Ah, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
I had a friend who used to tell me that she always wanted a generic, no-name Leafs jersey just to have one because all hockey fans (sans Habs and Bruins fans, naturally) love the Leafs in a jokingly, underdog kind of way.
"No one actually likes the Leafs. They're just... adorable? When they try to play big kid hockey?"
For the longest time, I dutifully declined to hop on that wagon. After all, I already have a tire fire underdog team because Johnny Gaudreau's beautiful hockey kidnapped my ass for the Calgary Flames. How much did I have to hate myself to take on another one, even if not seriously?
Hah. If only I knew that I'd be eating my words just a couple seasons later.
Now, I like to be familiar with top prospects solely so that the draft can be a little bit more interesting (and maybe so I can one-up every dude who questions my hockey knowledge because "bruh, of course I know the Blackhawks' coach's son's name -- it's Dylan by the way -- but how about the projected top three this year?"). Spawned from this, I have accidentally become a fan of the major junior team, the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (and maybe also a casual Erie Otters fan if you ask me on the right day).
So here starts the journey of my Toronto downfall.
Image Credit: Sportsnet Canada
Mitch Marner's sophomore season with the Knights was absolutely extraordinary. He led the OHL in points throughout most of the season, losing his title in Dylan Strome's final game, where he knocked Marner down with a six point game. However, Marner's achievement in points was recognized via the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy, awarded to the OHL right winger with the most points in the league.That summer, Marner was drafted fourth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The following season, the Leafs kept Marner with the Knights for further development, where he was named co-captain with teammate Christian Dvorak, a Chicago area native. By the end of the season, the two would lead the London Knights to win the CHL's Memorial Cup, essentially the major junior equivalent of the Stanley Cup.
As a Knights fan, I held tight to Marner, who proved himself an essential, keystone piece of the Knights roster during his major junior career. It only made sense to follow him to his professional career with the Leafs.
Let's backtrack to the hum and drum of the 2016 midpoint check where hockey media was pushing out predictions for the upcoming draft order. 2015 had been one of the most exciting drafts in NHL history, what with Connor McDavid and his extraordinary teammates and friends on the line. This draft couldn't be as shaking as the previous, but there had to be someone interesting, someone to root for and cross your fingers for.
That someone turned out to be Auston Matthews.
I'm a female hockey fan and that in itself is a can of worms. However, I am also a POC and a hockey fan, which is not only rare and unusual, but taxing as hell. Hockey is a predominately white sport, for both players and audience. It's a little intimidating to pop into when you don't fit the cookie cutter.
Apparently it's not a problem for Auston Matthews, who is of Mexican heritage on his mother's side.
I like to keep tabs on as many POC players as possible because hockey should be branching out and encouraging diversity. If the talent is there, nothing else should matter. Hockey should become more accessible to more people, whether it's playing or watching.
Having a POC player go first overall from sheer skill? Now that's a way to kick the 2016-2017 season into gear.
Of course, preceding the draft was the draft lottery. Who would be surprised if Edmonton got first dibs yet again? They already had Connor (and Nail Yakupov, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Taylor Hall), what's one more?
Except for the fact that the Leafs had been tanking, year after year, in hopes of nabbing their very own golden boy to resurrect their team from the deep, dark depths of rebuild.
So finally, finally, they got Auston.
Perhaps it's unfair to put the future of an entire original six hockey franchise on one eighteen-year-old boy. Hockey is a team sport and one boy who's good at hockey doesn't mean he can drag the entire roster into the playoffs with him. However, such a concept is not unheard of in the NHL.
Rewind one month from the draft and Pittsburgh is emulating their successes, led by their own first-overall golden boy and two time Stanley Cup Champion, Sidney Crosby (and Evgeni Malkin).
Rewind a single season more and Chicago is still thriving on the high brought about by the renaissance sparked by Patrick Kane's 2007 drafting. Three Stanley Cups in the era of Patrick Kane (and Jonathan Toews).
Image Credit: MacLean's (Nam Y. Huh)
Now, you could be wondering why I'm including Malkin and Toews when we're talking about first overall picks reviving their franchises. Malkin was selected fourth overall and Toews third in each of their respective draft years. They're not necessarily Auston Matthews and they don't symbolize that same kind of hope and future that their counterparts do.
This does, however, bring us back to Mitch Marner, who you'll remember was drafted fourth overall.
There is never a true franchise revival without a power duo at its head.
Hockey is a team sport, after all.
With both Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, Toronto finally had the essential piece to really, finally rebuild and turn their fortune.
Image Credit: Toronto Star (Andrew Francis Wallace)
On October 12, 2016, Auston Matthews made NHL history with an unprecedented four goals in his his debut NHL game, the 2016 Maple Leafs season opener.
Since his strong start, Matthews has continued to perform extravagantly on ice. Settled into an iron line alongside teammates Zach Hyman and fellow rookie, Connor Brown, the third line provides dependable production and solid depth.
Curiously, Matthews shines the brightest under pressure.
Aside from his debut game, Matthews stole the show at the 2017 Centennial Classic outdoor game against the Detroit Redwings. After giving up the lead in the second, the Leafs built a comeback (which we'll expand on later), with an Auston Matthews goal to top it off at 4-1. However, the Wings were able to close the gap in the final thirteen minutes of regulation play.
Thrown into overtime with the world watching and hometown ice to defend, Auston Matthews pulls through with a beautiful game winning goal. The sequence begins with Matthews bringing down the puck, artfully dekeing past two Wings and passing it off to linemate Brown. Surging ahead, Matthews awaits for Brown to dish the puck back, which he immediately puts it in the net in a quick backhand that appears impossibly smooth and effortless.
In that moment, Auston Matthews, the golden boy that Toronto had been waiting for, became the hero Leafs Nation.
Matthews currently leads the league rookies in both points (38) and goals (22).
Image Credit: The Canadian Press (Frank Gunn)
Meanwhile, hometown boy Mitch Marner has his own leading role on Toronto's icy stage.
Sharing a line with Leaf staple, James van Riemsdyk and close friend and mentor, Tyler Bozak, Marner has more than established his role as a playmaker with the right kind of hockey smarts. Often compared to the rookie season of fellow London Knights alum,Patrick Kane, Marner exhibits a similar style of play (and of course, size).
Even Kane himself has recognized Marner's exceptional season and notable successes and similarities.
Back to the Centennial Classic, Marner, a native of the Greater Toronto Area and subsequently a childhood Leafs fan, lived out his dream in representing his hometown team in a celebration of ice hockey.
Halfway through the second period, Marner completed his hometown story by scoring the lead-taking goal in a jaw-dropping goal. Receiving the puck from Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly, whose stick breaks in the process, Marner cuts through Detroit's defense, right past four guys. He gets right up at the net and easily shelfs it into the back of the net. After trailing for more than half the regulation game, Toronto finally had the lead.
Marner fortifies his playmaking by leading the league rookies in assists (27) and sitting in third for points (37) after Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine.
Even besides our dynamic duo, the other Leafs rookies refuse to be left in their dust. William Nylander currently sits at fourth for rookie points (29) and third in assists (20). Connor Brown, another hometown Toronto boy, plays an integral role in playmaking alongside linemate Auston Matthews. He even scored the equalize at the Centennial Classic, sparking the Toronto comeback.
Image Credit: USA Today Sports (Tom Szczerbowski)
At the end of the day, however, a team stacked with great players, a great game, and everything going for them is nothing if they can't secure a chance at the Stanley Cup. If without a chance in the postseason, a team has yet to prove themselves.
Unfortunately for Toronto, the postseason has been more or less a stranger since 2004. Locked out of the playoffs for almost a decade, the Leafs made a brief appearance in the 2012-2013 postseason, where they were inevitably bounced in Round One by the Boston Bruins.
Fortunately for Toronto, after forty-three games played, they currently sit in the Eastern Conference's second wildcard slot and just might make the playoffs this year. With a record of 21-14-8, the Leafs have accrued fifty points. This ties them with the Philadelphia Flyers, who have played three games more.
A Toronto postseason is far from guaranteed but for the first time in a long time, it's within reach.
Image Credit: Yahoo Sports (Jana Chytilova)
I've said it often enough but Toronto captured my heart with its rookies, bringing back nostalgic pangs of 2007 when Kane and Toews skated in a United Center where tickets cost less than lunch. There's something about the glint in Marner's eye, the slight smugness in Auston's smile, the bounce in Nylander's step, the fire in Brown's drive. There's something in their stickwork and teamwork, their chemistry and charisma.
The ball is in Toronto's court.
And it's being stickhandled between young hands.
