin.

“I like that kind of thing,” Matthews said Tuesday of practicing with the dummy. “It’s just something different. You can try different angles on the mannequin. It ended up being pretty similar I guess to the goal I scored last night, but that kind of stuff definitely helps out sometimes.”

The Leafs have had the mannequin kicking around for a few years. Periodically, goaltending coach Steve Briere or one of the team’s equipment staff will lug the lifelike prop, decked out in full uniform with pants and helmet, from storage for the goalies to work with before regular practice begins.

The team primarily uses the model as a screen rather than have a player risk injury. While goaltender Frederik Andersen would prefer a teammate there to recreate an in-game situation, he says the mannequin is impressively constructed.

“It’s actually even tougher to see around than a player because they’re really big and they’ve built them pretty tight. You can’t see through the arms,” Andersen said. “So in that way it’s helping create some good habits when you’re fighting through traffic.”

Having the mannequin around also makes a drill more consistent for the goalies. Because it’s repetitive, Andersen joked the forwards will get bored after a couple good shots in a drill and move on to honing their goal-scoring skills.

“We appreciate them when they do come out – Matty, Willy Mitchy, Marty – they love working on their shots, but it is nice having them help with drills too,” Andersen said. “[On Matthews’ goal], it was from far out and for that shot to go in he did a good job of using the defence for the screen. The biggest thing though was how he pulled the puck around the legs. You don’t see that happen too often.”

Briere’s employment with the Leafs precludes him from speaking about any of his methods with the media, but while the dummy itself is new to Andersen, some of Briere’s other tactics are decidedly old school.

“There’s the strings attached to the posts [to show what areas of the ice are covered in shooting spots]. My dad taught me with that early too," he said. “They’ll put ropes on [the mannequin] and pull it across you so you’re trying to move and find the puck. The net is never as big as you think if you’re in the right position, so those little gimmicks help you see that. A lot of goalie coaches are very innovative in the way they think, and I think Stevie is really good at utilizing stuff like that.”

Despite how useful it can be in simulated situations, head coach Mike Babcock doesn’t like seeing the mannequin. He’ll pause off the ice waiting for a drill with it to finish, and then tap his stick emphatically against the glass to signal it’s time for the mannequin to return to its storage closet.

“I don’t think he likes having it out there,” said Andersen with a knowing smile. “When he comes out there it’s his practice, so we get it out of there before he comes on.

“But it is really useful, and it’s fun. I think people get a kick out of it.”