The last time Toronto Maple Leafs’ defenceman Travis Dermott skated in London, it was when his Erie Otters were ousted from the Ontario Hockey League playoffs in April by the eventual Memorial Cup champion London Knights.

Back in Budweiser Gardens for this year’s rookie tournament, Dermott and other Maple Leafs prospects assembled Saturday morning to prepare for battle with the Montreal Canadiens rookies that night. But Dermott’s recent experience with the venue’s usual hosts wasn’t easily forgotten.

“I hate these guys,” Dermott said with a laugh. “No, it’s fun coming back here, I’m sure the atmosphere is going to be great. Knowing that we’ve had a lot of battles in this rink, it [makes it] fun to be back.”

Unlike the crowd at Dermott’s last game here, the masses at this year’s tournament have been Maple Leafs-fan heavy, even for games they’re not playing in. Toronto started off with a bang Friday night, when Colin Smith’s overtime goal gave them a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators rookies. Dermott and fellow defender Andrew Nielsen didn’t skate in that contest, but will be partners in Saturday’s tilt.

“By this time of year, you’re kind of done with training and being in the gym and you want to get going,” Nielsen said. “It’s exciting to be here finally and you’ve waited all summer for this and to kind of get out there and show what you’ve been working on all summer is exciting.”

Nielsen and Dermott have become fast friends off the ice too. Newmarket-native Dermott, who played one game for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies last season, has shown Nielsen, from Red Deer, Alberta, the ropes around Toronto. The two have been a constant presence at MasterCard Centre in recent weeks working with Leafs trainers and skating coach Barb Underhill. Like Dermott, Nielsen is looking to build on his short five-game stint in the AHL.

“This is our second full year now with the Leafs organization and you build those relationships and friendships on and off the ice,” Nielsen said. “Any time you can contribute on both ends of the [ice] that’s huge for anybody. A guy my size, I know I’m looked upon to be more physical and shut down, but I want to show everybody I can play on both sides of the puck and produce offensively. When you can put up good numbers and be sound defensively and be trusted in your own zone, I think that’s a good thing.”

“He’s my buddy, he’s a good player,” Dermott said of Nielsen. “I get to be his defensive partner [here] so we’ll see how that works. I feel like we’re kind of the same player a bit, we’re both kind of offensive. He’s a little bigger than I am [Nielsen is 6-foot-3, Dermott is 5-foot-11], but I feel like we’re both coming up at the same time and have a lot to give the organization.”

They’re not the only ones. Goaltender Antoine Bibeau carried the load in net for the Marlies on their playoff run to the Eastern Conference final in the spring, posting a 6-5 record and .900 save-percentage. The long season didn’t give him much time to rest over the summer, and with the Maple Leafs signing Frederik Andersen and Jhonas Enroth to new contracts, there’s more competition in the organization than ever.

“I really don’t want to focus on that. My focus is just on myself, it doesn’t matter who else is there,” Bibeau said. “I want to do my best and just go one day at a time, focus on myself, focus on my game. I had a really good summer…getting in the best shape of my life, getting my body fat lower, getting stronger overall and I think I did it.”

With Dermott and Nielsen in front of him, Bibeau will have his chance between the pipes Saturday after Kasimir Kaskisou played Friday. Toronto’s main training camp is right around the corner, and the importance of this stage to potentially cracking a roster is top of mind.

“I feel like growing up and moving through levels and hopefully going to pro [full-time] next season, you just have to get stronger and faster to compete with other guys in the league,” Dermott said. “I’ve been focused on that this year and it’s the same thing I’ve been working on for the last while.”