For players longing to step into (or step back into) the NHL, to what extent can a successful American Hockey League playoff run really affect their chances? A handful of Toronto Marlies could well find that out in the coming months.
The Marlies (AHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs) have won nine straight postseason contests in back-to-back series’ sweeps en route to a berth in the Calder Cup Final, which opens Saturday against the Texas Stars.
Regardless of how these playoffs end, certain Marlies – blueliner Travis Dermott and forward Andreas Johnsson, for example – are pretty clear on what’s next. Both Dermott and Johnsson rejoined their AHL club after lengthy call-up stints with the Leafs, and will be prime candidates to start in the NHL come fall.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old defensive prospect Timothy Liljegren has only one professional year under his belt, and is likely to need more seasoning before he graduates to the NHL. And then there are players languishing somewhere in between – some who have gotten a taste of life with the Leafs before and some who are still waiting on their NHL debuts.
Whether those opportunities come in Toronto or beyond, being on the bubble makes every AHL game (especially in the playoffs) a fresh audition. Five Marlies in that position have used this run to their advantage in that respect, and in turn could be putting themselves on the radar for a potential NHL gig next season.
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CARL GRUNDSTROM
Second round (57th overall) pick by Toronto, 2016
Contract status: Two years left on three-year, entry-level deal
Since practically the day he was drafted by the Leafs, Grundstrom has been billed as an eventual successor for Leo Komarov in Toronto’s lineup. The 6-foot, 194-pound forward shares the same gritty reputation that’s driven Komarov throughout his career, but comes with an even higher ceiling for point production. With unrestricted free agency looming for Komarov on July 1, Grundstrom’s moment to prove his worth to the Leafs’ front office couldn’t have come at a better time. The 20-year-old returned to the AHL this spring from Sweden’s Frolunda HC, just as he did a year ago in a productive six-game stint for the Marlies in last April’s playoffs.
This past regular season was more tumultuous than Grundstrom would have liked, however, with a knee injury limiting him to just 41 contests between regular and postseasons (with a combined 19 goals and seven assists). Yet the adversity he overcame seems to have done Grundstrom good, and he’s come back to North America a more mature, confident player who’s more comfortable on the smaller ice surface than he was a year ago.
The winger has been planted next to Miro Aaltonen and Johnsson on the Marlies’ top line, and has come up with 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 13 playoff games. Given he’s playing alongside Johnsson, who is second in AHL postseason scoring with 15 points, it would be easy to attribute Grundstrom’s success solely to a linemate. But from his stifling forecheck to buzzing in front of the net, Grundstrom is asserting his own game just as much as he’s playing off the strengths of those around him. While he may not yet possess the veteran savvy of Komarov, the tools Grundstrom needs to step into an NHL job are emerging with each passing game in these playoffs.
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JUSTIN HOLL
Second round (54th overall) pick by Chicago, 2010
Contract status: Pending RFA
When it comes to electric NHL debuts by Maple Leafs, Holl may have the best one in recent memory. Getting his first-ever NHL recall in early February, Holl courted headlines by scoring two goals over his two-game call-up, the only NHL action he’s seen since being drafted eight years ago. It’s been a long road to this juncture for the 26-year-old, including a 66-game East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) tenure, but these AHL playoffs are putting on full display what would make Holl a welcome addition to Toronto’s blueline next season.
A big (6-foot-3, 205 pounds) right-shot defenceman, Holl has been as reliable and consistent a defender as any in the AHL, pairing nicely with Martin Marincin as he, too, blossomed into a stronger player. Holl has just one goal and one assist in 13 playoff games, but as Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said repeatedly when Holl was on his scoring spree, those offensive numbers aren’t what interest him when it comes to defencemen. It’s sound decision-making in his own end and crisp first passes on breakouts, among other attributes, that set Holl apart defensively and that have made him a top-pairing blueliner for the Marlies.
How all that will translate to the NHL full time only time will tell. But Holl has been a reliable, consistent presence in the postseason while demonstrating that when the stakes are highest, he’s as trustworthy as they come – with or without the puck.
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MARTIN MARINCIN
Second round (46th overall) pick by Edmonton, 2010
Contract status: Pending RFA
Few players in the Babcock era of the Toronto Maple Leafs have incited as much divisiveness as Marincin. Acquired from the Oilers in 2015, Marincin has always looked better on paper than on NHL ice, grading positively in advanced stats categories while also giving his coaches fits over a lack of confidence in his game and generally poor decision-making with the puck.
Marincin held on to a regular spot with the Leafs until last season, when he was assigned to the Marlies before the 2017-18 campaign began. The blueliner had 175 NHL games to his credit at that point and was clearly dissatisfied with being back in the minor leagues, but Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe stressed to Marincin the benefits (namely to his fleeting confidence) that would come from being a key part of a successful team. And so Marincin bought in, and became an underrated piece of the Marlies in the regular season and especially into the playoffs, where he’s been one of the AHL postseason field’s best defencemen.
Marincin’s 6-foot-5, 212-pound frame and elite penalty-killing ability is what kept him in Babcock’s good graces so long (and what earned him a two-game call-up to the Leafs in December), but now the 26-year-old is using that big body to tie up forwards in tandem with smart playmaking and obviously improved confidence.
A true defensive defenceman (Marincin has six assists in 13 playoff games, to go with his four goals and 16 assists from the regular season), he’ll be eager to parlay a strong run with the Marlies into another chance in the NHL. It’s unlikely that opportunity will come with the Leafs, given Marincin’s pending RFA status and because he had trouble adjusting within Babcock’s program, but just as Toronto once saw something in Marincin worth pursing, so too might another team find a similar quality in him now.
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TREVOR MOORE
Undrafted free agent, University of Denver
Contract status: One year left on three-year, entry-level deal
When Moore first arrived on the scene at Leafs’ development camp in 2016, the winger had just finished his third season at the University of Denver, having amassed 120 points (47 goals, 73 assists) in 121 NCAA games. He would never play for the Pioneers again, though, signing an entry-level deal with Toronto that July on the strength of his standout camp performance. But it would take time before he was making similar waves in the AHL.
Moore was in and out of the Marlies’ lineup last season, producing 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 57 regular-season games and adding four points in 11 postseason contests. It wasn’t until this year, when he finally grasped Keefe’s program of growing his game from the defensive side out, that Moore really began to shine. Always a speedy forward with good playmaking ability, Moore is now a sturdy backchecker with a noticeably more robust 200-foot game. He’s also shown a knack for rising to meet a challenge – when Johnsson returned to the Marlies from the Leafs in April, Moore was pushed down to the fourth line beside Mason Marchment and Adam Brooks, with a promise from Keefe he’d still get ample playing time if it was earned.
The 23-year-old hasn’t missed a beat, putting up 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 13 playoff games, tied for fourth-most points among the AHL’s postseason skaters. The team’s run has been a coming out party of sorts for the California native, whom Keefe said has gone from being a player just trying to “survive” in the AHL to one who’s ready to push for an NHL job. At 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, Moore is one of many smaller, faster wingers in the Leafs’ stable. But, as he pointed out, a sound defensive game is what sets forwards apart at the next level, and he’ll keep honing is if it’ll give him a chance at the NHL.
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GARRET SPARKS
Seventh round (190th overall) pick by Toronto, 2011
Contract status: One year remaining on two-year deal
If not now, when? That question is already stirring around Sparks, a six-year veteran of the Leafs’ system coming off a dominant season with the Marlies, but who hasn’t played an NHL game in two years. Sparks couldn’t do much more in the regular season to prove he’s ready for the next level, posting a sensational 31-9-1 record and 1.79 goals-against average that earned him the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s best goaltender (past recipients of the honour, voted on by AHL media and players, include Matt Murray, Jake Allen and Cory Schneider).
In the postseason, the 24-year-old Sparks has only gotten stronger, going 10-2-0 with 1.96 GAA so far. Even if the Marlies lose the Calder Cup Final, it would be tough to argue Sparks isn’t ready to be an NHL backup. And yet the goaltending situation for the Leafs is solid already, with Frederik Andersen carrying the load and journeyman Curtis McElhinney signed for one more year after he posted career numbers shadowing Andersen last season. So where does that leave Sparks, who played in 17 NHL games back in 2015-16 (and posted the first shutout by a Leafs goalie in an NHL debut in club history) but has only been recalled on an emergency basis since without seeing any actual minutes?
It will be a crucial decision for new Leafs general manager (and current Marlies GM) Kyle Dubas. He and his team (most notably Marlies goalie coach Piero Greco) have invested ample time and resources into Sparks’ development, but Dubas may find himself facing a tough choice as far as the organization’s goaltending is concerned. Sparks’ backup Calvin Pickard was terrific as well last season (21-9-1, 2.31 GAA) and the Leafs just inked Kasimir Kaskisuo to a two-year extension. But wherever Sparks’ fate lies, there’s no doubt he’s used this last season to make a statement about his preparedness for another shot at the NHL.