David Alter: Initial Camp Impressions on Berube & Maple Leafs
The opening days of the Maple Leafs’ camp are in the bank, with plenty to chew on already. David Alter does just that.
It was definitely a lot quieter when the Toronto Maple Leafs took the ice for their first day of training camp. And it’s not because they weren’t working their tails off. It’s because you no longer had music blaring at Ford Performance Centre for much of the session. A staple that had been part of former head coach Sheldon Keefe’s style, the speakers have been put away by new bench boss Craig Berube. And while the first day of on-ice sessions are always tough conditioning wise, it was quite different to see players getting involved in one-on-one battles toward the net.
Promising to be a more difficult team to play against, Berube is trying to install a team that is more committed to defence.
“I want our team to have an identity about competing, playing hard, working, winning battles, winning one-on-one battles, Berube said after the first day. “It was, I was really impressed. It was tough practice, but I didn’t find that the pace dropped off that much from start to end, which is very important.”
And while all the right things have been said, Toronto’s first pre-season game resembled some of the team’s past issues. On Sunday, they dressed a lineup that was close to what an opening-night lineup would look like against an Ottawa Senators club with mostly second stringers.
Toronto was heavily outshot 14-1 after the opening period. They took a lot of penalties and had to use their offensive abilities late to erase a deficit, only to lose in overtime.
“We’d come out and we’re just slow and didn’t move the puck quick enough. You know, that’s why we ended up two shots on net in the first period,” Berube said on Sunday. “(We) didn’t want to shoot a lot of times, too cute at times. Got better, got better in times, but overall ee gotta work on things, we gotta clean things up. Gotta clean up our puck play, gotta clean up our, you know, directness on how we want to play.”
Toronto’s prized defensive addition this summer, Chris Tanev, picked up a pair of assists but wasn’t pleased with the way the club played on the other side of the puck.
“We didn’t play how we wanted to play, so it’s a bit of a sloppy game. Better breakouts, better D-zone, that’s the stuff I think we’re going to clean up and get better at and that’s going to make us a good team,” Tanev explained. “That’s what we’re going to focus on the next few games. I’m not worried about my offense to be honest.”
It is the pre-season and while the defensive portion of the game wasn’t great there were certainly some bright spots.
Max Pacioretty, who joined the Leafs on a professional tryout, scored twice and added an assist and looks like a promising potential depth addition for the club. The 35-year-old is trying to prove himself full back from a pair of Achilles injuries that have derailed the last couple of seasons of his NHL career and appears to be fully back.
Russian free-agent signing Nikita Grebenkin is also winning over Leafs fans with his strong play on the puck. He also engaged in a fight with Ottawa’s Adam Gaudette and then later motioned to the crowd wanting some noise, to which the fans at Scotiabank Arena were happy to oblige.
“I just love that. New heavy in town,” fellow heavyweight Ryan Reaves said. “Love to see that. It’s good to see kids get involved like that. It’s a full team-thing.”
The pre-season is going to be long and there will be over and under reactions between now and then. But that’s what makes it fun to watch as the battles for depth spots on the club remain.